Systems and methods to gather and analyze electroencephalographic data

• US 10,842,403 B2
• Filed: 02/16/2016
• Issued: 11/24/2020
• Est. Priority Date: 08/17/2012
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Nielsen Consumer LLC (Nielsen Holdings plc)
• Original Assignee: The Nielsen Company LLC (MOOD Media Corporation)
• Inventors: Badower, Yakob, Gurumoorthy, Ramachandran, Pradeep, A. K., Knight, Robert T.
• Primary Examiner(s): Gebremichael, Bruk A
• Application Number:
  US15/044,488
• Publication Number:
  US 20160166169A1
• Time in Patent Office: 1,743 Days
• Field of Search: None
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/02 Details of sensors specially adapted for in-vivo measurements
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0209 Special features of electrodes classified in A61B5/24, A61B5/25, A61B5/283, A61B5/291, A61B5/296, A61B5/053
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/0215 Silver or silver chloride containing
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/164 the sensor is mounted in or on a conformable substrate or carrier
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2562/182 Electrical shielding, e.g. using a Faraday cage
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 2576/026 for the brain
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/0006 ECG or EEG signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/163 by tracking eye movement, gaze, or pupil change
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/165 Evaluating the state of mind, e.g. depression, anxiety
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/291 for electroencephalography [EEG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/307 specially adapted for particular uses
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/31 for electroencephalography [EEG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/316 Modalities, i.e. specific diagnostic methods
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/332 Portable devices specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/333 Recording apparatus specially adapted therefor
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/347 Detecting the frequency distribution of signals
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/369 Electroencephalography [EEG] devices for psychotechnics A61B5/16
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/37 Intracranial electroencephalography [IC-EEG], e.g. electrocorticography [ECoG]
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/372 Analysis of electroencephalograms
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/374 Detecting the frequency distribution of signals, e.g. detecting delta, theta, alpha, beta or gamma waves
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/68 : Arrangements of detecting, measuring or recording means, e.g. sensors, in relation to patient
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6801 : specially adapted to be attached to or worn on the body surface
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6802 : Sensor mounted on worn items
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6803 : Head-worn items, e.g. helmets, masks, headphones or goggles
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6813 : Specially adapted to be attached to a specific body part A61B5/6802 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6814 : Head
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/6843 : Monitoring or controlling sensor contact pressure
• CPC Class Codes: A61B 5/7203 : for noise prevention, reduction or removal

Abstract

Example methods are disclosed herein that include obtaining electroencephalographic (EEG) data from a subject via a device comprising two or more independently adjustable bands, each of the bands having a plurality of electrodes to detect the electroencephalographic data from a brain of the subject, each band selectively rotatable relative to an adjacent band and each band selectively compressible to increase a force of the electrodes against a head of the subject. The example method also includes converting the EEG data into digital EEG signals and conditioning the digital EEG signals. In addition, the example method includes analyzing the digital EEG signals using one or more analysis protocols to determine a mental characteristic of the subject and transmitting the mental characteristic to an output device.

Claims

1. A method of increasing a quality of a signal gathered by electrodes of a headset worn by a subject while maintaining the electrodes in a same physical location relative to a head of the subject, the method comprising:

evaluating, by executing an instruction with a processor coupled to the headset, a first value of a property of a first neurological signal detected via a first electrode of the headset;

determining, by executing an instruction with the processor, the first neurological signal complies with a quality threshold based on the first value of the property;

evaluating, by executing an instruction with the processor, a second value of the property of a second neurological signal detected via a second electrode;

determining, by executing an instruction with the processor, the second neurological signal does not comply with the quality threshold based on the second value of the property;

conditioning, by executing an instruction with the processor, in response to the determining that the second neurological signal does not comply with the quality threshold, the second neurological signal to obtain a third neurological signal;

evaluating, by executing an instruction with the processor, a third value of the property of the third neurological signal;

determining, by executing an instruction with the processor, the third neurological signal does not comply with the quality threshold based on the third value of the property; and

activating a switch, by executing an instruction with the processor, based on the determining that the third neurological signal does not comply with the quality threshold, the activating of the switch to electrically connect the second electrode to the first electrode, wherein the activating of the switch virtually relocates a signal gathering position of the first and second electrodes while maintaining the first and second electrodes in the same physical position relative to the head of the subject.

