an electric Contrast medium for computationally intensive Electroencephalographies for high REsolution BRain imaging withOut skull trepanation

Introduction

Imaging the brain activity is fundamentally important for many brain-related scientific disciplines. Among the non-invasive neuroimaging strategies, Electroencephalography (EEG) from scalp potentials is one of the primary methods.

EEG Measurement

In EEG, the neuron-induced electric potential is measured by using electrodes on the patient's scalp. However, the skull, which is highly resistive, shields EEG recordings, limiting the spatial resolution.

Invasive Alternatives

The standard way to avoid skull shielding effects is to invasively implant EEG electrodes under the skull (ECoG) or in the brain cortex (StereoEEG), in both cases after trepanning the patient's skull.

Comparison of Methods

• Scalp EEGs:

  • Non-invasive
  • Lack spatial imaging accuracy

• ECoG and StereoEEG:

  • Highly accurate
  • Require skull trepanation
  • Image only a limited part of the brain

Challenge and Objective

There is a need for increasing the resolution of scalp EEG to provide the same level of accuracy as invasive EEGs. This will be the grand challenge which CEREBRO will achieve by conceiving the first-ever existing EEG contrast medium, able to provide imaging of the entire brain in a non-invasive way.