Development and Validation of an Affordable Wearable Multichannel EEG System With Active Electrodes and Innovative Flexible Headbands

Abstract

The growing interest in electroencephalography (EEG) research has highlighted the need for low-cost, wearable EEG acquisition systems. The high cost of commercially available EEG equipment poses a significant challenge to the widespread adoption of these systems and, consequently, to the advancement of potential real-world applications. This paper presents the design of a low-cost, wearable, 4-channel EEG acquisition system. The solution is based on the ADS1299, a 24-bit analog front-end optimized for biomedical signal acquisition. Control and Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) communication are handled by a CC2650 BLE-enabled microcontroller. Active wet electrodes are employed, each fitted with a preamplification board. The electrodes are affixed to elastic bands using 3D-printed parts designed to facilitate rapid and straightforward electrode placement. An additional reference electrode is placed in an ear-clip. The headbands allow for the precise positioning of the electrodes at various strategic points on the scalp, adhering to the 10-10 system, thus making it adaptable to a wide range of applications. To evaluate the viability of our design, EEG signals from ten healthy subjects were registered and compared to commercial equipment. Our design demonstrated signal quality comparable to reference EEG equipment, while drastically reducing the cost and enhancing usability for practical applications.