INDIVIDUALIZED METHOD, SYSTEM, APPARATUS AND PROBE FOR ELECTROENCEPHALOGRAPHY

Abstract

A region on the head is examined with respect to the different muscles present in the region, and correlation areas are defined, where not two correlation areas relate to the same muscle in the region. The EEG probes are then produced individually for the examined human in order to optimize positioning of the electrodes on the different correlation areas. This way, signals from the muscles can be filtered out relatively easy when combining the signals from the different electrodes because the signals are not correlated between the electrodes, in contrast to the EEG signals.

Claims

1. A method of production of plural, mutually different and individually sized ElectroEncephaloGraphy, EEG, probes for human individuals, the method comprising: receiving data containing individual information defining locations of at least two head muscles for each specific of the human individuals, the at least two head muscles selected among: the anterior auricular muscle, the posterior auricular muscle, the Temporoparietalis, and the superior auricular muscle; the data comprising positions of correlation areas related to the individual information about the at least two selected muscles, wherein the correlation areas are defined as follows: an anterior correlation area A on the anterior auricular muscle, a posterior correlation area B on the posterior auricular muscle, a Temporoparietalis correlation area C on the Temporoparietalis, a superior correlation area D on the superior auricular muscle; and on the basis of the received data producing an individually sized EEG probe for each of the human individuals, each EEG probe comprising electrodes at locations on the EEG probe corresponding to the individual locations of the different correlation areas for the at least two muscles according to the specific individual information for each of the human individuals.

2. A method of production according to claim 1, wherein the method comprises providing for each EEG probe a flexible support sheet and printing metallic ink onto the support sheet on the basis of the data for creating electrical conductors as well as electrodes at the locations corresponding to the different correlation areas for the at least two selected muscles according to the individual information.

3. A system configured for measuring ElectroEncephaloGraphy, EEG, signals, comprising: plural, mutually different and individually sized EEG probes for a corresponding plurality of human individuals, each EEG probe being individually sized for the corresponding human individual based on data containing individual information defining locations of at least two head muscles for each specific of the human individuals, the at least two head muscles selected among: the anterior auricular muscle, the posterior auricular muscle, the Temporoparietalis, and the superior auricular muscle; the data comprising positions of correlation areas related to the individual information about the at least two selected muscles, wherein the correlation areas are defined as follows: an anterior correlation area A on the anterior auricular muscle, a posterior correlation area B on the posterior auricular muscle, a Temporoparietalis correlation area C on the Temporoparietalis, a superior correlation area D on the superior auricular muscle; wherein each EEG probe comprises electrodes at locations on the EEG probe corresponding to the individual locations of the different correlation areas for the at least two muscles according to the specific individual information for each corresponding of the human individuals.

4. The system according to claim 3, further comprising a computing device electrically connected to the electrodes of the EEG probe for receiving the signals from the EEG probe and being configured for analyzing the received signals and extracting the EEG signal by correlating the signals from at least two of the electrodes on different correlation areas while reducing the electrical influence from the at least two selected muscles by selectively filtering out those parts of the signals that are uncorrelated between the electrodes.

5. The system of claim 3, wherein the EEG probe comprises an individually sized flexible support sheet with electrodes printed by metallic ink onto the support sheet at the locations for the different correlation areas related to the at least two selected muscles and wherein the probe is configured for gluing the sheet to the skin of the head such that the electrodes cover the locations for the corresponding correlation areas.

6. The system according to claim 3, wherein a signal processing unit is attached to the EEG probe and electrically connected to the electrodes; wherein the signal processing unit comprises an A/D converter and is configured for receiving analog raw signals from the electrodes and converting the raw signals to digital data by the A/D converter prior or after a filtering step.

7. The system according to claim 3, wherein the EEG probes are configured for being provided on only one side of the head in a region around the ear.

