Portable qEEG and HD-tCS Device for Point-of-Injury Traumatic Brain Injury Diagnostics

Mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) can cause prolonged or permanent injuries if left undetected and ignored. It is therefore of great interest to lower the threshold for diagnosis of individuals with mTBI injury. We report on the development of a prototype of a portable quantified EEG (qEEG) system intended for in-the-field mTBI diagnostics. The 32-electrode system is fully battery driven, is interfaced with a control unit being part of a telemedicine care system. Electrode montage is a central problem effectively challenging measurements outside clinical environments. The system concept is unique in the sense that it will allow an automated montage process employing a flexible, disposable, one-size-fits-all electrode cap. All electrodes are individually configurable so that they can be used for both wet and dry qEEG electrodes. All electrodes can also be individually configured to allow Trans-Cranial Current Stimulation (tCS) sessions in DC, AC or other current supply modalities. The system has been functionality tested in end-to-end configurations where all control and measurement signals are forwarded between the head device on one side and the user interface and telemedicine system on the other. Tests confirm that the device can acquire and forward EEG data from 32 channels in parallel at target sensitivities up to 1 kHZ sampling frequencies. Additional device clinical evaluation is planned.