A general-purpose automatic multichannel electronic switch for EEG artifact elimination.

Abstract

A general-purpose automatic multichannel electronic switch is described for eliminating artifact from EEG recordings. Although primarily intended for computer processing of EEG data, the device may on occasion be useful in clinical EEG (e.g., during electro-cautery). The switch is activated from a separate artifact-monitoring channel of the electroencephalograph (e.g., accelerometrically monitored head movement, electro-oculographically monitored eye movements or blinks), or from an EEG channel itself, if the artifact in the latter is very marked. Optionally, a sine wave can replace the EEG during the artifact period, and a separate output signal (e.g., for interrupting computer processing) is available for indicating the occurrence of artifact.