8. The system according to claim 3, wherein the system is configured for supplementing the EEG signals by additionally extracting ElectroCardioGraphy, ECG, signals from the electrical signals measured by the EEG probes.

9. A method for optimizing measurements of ElectroEncephaloGraphy, EEG, signals by the EEG probes for a plurality of human individuals, the method comprising; providing a system according to claim 3; providing for each of the plurality of human individuals an individually sized EEG probe with electrodes at locations on the EEG probe corresponding to the determined locations of different correlation areas for the at least two muscles; placing the EEG probe with the electrodes against the skin of the head at the location of the different correlation areas for the at least two selected muscles; measuring electrical signals by the electrodes; from the measured electrical signals extracting EEG signals by correlating the signals from the at least two electrodes while reducing the electrical influence from the at least two selected muscles by selectively filtering out those parts of the signals that are uncorrelated between the electrodes.

10. The method according to claim 9, wherein the optimizing of the measurements further comprises providing the EEG probe on only one side of the head in a region around the ear.

11. The method according to claim 10, wherein the optimizing of the measurements further comprises providing the EEG probe as an individually sized flexible support sheet with electrodes at the locations for the different correlation areas related to the at least two selected muscles and gluing the sheet to the skin of the head such that the electrodes cover the locations for the corresponding correlation areas.

12. The method according to claim 9, wherein the optimizing of the measurements comprises providing the EEG probe with a signal processing unit attached to the EEG probe and electrically connected to the electrodes; wherein the signal processing unit comprises an A/D converter and the method comprises receiving analog raw signals from the electrodes and converting the raw signals to digital data by the A/D converter prior or after a filtering step.

13. The method according to claim 9, wherein the optimizing of the measurements comprises supplementing the EEG signals by additionally extracting ElectroCardioGraphy, ECG, signals from the electrical signals measured by the EEG probes.

Description

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0061] The invention will be explained in more detail with reference to the drawing, where

[0062] FIG. 1 illustrates different prior art EEG models, where

[0063] FIG. 1a is a reproduction of the drawing from the Internet page https://emotiv.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/204942089-How-come-my-headset-doesn-t-turn-on-;

[0064] FIG. 1b is a reproduction of the drawing from the Internet page http://ceegrid.com/home/concept/;

[0065] FIG. 1c is a reproduction from the Internet site http://ear-eeg.org;

[0066] FIG. 1d is a reproduction from the Internet site https://www.uneeg.com/en/products/24-7eeg/overview;

[0067] FIG. 2 shows various muscles around the ear;

[0068] FIG. 3 illustrates measure points in a system with four electrodes;

[0069] FIG. 4 illustrates measure points in a system with three electrodes;

[0070] FIG. 5 illustrates measure points in a system with two electrodes;

[0071] FIG. 6 illustrates a probe with four electrode zones, where a) illustrates the side facing the skin and b) illustrates the side remote from the skin;

[0072] FIG. 7 illustrate a probe with a signal processing unit and a wireless data transmission to a data processing unit.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

[0073] FIG. 2 illustrates various muscles around the ear. The figure is a modified reproduction from the Internet site https://plasticsurgerykey.com/scalp-and-temple/ illustrating the Temporoparietalis and the three muscles with the anterior auricular muscle in front of the ear, the posterior auricular muscle behind the ear, and the superior auricular muscle on the top.

[0074] With respect to the muscles, there are defined four correlation areas:

on the anterior auricular muscle an anterior correlation area A, for example where the pinna, soft-tissue of the ear, adheres to the anterior auricular muscle;
on the posterior auricular muscle a posterior correlation area B, for example where the posterior auricular muscle attaches to the temporal bone behind the external auditory meatus and below the zygomatic process and above the mastoid process,
on the Temporoparietalis a Temporoparietalis correlation area C, for example located where the pinna adheres on top of the Temporoparietalis muscle,
on the superior auricular muscle, a superior correlation area D, for example where the pinna adheres on top of the superior auricular muscle.

