Electroencephalography

Machine
Kousha Talebian February 25, 2013 BMEG 550 Project Report

Executive Summary
An electroencephalography machine is an instrument that measures the neural activity of the brain. The machine consists of electrodes, an amplifier, filters, analog to digital convertor, a computer module, and a monitoring device. The amplifiers, filters, analog to digital convertor are all part of the same circuitry. The biggest challenge to the EEG machine is not the data collection, but rather the physiological interpretation of the data. Since the collected signal contains artifacts from different biopotentials, isolating the EEG signal is to some measures a difficult task. Measuring these biopotentials simultaneously using extra electrodes, and then removing them from the signal is common practice. The specification of an EEG machine is not universal, as different applications require slightly modified EEG machine. The frequency of an EEG falls between 0.01 to 70Hz, and an EEG machine should at least respond to this band. The higher cutoff frequency may be larger if fast sampling rate is needed. The electrodes themselves require a very inform low resistance for no signal distortion. The amplifiers input resistance on the other hand, should be as high as possible with a common-mode rejection-ratio of at least 100dB. An EEG signal consists of 4 wavelets, labeled as alpha, beta, delta and theta, covering the frequency range of 0.01 to 70Hz. Each has its own characteristics and is correlated with a certain physiological feature. The digitalized data is often then decomposed into these wavelets and the doctor can interpret the results and determine the cause of problem with the patients brain.

Table of Contents
List of Figures ............................................................................................................................ 4 List of Abbreviation ................................................................................................................. 5 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................... 6 1.1. History ...................................................................................................................................... 6 2. Source of EEG Activity ..................................................................................................... 8 2.1. Alpha Wave ............................................................................................................................. 9 2.2. Beta Wave ............................................................................................................................. 10 2.3. Delta Wave ........................................................................................................................... 10 2.4. Theta Wave ........................................................................................................................... 10 3. Usages of EEG .................................................................................................................. 11 3.1. Clinical Usage ....................................................................................................................... 11 3.2. Research Usage ................................................................................................................... 12 4. EEG Machine .................................................................................................................... 13 4.1. Electrode ............................................................................................................................... 13 4.2. Amplifiers and Filters ....................................................................................................... 17 4.3. A/D Convertor ..................................................................................................................... 21 4.4. Computer Program/Monitoring ................................................................................... 21 4.5. Calibration ............................................................................................................................ 22 4.6. Technical Specification ..................................................................................................... 23 5. EEG Signal ........................................................................................................................ 25 5.1. Sensitivity Distribution of EEG Signal ......................................................................... 25 5.2. Behavior of the EEG Signal .............................................................................................. 26 5.3. Basic Principles of EEG Diagnostics ............................................................................. 28 6. Risks & Hazards ............................................................................................................. 29 7. Artifacts ............................................................................................................................ 30 7.1. Patient Artifacts .................................................................................................................. 30 7.2. Technical Artifacts ............................................................................................................. 30 7.3. Artifact Correction ............................................................................................................. 30 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................... 31

