Wireless in-ear EEG system for auditory brain-computer interface applications in adolescents

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Biomedical Engineering
• Human-Computer Interaction

Background:

• In-ear electroencephalography (EEG) offers practical advantages for non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) applications.
• Fabrication challenges can limit the accessibility of in-ear EEG systems for BCI use.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop a portable, low-cost, wireless in-ear EEG device using commercially available components.
• To evaluate the performance of the in-ear EEG system compared to scalp-EEG for BCI applications.

Main Methods:

• Developed a wireless in-ear EEG device from commercial components.
• Collected simultaneous in-ear and scalp EEG data from 5 adolescent participants.
• Assessed signal quality during alpha modulation, artifact induction, and auditory word-streaming BCI tasks.

Main Results:

• The in-ear EEG system captured increased alpha activity in 3 of 5 participants (SNR 2.34).
• In-ear EEG was susceptible to head movement and vocalization artifacts but insensitive to blinks.
• BCI decoding of auditory stimuli was successful in only 1 of 5 participants.

Conclusions:

• The developed in-ear EEG system shows potential for capturing brain activity but requires hardware modifications.
• Improvements in signal amplification and electrode-skin impedance measurement are crucial for enhancing in-ear EEG viability in BCI.
• Further research is needed to optimize in-ear EEG for reliable BCI performance.