[0075] FIG. 3 illustrates positions for four electrodes coinciding with the correlation areas A, B, C, and D. By selecting correlation areas A, B, C, D for the electrodes, interference of EEG signals with electrical signals from the four muscles is minimized, as there is no signal from the same muscle in two electrodes. Due to the signals from the muscles in the four electrodes being uncorrelated, they can be easily filtered out from the raw signals from the electrodes, leaving a relatively clean correlation of EEG signals in the four electrodes.

[0076] In this embodiment, four muscle groups are probed separately as a differential gate, for example with 4 electrodes or with more than 4 electrodes, where the more than 4 electrodes are grouped into four electrode groups, each of the four electrode groups being placed in only one of the four correlation areas. For example, there are provided 4-12 electrodes, with 1-3 electrodes per muscle.

[0077] FIG. 4 illustrates a three-zone detection scheme comprising at least three electrodes or three electrode groups on three positions selected among the correlation areas A, B, C, and D. For example, three muscles are probed separately as a differential gate, for example with 3 electrode groups with 3-9 electrodes in total, with 1-3 electrodes in a group per muscle.

[0078] By reducing the number of zones as compared to the embodiment of FIG. 3, the system is simplified. However, similarly to the system in FIG. 3, two electrodes are not receiving electrical signals from the same muscle, which allows extraction of the EEG signal from the raw signals with reduced noise.

[0079] FIG. 5 illustrates a two-zone detection scheme comprising at least two separate electrodes on two selected positions among the correlation areas A, B, C, and D. Due to the decoupling of the EEG signal from the electrical signals of the muscles, it is sufficient in some cases to only use two electrodes or two groups of electrodes. For example, two muscle groups are probed separately as a differential gate, for example with 2 to 6 electrodes in total with 1-3 electrodes per muscle group.

[0080] FIG. 6a illustrates a probe with four electrode zones, one zone for each of the correlation areas A, B, C, and D. For the correlation areas A and C, the corresponding zones on the probe comprise triple electrodes, for the zone at correlation area D, a double electrode is provided, and for the zone at correlation area B, a singular electrode is provided. The probe is fixated to the skin of the head around the ear, for example by using conductive adhesive on each of the electrodes.

[0081] As shown in FIG. 6b, illustrating the opposite side of the probe of FIG. 6a, a connector is provided on the probe and used for electrical connection of electronic units to the probe, for example through a wire. For example, a wire is connected to the connector and used for coupling the probe to a computing device.

[0082] Alternatively, a wearable signal processing unit is mounted and fixated onto the probe itself. Such signal processing unit is part of the aforementioned computing device and potentially wirelessly connected to a further data processing unit.

[0083] As illustrated in FIG. 7, the signal processing unit is provided in the form of a small chip attached to the connector and through the connector electronically connected to the electrodes. It is configured for receiving the raw signal from the electrodes, typically analog signals, and perform a first signal processing, for example filtering and/or analog to digital conversion. The signal processing unit is configured for transmitting the processed data to a digital data processing unit, which is also part of the computing device.

[0084] For example the data processing unit is part of a central surveillance computer, and the data are transferred wirelessly to the central surveillance computer.

[0085] Alternatively, the data processing unit is part of a small portable electronic device, such as a cell phone with a corresponding computer application, also called APP, where the digital data, as received from the signal processing unit, are further processed, for example for graphical illustration on a display with a user interface, Advantageously, the transfer of signal data in digital form from the signal processing unit is done wirelessly, for example by Bluetooth or WiFi.

[0086] Alternatively, the transfer of digital data from the signal processing unit to the data processing unit, for example the small portable device, is done by a wire. As the transfer of signal data from the signal processing unit to the data processing unit is done in digital form, there is no introduction of noise by the wire, in contrast to analog signal transmission through the wire, in which case electronic noise could be added to the analog signals from the electrodes.