Multi-Center Evaluation of Gel-Based and Dry Multipin EEG Caps
Chuen Rue Ng,
Patrique Fiedler,
Levin Kuhlmann,
David Liley,
Beatriz Vasconcelos,
Carlos Fonseca,
Gabriella Tamburro,
Silvia Comani,
Troby Ka-Yan Lui,
Chun-Yu Tse,
Indhika Fauzhan Warsito,
Eko Supriyanto,
Jens Haueisen
Affiliations
Chuen Rue Ng
Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics, Technische Universität Ilmenau, 98693 Ilmenau, Germany
Patrique Fiedler
Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics, Technische Universität Ilmenau, 98693 Ilmenau, Germany
Levin Kuhlmann
Faculty of Information Technology, Monash University, Building 63, 25 Exhibition Walk, Clayton, VIC 3800, Australia
David Liley
Brain and Psychological Sciences Research Centre, Swinburne University of Technology, P.O. Box 218, Hawthorn, VIC 3122, Australia
Beatriz Vasconcelos
Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Carlos Fonseca
Faculdade de Engenharia, Universidade do Porto, Rua Dr. Roberto Frias, s/n, 4200-465 Porto, Portugal
Gabriella Tamburro
BIND-Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti–Pescara, Via Luigi Polacchi, 11, 66100 Chieti, Italy
Silvia Comani
BIND-Behavioral Imaging and Neural Dynamics Center, University “G. d’Annunzio” of Chieti–Pescara, Via Luigi Polacchi, 11, 66100 Chieti, Italy
Troby Ka-Yan Lui
Department of Psychology, University of Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, 23562 Lübeck, Germany
Chun-Yu Tse
Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Indhika Fauzhan Warsito
Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics, Technische Universität Ilmenau, 98693 Ilmenau, Germany
Eko Supriyanto
IJN-UTM Cardiovascular Engineering Centre, School of Biomedical Engineering & Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Johor Bahru 81300, Malaysia
Jens Haueisen
Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Informatics, Technische Universität Ilmenau, 98693 Ilmenau, Germany
Dry electrodes for electroencephalography (EEG) allow new fields of application, including telemedicine, mobile EEG, emergency EEG, and long-term repetitive measurements for research, neurofeedback, or brain–computer interfaces. Different dry electrode technologies have been proposed and validated in comparison to conventional gel-based electrodes. Most previous studies have been performed at a single center and by single operators. We conducted a multi-center and multi-operator study validating multipin dry electrodes to study the reproducibility and generalizability of their performance in different environments and for different operators. Moreover, we aimed to study the interrelation of operator experience, preparation time, and wearing comfort on the EEG signal quality. EEG acquisitions using dry and gel-based EEG caps were carried out in 6 different countries with 115 volunteers, recording electrode-skin impedances, resting state EEG and evoked activity. The dry cap showed average channel reliability of 81% but higher average impedances than the gel-based cap. However, the dry EEG caps required 62% less preparation time. No statistical differences were observed between the gel-based and dry EEG signal characteristics in all signal metrics. We conclude that the performance of the dry multipin electrodes is highly reproducible, whereas the primary influences on channel reliability and signal quality are operator skill and experience.
