Over a year ago, Brain Products GmbH, one of the leading manufacturers of hardware and software for neurophysiological research, applied for a US patent for the “actiCAP”, their active electrode cap system for measuring electroencephalography signals (EEG signals). Now the approval process has moved on to the next and final phase.
“Patents are only granted for genuine innovations that solve a problem in a totally new way. The imminent US patent approval for the actiCAP will make clear that it is entirely different from all other EEG caps available on the market,” says Alexander Svojanovsky, General Manager of Brain Products GmbH. “The actiCAP offers our customers numerous advantages and allows them to carry out their research experiments time- and cost-efficiently, whether in the lab or in the field.”
The actiCAP combines active electrodes with a new type of integrated impedance converter (“noise subtraction circuits”), which allows it to transmit the EEG signal with significantly lower levels of noise than traditional active electrode systems. The quality of the impedance measurement is also shown by the LEDs incorporated in the electrodes. If the contact between the electrode and the scalp is not good enough to successfully record EEG signals, the corresponding LED lights up in red. If the contact is good, this indicated a low impedance and the LED lights up in green. The unique design of the technology integrated in the electrodes was developed by Brain Products and also significantly reduces the virtually unavoidable interference in the EEG data caused by external factors (movement and environment artifacts). Bernd Picht, Head of the Brain Products Development department sums up: “it is the interaction of all these components that ensures that our customers obtain extremely high quality data when acquiring EEGs with the actiCAP.”
With most of the alternative solutions currently available on the market, users must reckon with a long preparation time with the test subject and with the cap before the impedances reach values that allow high quality EEG date to be acquired.
The version of the actiCAP that has been submitted for patent approval has been in production at Brain Products GmbH since the summer of 2008 and is distributed globally through a network of dealers. The active electrode system is already in use with more than 200 customers – and the number is rising.
“Patents are only granted for genuine innovations that solve a problem in a totally new way. The imminent US patent approval for the actiCAP will make clear that it is entirely different from all other EEG caps available on the market,” says Alexander Svojanovsky, General Manager of Brain Products GmbH. “The actiCAP offers our customers numerous advantages and allows them to carry out their research experiments time- and cost-efficiently, whether in the lab or in the field.”
The actiCAP combines active electrodes with a new type of integrated impedance converter (“noise subtraction circuits”), which allows it to transmit the EEG signal with significantly lower levels of noise than traditional active electrode systems. The quality of the impedance measurement is also shown by the LEDs incorporated in the electrodes. If the contact between the electrode and the scalp is not good enough to successfully record EEG signals, the corresponding LED lights up in red. If the contact is good, this indicated a low impedance and the LED lights up in green. The unique design of the technology integrated in the electrodes was developed by Brain Products and also significantly reduces the virtually unavoidable interference in the EEG data caused by external factors (movement and environment artifacts). Bernd Picht, Head of the Brain Products Development department sums up: “it is the interaction of all these components that ensures that our customers obtain extremely high quality data when acquiring EEGs with the actiCAP.”
With most of the alternative solutions currently available on the market, users must reckon with a long preparation time with the test subject and with the cap before the impedances reach values that allow high quality EEG date to be acquired.
The version of the actiCAP that has been submitted for patent approval has been in production at Brain Products GmbH since the summer of 2008 and is distributed globally through a network of dealers. The active electrode system is already in use with more than 200 customers – and the number is rising.
