Spatial sampling of head electrical fields: the geodesic sensor net.

Abstract

In studying brain electrical activity from scalp sensors (electrodes), the optimal measurement would sample the potential field over the entire surface of the braincase, with a sufficient density to avoid spatial aliasing of the surface electrical fields. The geodesic sensor net organizes an array of sensors, each enclosed in a saline sponge, in a geodesic tension structure comprised of elastic threads. By fixing a sensor pedestal at each geodesic vertex, the geometry of the tension structure insures insures that the sensor array is distributed evenly across the accessible head surface. Furthermore, the tension of the network is translated into compression that is divided equally among the sensor pedestals and directed along head-radial vectors. Various geodesic partitioning frequencies may be selected to provide an even surface distribution of the dense sensor arrays (e.g., 64, 128, or 256) that appear to be necessary to provide adequate spatial sampling of brain electrical events.