Flex-printed forehead EEG sensors (fEEGrid) for long-term EEG acquisition

Abstract

Abstract Objective. In this report we present the fEEGrid, an electrode array applied to the forehead that allows convenient long-term recordings of electroencephalography (EEG) signals over many hours. Approach. Twenty young, healthy participants wore the fEEGrid and completed traditional EEG paradigms in two sessions on the same day. The sessions were eight hours apart, participants performed the same tasks in an early and a late session. For the late session fEEGrid data were concurrently recorded with traditional cap EEG data. Main results. Our analyses show that typical event-related potentials responses were captured reliably by the fEEGrid. Single-trial analyses revealed that classification was possible above chance level for auditory and tactile oddball paradigms. We also found that the signal quality remained high and impedances did not deteriorate, but instead improved over the course of the day. Regarding wearing comfort, all participants indicated that the fEEGrid was comfortable to wear and did not cause any pain even after 8 h of wearing it. Significance. We show in this report, that high quality EEG signals can be captured with the fEEGrid reliably, even in long-term recording scenarios and with a signal quality that may be considered suitable for online brain-computer Interface applications.