title: Evaluation of Dry Sensors for Neonatal EEG Recordings.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Neonatal seizures are a common neurologic diagnosis in neonatal intensive care units, occurring in approximately 14,000 newborns annually in the United States. Although the only reliable means of detecting and treating neonatal seizures is with an electroencephalography (EEG) recording, many neonates do not receive an EEG or experience delays in getting them. Barriers to obtaining neonatal EEGs include (1) lack of skilled EEG technologists to apply conventional wet electrodes to delicate neonatal skin, (2) poor signal quality because of improper skin preparation and artifact, and (3) extensive time needed to apply electrodes. Dry sensors have the potential to overcome these obstacles but have not previously been evaluated on neonates.
  
  
  METHODS
  Sequential and simultaneous recordings with wet and dry sensors were performed for 1 hour on 27 neonates from 35 to 42.5 weeks postmenstrual age. Recordings were analyzed for correlation and amplitude and were reviewed by neurophysiologists. Performance of dry sensors on simulated vernix was examined.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Analysis of dry and wet signals showed good time-domain correlation (reaching >0.8), given the nonsuperimposed sensor positions and similar power spectral density curves. Neurophysiologist reviews showed no statistically significant difference between dry and wet data on most clinically relevant EEG background and seizure patterns. There was no skin injury after 1 hour of dry sensor recordings. In contrast to wet electrodes, impedance and electrical artifact of dry sensors were largely unaffected by simulated vernix.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Dry sensors evaluated in this study have the potential to provide high-quality, timely EEG recordings on neonates with less risk of skin injury.
authors.affiliation: *Quantum Applied Science and Research, Inc (QUASAR), San Diego, California, U.S.A.; †Department of Neonatology, La Paz University Hospital, Madrid, Spain; and Departments of ‡Neonatology and §Neurology, Children's National Health System, Washington, District of Columbia, U.S.A.
authors.forename: Igor
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Fridman
authors.forename: Malaika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cordeiro
authors.forename: Khodayar
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rais-Bahrami
authors.forename: Neil J
authors.initials: NJ
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.forename: James J
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Reese
authors.forename: An N
authors.initials: AN
authors.lastname: Massaro
authors.forename: Joan A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Conry
authors.forename: Taeun
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Walid
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Soussou
authors.forename: Tammy N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Tsuchida
mesh_terms: D004566:Electrodes; D004569:Electroencephalography / Q000295:instrumentation*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D008297:Male; D012640:Seizures / Q000175:diagnosis*