The smartphone brain scanner: a portable real-time neuroimaging system

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering
• Mobile Health

Background:

• Traditional electroencephalography (EEG) requires specialized lab equipment.
• Portable EEG solutions are emerging for broader applications.
• Integrating consumer electronics with neuroimaging offers new possibilities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To present the technical details and validation of a portable framework for multi-platform EEG applications.
• To enable real-time 3D source reconstruction of brain activity using smartphones.
• To explore the feasibility of mobile brain imaging in everyday contexts.

Main Methods:

• Development of the "Smartphone Brain Scanner" system, integrating off-the-shelf wireless EEG sensors with smartphones/tablets.
• Implementation of a framework for real-time 3D EEG source reconstruction.
• Validation using a simple experiment involving imagined finger tapping.

Main Results:

• The system represents the first fully portable solution for real-time 3D EEG imaging.
• Acquired EEG signals during imagined finger tapping showed similarity to standard lab equipment.
• Signal quality in the mobile solution is lower than high-density EEG but shows promise.

Conclusions:

• Mobile EEG applications using smartphones offer novel opportunities for neuroimaging in natural settings.
• While signal quality has limitations, mobile development can overcome disadvantages.
• The Smartphone Brain Scanner facilitates accessible and context-rich brain activity studies.