List of Figures

Figure 1: Frequency and voltage range of some of the most common biopotential signals (Webster, 2010). ............................................................................................................... 6 Figure 2: First recording of EEG performed by Dr. Berger in 1924 (Wallis, 2007). ..... 7 Figure 3: The connection of two neurons. The EEG machine measures the SP produced (Adeli & Ghosh-Dastidar, 2010). .......................................................................... 8 Figure 4: The four major types of EEG waves (Webster, 2010). ........................................... 9 Figure 5: The effect of opening and closing the eye replaces the alpha waves by asynchronous higher frequency waves (Webster, 2010). .......................................... 10 Figure 6: A typical EEG machine. The instrument on the right is the amplifier/filter (taken from http://emgneedleelectrode.com) ................................................................ 13 Figure 7: A subdural electrode .......................................................................................................... 14 Figure 8: A surface electrode ............................................................................................................. 14 Figure 9: An electrode cap (Teplan, 2002) .................................................................................. 15 Figure 10: The Standard International 10/20 configuration (Kropotov, 2005) ......... 16 Figure 11: The Standard International 10/10 configuration (Kropotov, 2005) ......... 16 Figure 12: An EEG channel is the difference between two electrodes voltage (EBME.co.uk Ltd, 2008) .............................................................................................................. 17 Figure 13: Differential amplifier producing the EEG channel (EBME.co.uk Ltd, 2008) ............................................................................................................................................................... 18 Figure 14: Calculation showing why the difference between two channels is always the difference between the two electrodes, irrelevant to the manner the channels were produced. ........................................................................................................... 18 Figure 15: (A) Bipolar and (B) common reference. Note that the montage of the EEG channel depends on the measurement location (Malmivuo & Plonsey, 1995) . 19 Figure 16: The amplifier/filter component of the EEG machine. All electrodes plus the reference and the ground signals are inserted into this machine. The operator can use the computer to configure the differential manner and view the montage on the monitor (Picture courtesy of the MitSar Medical). ............... 19 Figure 17: A sample screenshot of the MitSar program used to monitor EEG. ........... 22 Figure 18: D179 Performance Checker used to calibrate an EEG machine ................... 23 Figure 19: The Rush-Discroll model. The sensitivity to the brain region decreases as the electrodes move closer to each other (Malmivuo & Plonsey, 1995) .............. 26 Figure 20: Summary of the signal decomposition showing how different waves are extracted from the EEG signal (Adeli & Ghosh-Dastidar, 2010). .............................. 27 Figure 21: An example of a decomposed EEG signal into wavelets (Malmivuo & Plonsey, 1995). ............................................................................................................................... 27 Figure 22: EEG signal of an awake, light sleep, REM sleep and deep sleep person along with a person in coma (Malmivuo & Plonsey, 1995). ....................................... 28

List of Abbreviation
A/D AP C ECG EEG EMG EP F O P Ref SNR SP T Pp.

Analog to Digital Action Potential Central Electrocardiography Electroencephalography Electromyography Evoked Potential Frontal Occipital Posterior Reference Signal to Noise Ratio Synaptic Potential Temporal Voltage peak-peak

1. Introduction
An electroencephalogram (EEG) machine is a device used to create a diagram of the electrical activity of the brain. The machine is used both for medical diagnosis (see section 3.1), as well as research application (see section 3.2). On the figure below, the voltage and frequency band of the EEG is compared with the other biopotential signals; there are significant overlaps between the different signals, and this will lead to bio-artifacts artifacts collected by the sensor from a biopotential signal that is not intended for.

Figure 1: Frequency and voltage range of some of the most common biopotential signals (Webster, 2010).

1.1.History
By the end of the nineteenth century, scientists were trying to study and measure the electrical property of the brain. In 1875, Richard Catton, a British surgeon from Liverpool, measured the electrical potential of the exposed cortex of rabbits and monkeys brain. In 1902, Hans Berger, studied the correlation between the brain activity and the physiological phenomena (such as sleep, epilepsy, anesthesia). He used the Lippmann capillary electrometer and Edelman galvanometer to record the electrical pulses. However, none produced a satisfactory result. It was finally in 1924 where Dr. Berger made the first EEG recording of a humans brain.


Figure 2: First recording of EEG performed by Dr. Berger in 1924 (Wallis, 2007).

It took another five-years of research by Edgar Douglas Adrian and B. C. H. Matthews, who reproduced Bergers results, before EEG was accepted. In 1936, Walter Gray used a large number of electrodes pasted onto the scalp to create a map of the brain activity. Areas around a tumor showed abnormal electrical activity.

2. Source of EEG Activity

Neurons transmit information throughout the body electrically through the diffusion of calcium, sodium and potassium ions across the cell membrane. These electrical pulses (called action potentials, AP) travel down an axon. At the axon terminal, the AP causes a synaptic potential (SP) that will be detected by the dendrites of another neuron. SP has lower voltage amplitude than AP, but produce a current that has larger distribution that can be detected on the scalp.

Figure 3: The connection of two neurons. The EEG machine measures the SP produced (Adeli & Ghosh-Dastidar, 2010).

