Low-cost portable EEG device for bridging the diagnostic gap in resource-limited areas

Objective

To develop a low-cost portable EEG system, with real-time automated guidance, for application in resource-limited areas, to bridge the diagnostic and treatment gap.

Methods

We designed, developed, and produced a low-cost system, which records 27-channel EEG plus ECG and streams the signals to an application on a smartphone, which assesses the quality of the signal and gives feedback to the inexperienced user to correct the poor quality signals and reduce artifacts. The application guides the inexperienced user through the steps of recording routine clinical EEG. The recordings are uploaded to a secure cloud, for telemedicine applications. We recruited 10 participants without prior experience with recording EEG. After a brief training session, the participants recorded EEGs following the guidance from the app, without help from human experts. We assessed the usability of the system, with the System Usability Scale (SUS), and we evaluated the impedances and signal quality of the test EEGs recorded by the inexperienced users.

Results

All users completed the test EEG recordings, and none of the recordings were of insufficient quality for clinical use. The SUS score was 90.3 ± 6.8, and the average quality rating was 8.04.

Significance

The low-cost, portable EEG system, which uses automated, real-time guidance for conducting EEG recordings, enables inexperienced users to record EEGs of a quality sufficient for clinical applications. This system has the potential to provide EEG services in resource-limited areas, and thereby help bridge the diagnostic and therapeutic gap.