Categorisation of Mobile EEG: A Researcher's Perspective

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering
• Research Methodology

Background:

• Electroencephalography (EEG) is increasingly being used outside traditional laboratory settings.
• The term "mobile EEG" is ambiguous, lacking standardized parameters for device mobility, participant mobility, and system specifications.
• This ambiguity hinders direct comparisons and clear understanding across different mobile EEG studies.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a quantitative and standardized scheme for categorizing mobile electroencephalography (EEG) studies.
• To address the ambiguity surrounding the term "mobile EEG" by defining clear parameters.
• To enable researchers to systematically quantify and compare different mobile EEG investigations.

Main Methods:

• Development of the Categorisation of Mobile EEG (CoME) scheme.
• The CoME scheme quantifies four parameters: device mobility (D), participant mobility (P), system specification (S), and number of channels (C).
• Application of the CoME scheme to twenty-nine published mobile EEG studies to demonstrate its utility.

Main Results:

• The CoME scheme provides a standardized scoring system for mobile EEG research.
• Scores for device mobility ranged from 0D to 4D, participant mobility from 0P to 4P, and system specification from 6S to 17S across the analyzed studies.
• The scoring format (e.g., (2D, 4P, 17S, 32C)) facilitates direct comparison of study parameters.

Conclusions:

• The developed CoME scheme offers a robust method for quantifying and standardizing mobile EEG research.
• This standardization is crucial for improving the clarity, comparability, and reproducibility of studies involving EEG in diverse environments.
• The CoME scheme empowers researchers to precisely define and communicate the specifics of their mobile EEG setups.