EEG electrode digitization with commercial virtual reality hardware

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 13; no. 11; p. e0207516
• Main Authors: Cline, Christopher C., Coogan, Christopher, He, Bin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 21.11.2018; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Biology and Life Sciences; Biomedical engineering; Computer and Information Sciences; Computer applications; Digitization; EEG; Electrodes; Electroencephalography; Engineering; Engineering and Technology; Estimates; Hardware; Laboratories; Localization; Medical imaging; Medicine and Health Sciences; Methods; Open source software; Research and Analysis Methods; Science Policy; Sensors; Software development tools; Source code; Virtual reality; United States > US
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207516

Accurate spatial co-registration of EEG electrode positions with individual head models is an important component for EEG source localization and imaging. Due to variations in head shape between individuals, this requires measurements of electrode locations in each individual. Existing hardware for digitization can be accurate, but also relatively expensive. With the goal of making digitization more accessible for a range of research laboratories, we have developed an open-source software tool that can make use of less expensive consumer virtual reality hardware for EEG electrode digitization. Here we describe our developed VRDigitizer system and compare it to existing digitization solutions. Experimental evaluations were performed in a phantom head model and in 12 human subjects. In our comparison experiments, VRDigitizer was able to measure electrode positions with a mean error of 3.74 mm, compared to 1.73 mm and 2.98 mm for the commercial systems tested.