Abstract
Combining low-cost wireless EEG sensors with smartphones offers novel opportunities for mobile brain imaging in an everyday context. Here we present the technical details and validation of a framework for building multi-platform, portable EEG applications with real-time 3D source reconstruction. The system – Smartphone Brain Scanner – combines an off-the-shelf neuroheadset or EEG cap with a smartphone or tablet, and as such represents the first fully portable system for real-time 3D EEG imaging. We discuss the benefits and challenges, including technical limitations as well as details of real-time reconstruction of 3D images of brain activity. We present examples of brain activity captured in a simple experiment involving imagined finger tapping, which shows that the acquired signal in a relevant brain region is similar to that obtained with standard EEG lab equipment. Although the quality of the signal in a mobile solution using an off-the-shelf consumer neuroheadset is lower than the signal obtained using high-density standard EEG equipment, we propose mobile application development may offset the disadvantages and provide completely new opportunities for neuroimaging in natural settings.
Highlights
In the last few years, the research communities studying human behavior have gained access to unprecedented computational and sensing power that basically ‘‘fits into a pocket’’
We present our work on the Smartphone Brain Scanner, investigate the feasibility of off-the-shelf, consumer-grade equipment in a neuroscience context, and build a mobile real-time platform for stimulus delivery, data acquisition, and processing with a focus on real-time imaging of brain activity
In particular we report on the results of a validation experiment comparing the system with a conventional EEG acquisition system in a prototypical application
Summary
In the last few years, the research communities studying human behavior have gained access to unprecedented computational and sensing power that basically ‘‘fits into a pocket’’. This has happened for both specialized equipment used for building research tools, such as Reality Mining Badges [1] or accelerometer sensors [2], and for consumer-grade, off-the-shelf devices. Smartphones and tablets are capable of sensing, processing, transmitting, and presenting information This has already had a significant impact on many research domains, such as social science [3], computer-human interaction [4], and mobile sensing [5,6]. We present our work on the Smartphone Brain Scanner, investigate the feasibility of off-the-shelf, consumer-grade equipment in a neuroscience context, and build a mobile real-time platform for stimulus delivery, data acquisition, and processing with a focus on real-time imaging of brain activity
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