Quantifying Physiological Biomarkers of a Microwave Brain Stimulation Device

• Published in: Sensors (Basel, Switzerland) Vol. 21; no. 5; p. 1896
• Main Authors: Hussain, Iqram, Young, Seo, Kim, Chang Ho, Benjamin, Ho Chee Meng, Park, Se Jin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 08.03.2021; MDPI
• Subjects: Adult; Antennas; Biomarkers; Brain; Brain research; cognitive workload; Computer & video games; Data analysis; Disease; Electrocardiography; Electrodes; Electroencephalography; Electromagnetism; Experiments; Female; Heart Rate; Humans; Male; Mental disorders; Methods; microwave brain stimulation; Microwaves; Nervous system; Neurological disorders; physiological biomarker; Physiology; Portable equipment; Stimulation; Transcranial magnetic stimulation; wearable bioelectronic medicine; Workload; cognitive workload; wearable bioelectronic medicine; physiological biomarker; microwave brain stimulation
• ISSN: 1424-8220; 1424-8220
• DOI: 10.3390/s21051896

Physiological signals are immediate and sensitive to neural and cardiovascular change resulting from brain stimulation, and are considered as a quantifying tool with which to evaluate the association between brain stimulation and cognitive performance. Brain stimulation outside a highly equipped, clinical setting requires the use of a low-cost, ambulatory miniature system. The purpose of this double-blind, randomized, sham-controlled study is to quantify the physiological biomarkers of the neural and cardiovascular systems induced by a microwave brain stimulation (MBS) device. We investigated the effect of an active MBS and a sham device on the cardiovascular and neurological responses of ten volunteers (mean age 26.33 years, 70% male). Electroencephalography (EEG) and electrocardiography (ECG) were recorded in the initial resting-state, intermediate state, and the final state at half-hour intervals using a portable sensing device. During the experiment, the participants were engaged in a cognitive workload. In the active MBS group, the power of high-alpha, high-beta, and low-beta bands in the EEG increased, and the power of low-alpha and theta waves decreased, relative to the sham group. RR Interval and QRS interval showed a significant association with MBS stimulation. Heart rate variability features showed no significant difference between the two groups. A wearable MBS modality may be feasible for use in biomedical research; the MBS can modulate the neurological and cardiovascular responses to cognitive workload.