EEG Data Display With Overlapping Epoch Stitching

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Solution Overview

Problem

Current EEG data presentation techniques fail to accurately distinguish between true brain activity and artifacts, requiring expert assessment and are difficult to analyze due to misplaced axes, overlapping channels, and discontinuities in processed reports.

Innovation Solution

An EEG system and method that overlays a processed EEG report over a raw EEG report, using blind source separation algorithms and weighted averaging to combine overlapping epochs, ensuring continuous and artifact-free data display without discontinuities.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Measurement precision

If artifact reduction algorithms are applied to EEG data, then the ability to distinguish true brain activity from artifacts is improved, but discontinuities and misalignments are introduced in the processed report

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveability to distinguish brain activity from artifactsVSAvoidcontinuity of EEG report

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

The EEG signal is divided into multiple epochs (time segments) for processing. Each epoch is independently processed through artifact reduction algorithms, allowing precise artifact removal in each segment while maintaining overall continuity through proper reassembly of the segmented epochs with their associated timestamps and channel identifiers.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

2Measurement precision

If processed EEG report is displayed separately from raw EEG report, then artifact removal effectiveness is improved, but analysis difficulty increases due to misplaced axes and overlapping channels

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveartifact removal effectivenessVSAvoidanalysis difficulty

Core Design Contradiction:

Measurement precisionVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The processed EEG report and raw EEG report are merged into a single integrated display. The system overlays or juxtaposes the artifact-reduced processed epochs with the original raw epochs, maintaining aligned axes, consistent channel ordering, and synchronized timestamps. This integration allows clinicians to simultaneously compare artifact removal effectiveness while maintaining ease of analysis through unified visualization with matching coordinate systems and channel layouts.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #5Merging (Combining)

3Productivity

If epochs are processed independently through artifact reduction, then processing efficiency is improved, but discontinuities are introduced at epoch boundaries

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveprocessing efficiencyVSAvoidcontinuity at epoch boundaries

Core Design Contradiction:

ProductivityVSStability of the object's composition

Solution Approach 1:

Timestamps and metadata are assigned to each epoch during the initial segmentation phase, before artifact reduction processing. This preliminary tagging with temporal identifiers allows epochs to be independently processed for efficiency while ensuring correct sequential reassembly. The preliminary action of tagging preserves the temporal sequence information needed to maintain continuity at boundaries during post-processing reassembly.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #10Preliminary action

Data Source

PatentUS8666484B2Method and system for displaying EEG data

Publication Date: 2014.03.04 PERSYST DEVELOPMENT CORP

AI summary

A method and system for displaying EEG data is disclosed herein. A plurality of epochs are stitched together with an overlapping section in order to present a continuous EEG recording. Artifact reduction is performed on the epochs and then the epochs are combined together with overlapping sections of preferably two to four seconds.