Under normal conditions, actions of the chemical transmitters at the postsynaptic neurons contribute very little to the overall biopotential energy on the scalp. The firing of these SP are asynchronous and in random directions. Consequently, the net result of the spatial and temporal influence of the potential energy on the scalp is small and negligible. When a person performs a specific task, the part of brain that is associated with, fires the SP synchronously and uniformly. These potentials (called evoked potentials EP1) have relatively high amplitudes and can be detected with electrodes. It is important to note that the electrical activity monitored by the EEG is the postsynaptic pulse and the electrode collects the perpendicular component of the signal. 1 Evoke potentials are potentials due to a stimulus 8

 The EEG is described as either rhythmic or transients. The rhythmic activities are divided into bands based on the frequency and are found at different part of the human brain. Table below summarizes the main four frequency bands. There are also the two more waves known as gamma and mu that are not discussed in this report.
Table 1: Comparison between the alpha, beta, delta, and theta wave group of the EEG (Webster, 2010)

Group Frequency (Hz) Location Delta Below 3.5 Frontal in adults, posterior in children Theta 4 - 7 Location not related to a task at hand Alpha Beta 8 - 13 13 - 40

Normally - Sleeping adults - Babies - Young children - Drowsiness and arousal in adults - Idling Posterior region of - Relaxing/reflecting head - Blinking - Inhibition control Evenly distributed - Alert on both sides, more - Active/busy/thinking towards the frontal

Pathologically - Diffuse lesion - Deep midline - Focal subcortical lesions - Some instances of hydrocephalus - Coma - Benzodiazepines (BZs)

Figure 4: The four major types of EEG waves (Webster, 2010).

2.1. Alpha Wave

These waves are found in virtually all-normal people at a quite, transient state (i.e. resting state of the cerebral). They usually occur on the occipital region, but

can also be from the frontal and posterior of the scalp as well. The amplitude of these waves ranges form 20 to 200V. When a person sleeps, alpha waves completely disappear. The alpha waves are also replaced by asynchronous waves of higher frequency due to sensation or when the person is directed towards a specific activity. In the figure below, one can observe that the action of closing and opening the eye completely replaces the alpha waves.

Figure 5: The effect of opening and closing the eye replaces the alpha waves by asynchronous higher frequency waves (Webster, 2010).

2.2.Beta Wave
Although these waves normally occur between 13-30 Hz, during intense mental activity, they can go as high as 50Hz. They are usually recorded from the frontal and parietal region of the scalp. There are two types of beta waves: beta I and beta II. Beta I acts just as alpha waves. Beta II on the other hand, appear during intense CNS activity. Thus, beta I is elicited by mental activity, and beta II is inhibited by it.

2.3. Delta Wave

These include the very slow EEG waves. They only occur during deep sleep or serious organic brain dieses. They occur in the cortex, completely independent of the lower region of the brain.

2.4. Theta Wave

These waves occur at the parietal and temporal region of the scalp. They occur when a person becomes frustrated, or when an element of pleasantry is removed from the person.

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3. Usages of EEG
According to R.D. Bickford (Bickford, 1987), EEG signals are used to 1. Monitor alertness, coma and brain death 2. Locate areas of damage following head injury, stroke, tumor, etc. 3. Test afferent pathways (by evoked potentials) 4. Monitor cognitive engagement (alpha rhythm) 5. Produce biofeedback situations, alpha, etc. 6. Control anesthesia depth (servo anesthesia)2 7. Investigate epilepsy and locate seizure origin 8. Test epilepsy drug effects 9. Assist in experimental cortical excision of epileptic focus 10. Monitor human and animal brain development 11. Test drugs for convulsive effects 12. Investigate sleep disorder and physiology.

3.1.Clinical Usage
A routine EEG recording can be as short as 20min to as long as couple of days. It usually involves the attachment of 8+ electrodes to the scalp, depending on the test and the level of resolution required. EEG devices were the first method for detecting tumors. However, MRI and CT scans have replaced the EEG machine for detection of tumors. The EEG recording is also used to distinguish between epileptic seizures from the other types (psychogenic non-epileptic seizures). It can also be used to differentiate between delirium and catatonia. Since the EEG waves are a measure of brain activity, then it can be used to assess brain death/coma. A patient with sleep disorder can also be stationed at the hospital and be connected to an EEG for up to a week to record and analyze their sleep pattern. 2 This is my research thesis with Dr. Guy Dumont. The BIS index, which is a spectral analysis of EEG, is used as the depth of hypnosis (DOH) signal. Aim of the thesis is design an adaptive closed loop control of the (DOH). 11

3.2.Research Usage
EEG is extensively used in neuroscience, cognitive science, and anesthetic studies. Even though EEG has been replaced by MRI and CT scans, it is still used for cases where high spatial resolution of <1mm is required. In the field of anesthetics, EEG is used as a control objective as it is directly related to the patients anesthetic state. The signal therefore can be used to automatically administrate the drugs required to keep the patient at a certain level. Researchers are still trying to understands all the connection between all physiological and the EEG signal.

