title: Bluetooth Communication Interface for EEG Signal Recording in Hyperbaric Chambers.
abstract: Recording biological signals inside a hyperbaric chamber poses technical challenges (the steel walls enclosing it greatly attenuate or completely block the signals as in a Faraday cage), practical (lengthy cables creating eddy currents), and safety (sparks hazard from power supply to the electronic apparatus inside the chamber) which can be overcome with new wireless technologies. In this technical report we present the design and implementation of a Bluetooth system for electroencephalographic (EEG) recording inside a hyperbaric chamber and describe the feasibility of EEG signal transmission outside the chamber. Differently from older systems, this technology allows the online recording of amplified signals, without interference from eddy currents. In an application of this technology, we measured EEG activity in professional divers under three experimental conditions in a hyperbaric chamber to determine how oxygen, assumed at a constant hyperbaric pressure of 2.8 ATA , affects the bioelectrical activity. The EEG spectral power estimated by fast Fourier transform and the cortical sources of the EEG rhythms estimated by low-resolution brain electromagnetic analysis were analyzed in three different EEG acquisitions: breathing air at sea level; breathing oxygen at a simulated depth of 18 msw, and breathing air at sea level after decompression.
authors.forename: Lucio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Pastena
authors.forename: Emanuela
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Formaggio
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Faralli
authors.forename: Massimo
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Melucci
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rossi
authors.forename: Riccardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gagliardi
authors.forename: Lucio
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Ricciardi
authors.forename: Silvia F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Storti
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001273:Atmosphere Exposure Chambers; D003664:Decompression; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000187:drug effects / Q000295:instrumentation*; D055724:Electrophysiological Phenomena; D004867:Equipment Design; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D006801:Humans; D006931:Hyperbaric Oxygenation / Q000295:instrumentation*; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009862:Online Systems; D010100:Oxygen / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000633:toxicity; D012119:Respiration; D059015:Wireless Technology
chemical_list: D010100:Oxygen