Validation of Soft Multipin Dry EEG Electrodes

Current developments towards multipin, dry electrodes in electroencephalography (EEG) are promising for applications in non-laboratory environments. Dry electrodes do not require the application of conductive gel, which mostly confines the use of gel EEG systems to the laboratory environment. The ai...

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Main Authors: Janne J.A. Heijs, Ruben Jan Havelaar, Patrique Fiedler, Richard J.A. van Wezel, Tjitske Heida
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2021-10-01
Series:Sensors
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/20/6827
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author Janne J.A. Heijs
Ruben Jan Havelaar
Patrique Fiedler
Richard J.A. van Wezel
Tjitske Heida
author_facet Janne J.A. Heijs
Ruben Jan Havelaar
Patrique Fiedler
Richard J.A. van Wezel
Tjitske Heida
author_sort Janne J.A. Heijs
collection DOAJ
description Current developments towards multipin, dry electrodes in electroencephalography (EEG) are promising for applications in non-laboratory environments. Dry electrodes do not require the application of conductive gel, which mostly confines the use of gel EEG systems to the laboratory environment. The aim of this study is to validate soft, multipin, dry EEG electrodes by comparing their performance to conventional gel EEG electrodes. Fifteen healthy volunteers performed three tasks, with a 32-channel gel EEG system and a 32-channel dry EEG system: the 40 Hz Auditory Steady-State Response (ASSR), the checkerboard paradigm, and an eyes open/closed task. Within-subject analyses were performed to compare the signal quality in the time, frequency, and spatial domains. The results showed strong similarities between the two systems in the time and frequency domains, with strong correlations of the visual (ρ = 0.89) and auditory evoked potential (ρ = 0.81), and moderate to strong correlations for the alpha band during eye closure (ρ = 0.81–0.86) and the 40 Hz-ASSR power (ρ = 0.66–0.72), respectively. However, delta and theta band power was significantly increased, and the signal-to-noise ratio was significantly decreased for the dry EEG system. Topographical distributions were comparable for both systems. Moreover, the application time of the dry EEG system was significantly shorter (8 min). It can be concluded that the soft, multipin dry EEG system can be used in brain activity research with similar accuracy as conventional gel electrodes.
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spelling doaj.art-be9acc58b422475a8bfbc42d6b3cafc32023-11-22T19:58:04ZengMDPI AGSensors1424-82202021-10-012120682710.3390/s21206827Validation of Soft Multipin Dry EEG ElectrodesJanne J.A. Heijs0Ruben Jan Havelaar1Patrique Fiedler2Richard J.A. van Wezel3Tjitske Heida4TechMed Centre, Department of Biomedical Signals and Systems, University of Twente, 7522 NB Enschede, The NetherlandsDonders Centre for Neuroscience, Department of Biophysics, Radboud University, 6525 AJ Nijmegen, The NetherlandsInstitute of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics, Technische Universität Ilmenau, 98693 Ilmenau, GermanyTechMed Centre, Department of Biomedical Signals and Systems, University of Twente, 7522 NB Enschede, The NetherlandsTechMed Centre, Department of Biomedical Signals and Systems, University of Twente, 7522 NB Enschede, The NetherlandsCurrent developments towards multipin, dry electrodes in electroencephalography (EEG) are promising for applications in non-laboratory environments. Dry electrodes do not require the application of conductive gel, which mostly confines the use of gel EEG systems to the laboratory environment. The aim of this study is to validate soft, multipin, dry EEG electrodes by comparing their performance to conventional gel EEG electrodes. Fifteen healthy volunteers performed three tasks, with a 32-channel gel EEG system and a 32-channel dry EEG system: the 40 Hz Auditory Steady-State Response (ASSR), the checkerboard paradigm, and an eyes open/closed task. Within-subject analyses were performed to compare the signal quality in the time, frequency, and spatial domains. The results showed strong similarities between the two systems in the time and frequency domains, with strong correlations of the visual (ρ = 0.89) and auditory evoked potential (ρ = 0.81), and moderate to strong correlations for the alpha band during eye closure (ρ = 0.81–0.86) and the 40 Hz-ASSR power (ρ = 0.66–0.72), respectively. However, delta and theta band power was significantly increased, and the signal-to-noise ratio was significantly decreased for the dry EEG system. Topographical distributions were comparable for both systems. Moreover, the application time of the dry EEG system was significantly shorter (8 min). It can be concluded that the soft, multipin dry EEG system can be used in brain activity research with similar accuracy as conventional gel electrodes.https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/20/6827electroencephalography (EEG)dry electrodesgel electrodesbrain imagingvalidation study
spellingShingle Janne J.A. Heijs
Ruben Jan Havelaar
Patrique Fiedler
Richard J.A. van Wezel
Tjitske Heida
Validation of Soft Multipin Dry EEG Electrodes
Sensors
electroencephalography (EEG)
dry electrodes
gel electrodes
brain imaging
validation study
title Validation of Soft Multipin Dry EEG Electrodes
title_full Validation of Soft Multipin Dry EEG Electrodes
title_fullStr Validation of Soft Multipin Dry EEG Electrodes
title_full_unstemmed Validation of Soft Multipin Dry EEG Electrodes
title_short Validation of Soft Multipin Dry EEG Electrodes
title_sort validation of soft multipin dry eeg electrodes
topic electroencephalography (EEG)
dry electrodes
gel electrodes
brain imaging
validation study
url https://www.mdpi.com/1424-8220/21/20/6827
work_keys_str_mv AT jannejaheijs validationofsoftmultipindryeegelectrodes
AT rubenjanhavelaar validationofsoftmultipindryeegelectrodes
AT patriquefiedler validationofsoftmultipindryeegelectrodes
AT richardjavanwezel validationofsoftmultipindryeegelectrodes
AT tjitskeheida validationofsoftmultipindryeegelectrodes