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4. EEG Machine
An EEG machine can simply be broken down into four components: the electrode, amplifiers, a computer control module, and a display device. One of the advantages of the EEG is that for its simplicity, it offers substantial insight into brain activity. Generally, the electrodes are manufactured using German silver: an alloy made up of copper, nickel and zinc. German silver is soft enough to grind, and hard enough not to break. Alternatively, stainless steel is sometimes used for its corrosion resistant property. However, since it is a harder material, manufacturing process is more challenging and costly.

Figure 6: A typical EEG machine. The instrument on the right is the amplifier/filter (taken from http://emgneedleelectrode.com)

4.1.Electrode
There are 5 basics types of electrodes: 1. Disposable (pre-gelled) 2. Reusable 3. Headband and electrode cap 4. Saline-based electrode 5. Needle electrode (inserted into the brain)

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The first four electrodes are known as surface electrodes as they are attached to the scalp. The last one is a subdural electrode, as the scalp is punctured and the electrode is placed into the brain directly.

Figure 7: A subdural electrode

Figure 8: A surface electrode

For a multichannel montage3, the electrode cap is recommended as it reduces the setup time. Skin preparation differs slightly, but cleaning the oil and dead skin is recommended. For some electrode types (specially the reusable Germany silver electrodes), a conductive gel is needed.

3 A montage is the final result of filtration and decomposition of the EEG signal 14


Figure 9: An electrode cap (Teplan, 2002)

The EEG signal is simply the difference of voltage between two electrodes. To make the comparison of the signal between different institutes and hospitals easier, the Canadian Dr. Herpert Jasper has defined an international standard configuration. Called the Standard International 10/20, this configuration shows the placement of the electrodes on the patients head. Each electrode should be placed within 10% of the standard. There is also a standard sequence of measurements (Rahey, 2007). Before the introduction of this standard, EEG readings were limited in accuracy, as even the same doctor would place the electrodes at different locations on every patient. If the electrodes are not placed on the right position, then the perpendicular components of the signal to the electrodes could be minimized, leading to a weaker signal. The scalp is divided into regions: F (frontal), C (central), P (posterior), O (occipital), and T (temporal). The letters are followed by odd numbers for the left side of the brain, and even numbers for right side of the brain. Left and right side is denoted from the patients point of view.

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Figure 10: The Standard International 10/20 configuration (Kropotov, 2005)

A higher resolution EEG can be obtained by using the Standard International 10/10 configuration shown below.

Figure 11: The Standard International 10/10 configuration (Kropotov, 2005)

High input impedance leads to increased signal distortion, which reduces SNR and therefore, the actual signal being lost. To prevent a small SNR, an electrode input impedance of < 5k and balanced within 1k of all electrodes must be used.

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With modern EEG instruments, the choice of ground electrode is minimal. Forhead (Fpz) or near ear location is common practice, but legs and wrists are sometimes used as well. There are also several different reference electrode placement mentioned in literature. The reference electrode could be chosen as the linked ear, tip of nose, C7, cortex, and etc. The only constraint is that the reference electrode must be at an electrically neutral location. Each choice of the location has its own advantage and disadvantages.

4.2.Amplifiers and Filters

The EEG machine uses differential amplifiers to produce each channel. On each input of the differential amplifier, one electrode is connected; the different between these two electrodes is called the EEG channel. In the diagram below, the input 1 is connected to the positive terminal, and input 2 is connected to the negative terminal.

Figure 12: An EEG channel is the difference between two electrodes voltage (EBME.co.uk Ltd, 2008)

Each of the channels is then subtracted from the ground electrode to remove the background noise and the low-frequency compartment (signal from the biopotential from other organs). When input 1 is more negative then input 2, the deflection is up.

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Figure 13: Differential amplifier producing the EEG channel (EBME.co.uk Ltd, 2008)

There are three manners in which the electrodes are connected: common reference derivation, average reference, or bipolar. The difference between two channels is always the difference between the two electrodes; irrelevant to the manner the channels were produced. This can easily be seen as followed. Assume common-reference derivation is used. Denote channel 1 as F1-Ref and channel 2 as F4-Ref. Then channel 1 minus channel 2 has the reference signal cancelled and produces F1-F4.

