Electroencephalography (EEG) is increasingly used for repetitive and prolonged applications like neurofeedback, brain computer interfacing, and long-term intermittent monitoring. Dry-contact electrodes enable rapid self-application. A common drawback of existing dry electrodes is the limited wearing comfort during prolonged application. We propose a novel dry Arch electrode. Five semi-circular arches are arranged parallelly on a common baseplate. The electrode substrate material is a flexible thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) produced by additive manufacturing. A chemical coating of Silver/Silver-Chloride (Ag/AgCl) is applied by electroless plating using a novel surface functionalization method. Arch electrodes were manufactured and validated in terms of mechanical durability, electrochemical stability, in vivo applicability, and signal characteristics. We compare the results of the dry arch electrodes with dry pin-shaped and conventional gel-based electrodes. 21-channel EEG recordings were acquired on 10 male and 5 female volunteers. The tests included resting state EEG, alpha activity, and a visual evoked potential. Wearing comfort was rated by the subjects directly after application, as well as at 30 min and 60 min of wearing. Our results show that the novel plating technique provides a well-adhering electrically conductive and electrochemically stable coating, withstanding repetitive strain and bending tests. The signal quality of the Arch electrodes is comparable to pin-shaped dry electrodes. The average channel reliability of the Arch electrode setup was 91.9 ± 9.5%. No considerable differences in signal characteristics have been observed for the gel-based, dry pin-shaped, and arch-shaped electrodes after the identification and exclusion of bad channels. The comfort was improved in comparison to pin-shaped electrodes and enabled applications of over 60 min duration. Arch electrodes required individual adaptation of the electrodes to the orientation and hairstyle of the volunteers. This initial preparation time of the 21-channel cap increased from an average of 5 min for pin-like electrodes to 15 min for Arch electrodes and 22 min for gel-based electrodes. However, when re-applying the arch electrode cap on the same volunteer, preparation times of pin-shaped and arch-shaped electrodes were comparable. In summary, our results indicate the applicability of the novel Arch electrode and coating for EEG acquisition. The novel electrode enables increased comfort for prolonged dry-contact measurement.

Magnetic fields associated with currents flowing in tissue can be measured non-invasively by means of zero-field-encoded ultra-low-field magnetic resonance imaging (ULF MRI) enabling current-density imaging (CDI) and possibly conductivity mapping of human head tissues. Since currents applied to a human are limited by safety regulations and only a small fraction of the current passes through the relatively highly-resistive skull, a sufficient signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) may be difficult to obtain when using this method. In this work, we study the relationship between the image SNR and the SNR of the field reconstructions from zero-field-encoded data. We evaluate these results for two existing ULF-MRI scanners-one ultra-sensitive single-channel system and one whole-head multi-channel system-by simulating sequences necessary for current-density reconstruction. We also derive realistic current-density and magnetic-field estimates from finite-element-method simulations based on a three-compartment head model. We found that existing ULF-MRI systems reach sufficient SNR to detect intra-cranial current distributions with statistical uncertainty below 10%. However, the results also reveal that image artifacts influence the reconstruction quality. Further, our simulations indicate that current-density reconstruction in the scalp requires a resolution <5 mm and demonstrate that the necessary sensitivity coverage can be accomplished by multi-channel devices.

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a simulation study using a model of a new optically pumped magnetometer sensor for application in the field of magnetoencephalography. The effects of sensor distance and orientation on the measurement information and the sensitivity to neuronal sources are investigated. Further, this paper uses a combinatorial optimization approach for sensor placement to measure spontaneous activity in the region of the occipital cortex. Design/methodology/approach This paper studies the effects of sensor distance and orientation on sensitivity to cortical sources and measurement information. A three-compartment model of the head, using the boundary element method, is applied. For sensor setup optimization, a combinatorial optimization scheme is developed. Findings The sensor distance to sources considerably affects the sensitivity and the retrieved information. A specific arrangement of four sensors for measuring spontaneous activity over the occipital part of the head is optimized by effectively avoiding position conflicts. Research limitations/implications Individual head models, as well as more detailed noise and signal models, will increase the significance for specific-use cases in future studies. Originality/value Effects of sensor distance and orientation are specifically evaluated for a new optically pumped magnetometer. A discrete optimization scheme for sensor optimization is introduced. The presented methodology is applicable for other sensor characterization and optimization problems. The findings contribute significantly to the development of new sensors.

Direct lightning strikes to the human head can lead to various effects, ranging from burnings to death. The biological and physical mechanisms of a direct lightning strike in the human head are not well understood. The aim of this paper is to design an experimental setup to measure the spatial and temporal current distribution during a direct lightning strike to physical head phantoms to establish normative values for personal lightning protection equipment design and testing. We created head phantoms made of agarose, replicating the geometric and dielectric properties of scalp, skull, and intracranial volume. The bases of the three compartments were galvanically contacted via copper electrodes to measure the current per compartment. We used pulse generators to apply aperiodic voltage and current signals that modelled lightning components. Our experiments indicated that the scalp compartment was exposed to the current with a fraction of 80–90%. The brain and skull compartments were exposed between 6–13% and 3–6% of the total measured current respectively. In case of a flashover, most of the current (98–99%) flowed through the discharge channel. Unlike previous theoretical estimates and measurements in technical setups, we observed considerably longer times for the flashover to build up. In our experiments, the time to build up a fully formed flashover varied from approximately 30–700 μs. The observed current patterns in cases without and with flashover provided information on regions of possible damage in the human head. Consequently, we identified the phenomenon of a flashover as a potential mechanism for humans to survive a lightning strike. Our measured current distributions and amplitudes formed the base for normative values, which can be used in later experimental investigations regarding the possibilities of individual lightning protection equipment for humans.

Background Assessments of source reconstruction procedures in electroencephalography and computations of transcranial electrical stimulation profiles require verification and validation with the help of ground truth configurations as implemented by physical head phantoms. Phantoms provide well-defined volume conduction configurations with realistic geometries.We aim to characterize the electrical conductivity of materials for modeling head compartments to establish reproducible and stable physical head phantoms. We analyzed sodium chloride (NaCl) solution, agarose hydrogel, gypsum and reed sticks as surrogate materials for the intracranial volume, scalp, skull and anisotropic conductivity structures. We measured the impedance of all materials when immersed in NaCl solution using a four-point setup. The electrical conductivity values of each material were calculated from the temperature compensated impedances considering the sample geometries. Results We obtained conductivities of 0.332 S/m (0.17 % NaCl solution), 0.0425 S/m and 0.0017 S/m (gypsum with and without NaCl), 0.314 S/m, 0.30 S/m, 0.311 S/m (2 %, 3 %, 4 % agarose). The reed sticks were tested in longitudinal and transversal direction and showed anisotropic conductivity with a ratio of 1:2.8. Conclusion We conclude that the tested materials NaCl solution, gypsum and agarose can serve as stable representation of the three main conductivity compartments of the head, intracranial volume, skull and scalp. An anisotropic conductivity structure such as a piece of white matter can be modeled using tailored reed sticks inside a volume conductor.