Dipole localization using beamforming and RAP-MUSIC on simulated intracerebral recordings

Interpreting intracerebral recordings in the search of an epileptic focus can be difficult because the amplitude of the potentials are misleading. Small generators located near the electrode site generate large potentials, which could swamp the signal of a nearby epileptic focus. In order to address this problem, two inverse problem algorithms, beamforming and recursively applied and projected multiple signal classification (RAP-MUSIC), were used with simulated intracerebral potentials to calculate equivalent dipole positions. Three dipoles were positioned in an infinite plane medium near three intracerebral electrodes. The potentials generated by the dipoles were simulated and contaminated with white noise. Initial localization simulations showed that both methods detected the sources accurately with RAP-MUSIC reporting lower orientation errors. A spatial resolution analysis for both methods was undertaken in which two dipoles were placed on a plane with the same orientation and overlapping time-courses. Beamforming was able to adequately distinguish the sources for separation distances of 1.2 cm, whereas RAP-MUSIC managed to separate the sources for dipoles as close as 0.4-0.6 cm.