Figure 14: Calculation showing why the difference between two channels is always the difference between the two electrodes, irrelevant to the manner the channels were produced.

In the common-reference derivation, each amplifier records the difference between each electrode and the common reference. The reference signal is usually the electrode by the ears.

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Figure 15: (A) Bipolar and (B) common reference. Note that the montage of the EEG channel depends on the measurement location (Malmivuo & Plonsey, 1995)

In the average-reference derivation, the average-reference signal is denoted as the average of all electrodes. The amplifier then records the difference between each individual electrode and the average reference. The EEG machine allows the operator to remove any of the channels to not be included in the calculation of the average reference signal. In bipolar derivation, each amplifier records the difference between two electrodes that are opposite of each other. For instance, F3-C3 or C3-P3 are either opposite or transpose of each other. This will lead to maximum SNR, as it will be discussed in section 5.1.

Figure 16: The amplifier/filter component of the EEG machine. All electrodes plus the reference and the ground signals are inserted into this machine. The operator can use the computer to configure the differential manner and view the montage on the monitor (Picture courtesy of the MitSar Medical).

The EEG amplifiers input is equipped with diodes in order to prevent the voltage to travel backwards, towards the scalp. This is a safety feature and prevents shock to the patient in case of a device malfunction.

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The basic requirements that all biomedical amplifiers must have are (Nagel, 1995):

The physiological process to be monitored should not be influenced in any way by the amplifier The measured signal should not be distorted The amplifier should provide the best possible separation of signal and interferences The amplifier has to offer protection of the patient from any hazard of electrical shock The amplifier itself has to be protected against damages that might result from high input voltages as they occur during the application of defibrillators or electrosurgical instrumentation The EEG signal recorded by the electrode consists of five signals: the
desired biopotential, undesired biopotential, power line signal interference of 60Hz (the AC power line frequency), interference produced because of bad connection between the electrode and the scalp, and noise. For isolating the electrically noisy environment, a high amplifier input impedance of at least 100M is implemented. The amplifier also requires having a high common-mode rejection-ratio (CMMR) of at least 100dB (Teplan, 2002). The amplification gain is 1,000 to 100,0004 (Nagel, 1995). The optimal gain is one that maximizes the SNR. The raw scalp EEG signal is about 10-100V and 10-20mV when subdural electrodes are used. Filters are implemented in the amplification-integrated unit to remove noise and unwanted artifacts. A high pass filter is used to remove the low frequency noise 4 The higher the gain does not mean the better the signal will be. There are a few parameters (such as sampling rate, the A/D conversion, the noise) that will determine the optimal gain 20

that remains in the signal after the subtracting the voltage from the ground5 (Teplan, 2002). The cutoff frequency of this high-pass filter is between 0.1 0.7Hz (Bronzino, 1995). A low-pass filter is used to ensure the signal is band- limited. The cutoff frequency is the highest frequency of the signal, which falls between 40Hz (beta wave) and half the sampling rate (which is usually 512Hz) (Bronzino, 1995). If higher frequencies survive, then according to Nyquist theorem, aliasing could occur.

4.3. A/D Convertor

Modern EEG machines are digital and thus require A/D conversions. A sampling rate of 512Hz is common in clinical practices, and 20kHz in research applications (Fisch, 1999). Ability to resolve a 0.5V is recommended (Brunet & Young, 2000). The resolution of A/D (R) is simply the ratio between the voltage range (VR) and 2 raised to the power of number of bits (b). = 2!

After the data is digitalized, they can go under further digital filtration, according to the objective of the test being performed. Linear filtering such as FIR or IIR to more novel non-linear filtering methods is used. Clinical machines have a 12bit A/D convertor (Teplan, 2002), but research convertors might be larger if higher resolution is required.

4.4. Computer Program/Monitoring

Once the data is digitalized, a computer program is used to monitor the result. Computer software is usually capable of switching between different montages, performing advanced mathematical calculation (including chaos analysis) and exports the data. They are equipped to auto detect certain dieses and/or characteristics of the signal.

5 Breathing for instance, causes a low-frequency component 21


Figure 17: A sample screenshot of the MitSar program used to monitor EEG.

