The In-the-Ear Recording Concept: User-Centered and Wearable Brain Monitoring

• Published in: IEEE pulse Vol. 3; no. 6; pp. 32 - 42
• Main Authors: Looney, D., Kidmose, P., Cheolsoo Park, Ungstrup, M., Rank, M. L., Rosenkranz, K., Mandic, D. P.
• Format: Magazine Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States IEEE 01.11.2012; The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. (IEEE)
• Subjects: Biomedical monitoring; Biosensors; Brain - physiology; Ear; Electroencephalography; Electroencephalography - instrumentation; Electroencephalography - methods; Humans; Monitoring, Physiologic - instrumentation; Monitoring, Physiologic - methods; Natural environment; Wearable computers
• ISSN: 2154-2287; 2154-2317
• DOI: 10.1109/MPUL.2012.2216717

The integration of brain monitoring based on electroencephalography (EEG) into everyday life has been hindered by the limited portability and long setup time of current wearable systems as well as by the invasiveness of implanted systems (e.g. intracranial EEG). We explore the potential to record EEG in the ear canal, leading to a discreet, unobtrusive, and user-centered approach to brain monitoring. The in-the-ear EEG (Ear-EEG) recording concept is tested using several standard EEG paradigms, benchmarked against standard onscalp EEG, and its feasibility proven. Such a system promises a number of advantages, including fixed electrode positions, user comfort, robustness to electromagnetic interference, feedback to the user, and ease of use. The Ear-EEG platform could also support additional biosensors, extending its reach beyond EEG to provide a powerful health-monitoring system for those applications that require long recording periods in a natural environment.