title: Evaluation of Different EEG Acquisition Systems Concerning Their Suitability for Building a Brain-Computer Interface: Case Studies.
abstract: One important aspect in non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) research is to acquire the electroencephalogram (EEG) in a proper way. From an end-user perspective, it means with maximum comfort and without any extra inconveniences (e.g., washing the hair), whereas from a technical perspective, the signal quality has to be optimal to make the BCI work effectively and efficiently. In this work, we evaluated three different commercially available EEG acquisition systems that differ in the type of electrodes (gel-, water-, and dry-based), the amplifier technique, and the data transmission method. Every system was tested regarding three different aspects, namely, technical, BCI effectiveness and efficiency (P300 communication and control), and user satisfaction (comfort). We found that water-based system had the lowest short circuit noise level, the hydrogel-based system had the highest P300 spelling accuracies, and the dry electrode-based system caused the least inconveniences. Therefore, building a reliable BCI is possible with all the evaluated systems, and it is on the user to decide which system meets the given requirements best.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neural Engineering, Graz University of Technology Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Andreas
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pinegger
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neural Engineering, Graz University of Technology Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Selina C
authors.initials: SC
authors.lastname: Wriessnegger
authors.affiliation: Laboratory for Intelligent Imaging and Neural Computing, Columbia University in the City of New York New York, NY, USA.
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Faller
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neural Engineering, Graz University of Technology Graz, Austria.
authors.forename: Gernot R
authors.initials: GR
authors.lastname: Müller-Putz
keywords: P300; brain–computer interface; dry electrodes; electrode test; gel electrodes; practical electrodes; water-based electrodes