4.5. Calibration
Routine calibration is required to model the circuitry, and connection wires noise as well as determining the exact amplification gain. Usually a known impulse (sine or triangle) is generated on all of the inputs of the main EEG amplifier. Thus, the generated signal passes through the entire EEG machine, with the exception of the electrodes. The output can be recorded and compared with the input to determine the amplification gain, and to model the noise. This noise should mainly be from the amplifier circuit and the A/D converter. Noise value should be consistent with the manufacturer spec, and is usually 0.3-2VPP (Teplan, 2002). Noise can also be determined by short-circuiting the inputs of the amplifier, or by placing the electrodes into a salt-bath, and then measuring the output. Since input signal is zero, then the output signal is the noise model. Once the noise is modeled, the number of useful bits can easily be computed. Taking the ratio of the average generated EEG signal amplitude over the noise amplitude, the nearest exponent of 2 is the number of useful bits. For instance, if the ratio is 50V/1V, then there are 5 useful bits.

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There are commercial calibrators (known as performance checker), which generate the required calibrating signal. More advanced EEG machines have a built-in calibrators. An example of such a device is the D179 Performance Checker by Digitimer. D179 has 32 outputs with 1 ground/common socket and 2 reference sockets. The output of the EEG machine is connected to the D179, and the Performance Checker will automatically compare the input to the output and model the noise and the amplification gain.

Figure 18: D179 Performance Checker used to calibrate an EEG machine

4.6. Technical Specification

The technical specification of an EEG machine can change depending on the usage of the device. Generally, for research purposes, the device is of a higher quality. The following specifications are taken from (Ananthi, 2006). A typical EEG machine for medical devices requirement for number of electrodes varies significantly depending on the case. For a simple diagnostic, it might require only 8, where as the requirement might go as high as 256. For anesthetic patients, only 4 are required. The frequency response of the system should be anywhere between 0.05 to 130Hz. The system should have a variable high-pass filter centered at

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frequencies between 0.1-5Hz, a low-pass filter centered at 50-256Hz. There should also be a 50-60Hz AC filter to remove the power line noise. It requires a CMMR of at least 100dB with amplifier input impedance of at least 100M and electrode resistance less than 5k. Below is the specification of BWII EEG machine: 25 channel: 22 EEG channels, 2 Ref, 1 ground Calibration on board: 0.5Hz, 7Hz, 15Hz (square and sine wave) CMMR ~ 125dB Low/high pass filter 0.0016 to 70Hz A/D 12bit conversion As a comparison, the government of India requires the following minimum requirement from an EEG machine 32 channel Frequency response between 0.05 to 70Hz Low-pass filter of 15Hz, 30Hz, and 70Hz High-pass filter of 0.1Hz, 0.3Hz, 1.5Hz, 3Hz, 5Hz) CMMR > 100dB Amplifier input resistance > 10M

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5. EEG Signal
5.1. Sensitivity Distribution of EEG Signal
An important question when performing EEG is the sensitivity of the signal; in other words, how deep into the brain can the signals be generating from and still be detected by the EEG instrument? This problem is of no significance when subdural electrodes are used; it is a matter of discussion for surface electrodes. Rush and Driscoll performed the first such studies in 1969. In their study, the patients head is modeled as a perfect sphere an assumption only partially valid. They place two electrodes on the patients head; one produces a current while the other measures the current. Their results, while pioneer in nature, had limited practicality. In 1987, Puikkonen and Malvimuo used the same model as Rush and Driscoll, but presented the results with lead field current flow lines. The direction of the sensitivity is then simply normal to the field current flow lines and the magnitude of it is seen from the density of these field lines (Puikkonen & Malmivuo, 1987). A limitation of this theorem is that it is a 2D model, representing a 3D distribution. The field lines thus break to denote a change in the third dimension (see Figure 19. Note how the blue lines suddenly break, denoting a movement in the third dimension). In the following diagrams, the two electrodes are separated by angles of 180, 120, 60, 40, and 20. In the diagrams, the solid blue lines are the field current flow lines, the dotted black lines are the isosensitivity lines, and the green shaded region is known as Half-sensitivity volume the volume at which the field current density is at least 50% of its maximum value. The location of the two electrodes is visible from the highly dense field current lines. The sphere itself has three shades: the outer is the skin, the middle is the skull and the inner

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is the cerebral region. As the electrodes move closer and closer to each other, the current flows more in the skin region, thus decreasing the access to the brain itself. The noise also increases as a result (Suihko, Malmivuo, & Eskola). The conclusion of their work then suggests using electrodes that are as far from each other as possible to achieve optimal quality (Malmivuo & Plonsey, 1995).