2. The method of claim 1, wherein the property includes at least one of a strength, an amplitude, a signal-to-noise ratio or a duration of the first, second, and third neurological signals.

3. The method of claim 1, wherein the quality threshold includes an absolute threshold, a spectral threshold, a ramp-rate threshold or a low-activity threshold.

4. The method of claim 1, wherein the conditioning includes at least one of amplifying or filtering the second neurological signal.

5. A tangible computer readable medium disposed in a headset to be worn on a head of a subject, the tangible computer readable medium comprising instructions that, when executed, cause a machine to at least:

evaluate a first value of a property of a first neurological signal gathered by the headset from a brain of the subject, the first neurological signal detected by a first input channel of a sensor of the headset;

determine the first neurological signal complies with a quality threshold based on the first value of the property;

evaluate a second value of the property of a second neurological signal gathered by the headset from the brain of the subject, the second neurological signal detected via a second input channel of the sensor;

determine the second neurological signal does not comply with the quality threshold based on the second value of the property; and

in response to the second neurological signal not complying with the quality threshold;

condition the second neurological signal to obtain a third neurological signal;

evaluate a third value of the property of the third neurological signal;

determine the third neurological signal does not comply with the quality threshold based on the third value of the property; and

activate a switch based on the third neurological signal not complying with the quality threshold to electrically connect the second input channel with the first input channel and virtually relocate a signal gathering position of the sensor without changing a physical position of the sensor relative to the head of the subject.

6. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein the property includes at least one of a strength, an amplitude, a signal-to-noise ratio or a duration of the first, second, and third neurological signals.

7. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein the quality threshold includes an absolute threshold, a spectral threshold, a ramp-rate threshold or a low-activity threshold.

8. The tangible computer readable medium of claim 5, wherein the instructions further cause the machine to at least one of amplify or filter the second neurological signal to condition the second neurological signal.

9. A system comprising:

a headset to gather a first neurological signal via a first sensor and a second neurological signal via a second sensor from a brain of a subject;

a switch to selectively create a conductive path between the first sensor and the second sensor;

an evaluator to;

determine the first neurological signal complies with a quality threshold based on a first value of a property of the first neurological signal; and

determine the second neurological signal does not comply with the quality threshold based on a second value of a property of the second neurological signal;

a conditioner to, in response to the evaluator determining the second neurological signal does not comply with the quality threshold, condition the second neurological signal to obtain a third neurological signal;

the evaluator further to determine the third neurological signal does not comply with the quality threshold based on a third value of a property of the third neurological signal; and

a selector to activate the switch to create the conductive path between the second sensor and the first sensor based on the third neurological signal not complying with the quality threshold and to virtually relocate a signal gathering position of the first and second sensors while maintaining the first and second sensors in a same physical position relative to a head of the subject, wherein the evaluator, the conditioner, and the selector are within the headset.

10. The system of claim 9, wherein the property includes at least one of a strength, an amplitude, a signal-to-noise ratio or a duration of the first, second, and third neurological signals.

11. The system of claim 9, wherein the quality threshold includes an absolute threshold, a spectral threshold, a ramp-rate threshold or a low-activity threshold.

12. The system of claim 9, wherein the conditioner is to condition the second neurological signal by at least one of amplifying or filtering the second neurological signal.

13. The system of claim 9, wherein the headset is to gather a fourth neurological signal via a third sensor and a fifth neurological signal via a fourth sensor, the third sensor and the fourth sensor electrically coupled in fixedly parallel relationship.

14. The system of claim 13, wherein the first sensor and the second sensor form a first subset of electrodes and the third sensor and the fourth sensor form a second subset of electrodes, the selector to average one or more of the first neurological signal or the second neurological signal with one or more of the fourth neurological signal or the fifth neurological signal.

15. The system of claim 9, wherein the first neurological signal is a first electroencephalographic (EEG) signal, the first sensor includes a first electrode, the second neurological signal is a second EEG signal, and the second sensor includes a second electrode.