Evaluating portable EEG: a comparison between two wireless systems (EPOC Flex and LiveAmp) and the wired BrainAmp...

Recent advances in equipment miniaturization have led to low-cost, portable electroencephalography (EEG) systems that facilitate data collection in real-world settings and with larger samples. Although wireless EEG systems were originally developed for non-research applications, recent studies have provided valuable information to help researchers make informed choices, particularly about participant comfort, mobility during recordings, and data validity. This study aimed to assess the impact of portability by comparing the performance of portable consumer- and research-grade systems (EPOC Saline Flex, EM; LiveAmp, LA) with fixed research-grade systems (BrainAmp, BA).

Continuous EEG was recorded with each system in healthy adults performing five benchmark tasks in fundamental and clinical cognitive neuroscience. Mental states (alpha power variations in open/closed eyes) and unconscious perception (steady-state visual evoked potential, SSVEP) were analyzed through time/frequency methods, while active (N200 and P300 components during active listening and N170 component during face recognition) and passive cognitive processes (Mismatch negativity, MMN component during passive listening) were examined using time/amplitude analyses (event-related potential, ERPs). Our analyses compared system efficiency at native and equalized sampling rates and examined 100%, 75%, and 50% of the datasets to determine the required trial number for satisfactory signal quality.

Despite the smaller amount of signal retained for EM, all systems recorded the expected resting state alpha power decrease and SSVEP responses, with EM showing lower spectral effects ([EM < (LA≈BA)]). ERPs for active (N170, N200, P300) and passive (MMN) processes emerged across all systems, with EM and LA showing lower amplitudes only for N170 compared to BA. Furthermore, the dataset reduction resulted in a decreased N170 at P7 only for EM ([EM < LA < BA]). EM also exhibited shorter latencies for all ERPs except for MMN.

This study provides concrete guidance for designing EEG experiments in real-world settings, with significant potential for investigating children and vulnerable populations. The efficiency of the three EEG systems is more influenced by task duration than sampling rates. A wireless EEG device, such as the EM, can effectively support both time/frequency and time/amplitude analyses in cognitive science, provided that the number of trials is sufficient and latencies are controlled.