Figure 19: The Rush-Discroll model. The sensitivity to the brain region decreases as the electrodes move closer to each other (Malmivuo & Plonsey, 1995)

5.2. Behavior of the EEG Signal

Digital decomposition is performed on the digitalized EEG signal to separate the different EEG waves from for detailed analysis. Digital decomposition could be a simple band-pass filter. However, since these EEG waves overlap in frequency domain, then advanced Fourier and spectral analysis is required. The signal needs to go through 3-level of decomposition (shown in figure below), to successfully extract the waves (Adeli & Ghosh-Dastidar, 2010).

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Figure 20: Summary of the signal decomposition showing how different waves are extracted from the EEG signal (Adeli & Ghosh-Dastidar, 2010).

With the separated EEG wavelets, it is possible to perform diagnostics. Below is a sample wavelet of an actual EEG signal.

Figure 21: An example of a decomposed EEG signal into wavelets (Malmivuo & Plonsey, 1995).

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5.3. Basic Principles of EEG Diagnostics

The EEG signal is related to the consciousness lever of an individual. With increase activity, the signal frequency increases and amplitude decreases. With eyes closed, alpha waves dominate until the person walls asleep, which then results in a decrease of the wave. During REM sleep, the signal frequency increases. In deep sleep, amplitude is high and frequency is low. The signals of these examples are shown below.

Figure 22: EEG signal of an awake, light sleep, REM sleep and deep sleep person along with a person in coma (Malmivuo & Plonsey, 1995).

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6. Risks & Hazards

EEG machines are non-invasive devices and are risk-free. EEG with subdural electrode surprisingly has minimal damage on the brain if the right needle size is selected. In the case of an epilepsy study, the seizure is sometimes intentionally induced. However, these triggers are done under maximum medical care and are very controlled. The EEG amplifiers input is equipped with diodes in order to prevent the voltage to travel backwards, towards the scalp. This is a safety feature and prevents shock to the patient in case of a device malfunction.

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7. Artifacts
Artifacts are signals with high amplitudes and different shapes as compared to the desired biopotential signal. They can either be patient artifacts (unwanted physiological biopotentials), or technical artifacts (power line noise, and interference signals).

7.1.Patient Artifacts
These are the signals that are picked up from the scalp, but are originated from the non-cerebral compartment. Many physiological signals can arise from the patients body. Any body movements, such as blinking the eye, can cause a spike in the EEG signal. EMG (signal from skeletal muscle), and ECG (signal from the heart) can also be picked by the EEG electrode and can contribute to the artifact.

7.2.Technical Artifacts
These are the signals that have originated from the outside of the patients body. Movement by the patient can cause the electrode to move, and create an electrode-skin interference. The electrode impedance can sometimes fluctuate and cause signal distortion. Poor grounding can also cause significant 60Hz artifacts.

7.3.Artifact Correction
To correct the patient artifacts, additional electrodes to monitor eye movement, the EMG and ECG may be required. Recently, using Fourier analysis, signals have been decomposed and the components related to other biopotentials have been weighted out. For the technical artifacts, better grounding, insulation and higher quality electrodes can be used to minimize the noise picked up by the system.

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Conclusion
Electroencephalography belongs to a bioelectrical imaging toolsets used widely in both clinical as well as research environments. EEG machine measures changes in the electrical potentials created as the results of excitation of the postsynaptic neurons. The signal itself is composed of four primarily waves, denoted as alpha, beta, theta, and delta. EEG machine is a non-invasive method to measure the EEG signal (with the rare occasion when subdural electrodes are used) and causes no pain and has minimal risk to the patient. The EEG machine itself consists of an electrode (from either German silver or actual silver) coated with conductive gel, an amplifier with a gain of 1,000 100,000 with an input impedance of at least 100dB, analog high-pass filter to remove low frequency noise with a cutoff frequency centered at 0.1-0.7Hz, analog low-pass filter to band-limit the signal and remove high frequency noise with a cutoff frequency centered at 50Hz to half sampling frequency, at least 12bit A/D convertor, EEG software capable to perform digital filtering and wavelet decomposition to create the required montages. Many believe that EEG machine will lead to a wide range of discoveries in basic brain functionality as well as better understanding of neurological diseases.

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