Fast EEG Imaging for High Precision Source Localization in Focal Epilepsy – FASTEEG

Among non-invasive techniques to map and study the brain electric activity, Electroencephalography (EEG) from scalp potentials is one of the primary. EEG imaging is of crucial importance in the electric characterization of epileptic seizures. For patients affected by focal epilepsy, in particular, source characterization and localization is a key step of the pre-surgical protocol that precedes the removal of the patient’s brain area that shows an abnormal electric activity.

The state of the art of EEG neuroimaging will be sensibly advanced by this project. First, new Boundary Element solvers for the direct EEG problem (i.e. predicting the output potential at the electrodes from current sources as inputs) will be investigated. These solvers will combine the benefits of Finite and Boundary Element approaches, currently used in literature, without sharing the their deficiencies. Then, this project will investigate accelerators of the newly developed methods that will provide direct (non-iterative), linear-in-complexity solutions. The new schemes will be interfaced with the most advanced inverse scattering algorithms, obtaining a complete neuroimaging tool. The new scheme will present substantial advantages with respect to the currently available technology in both computational cost and complexity and in imaging resolution. The tool will then be implemented on parallel, high-performance, architectures and this will result in very high definition and potentially real-time EEG tools. Finally, the project will pursue an optimization study (that will be enabled by the project’s newly developed technologies) on the density and placement of both standard and wireless contactless EEG electrodes in the presence of high electrode numbers and very high resolution head models. Both canonical and real case scenarios will be used to show the impact of the newly developed technology on EEG imaging and on medical practice.