Head-Mountable EEG Device for Objective mTBI Diagnosis
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current methods for diagnosing mild Traumatic Brain Injury (mTBI) are subjective and unreliable, leading to potential errors and inaccuracies in assessment, particularly in high-pressure situations like sports.
Innovation Solution
A head mountable device that includes an LED display for providing a visual stimulus and electrodes for measuring electrical responses from the occipital lobes, which compares these responses to predefined data to detect functional disorders of the brain.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If subjective assessment tests (SCAT5) are used to diagnose mild Traumatic Brain Injury, then the assessment can be performed quickly and portably, but the diagnosis accuracy and reliability deteriorate due to subjectivity and potential for error
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces subjective mechanical assessment methods (SCAT5 tests performed by physicians) with an automated electrical measurement system. The head mountable device uses electrodes to detect electrical signals from the occipital lobes in response to visual stimuli, substituting human judgment with objective electrical signal analysis. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining portability and speed while dramatically improving diagnosis accuracy through automated, objective measurement.
Solution Approach 2:
The device enables self-assessment capability where the patient's own brain electrical responses serve as the diagnostic data source. The head mountable device automatically presents visual stimuli and records the patient's neural response without requiring external assessment equipment or multiple physicians, allowing quick and reliable self-diagnosis in field conditions.
2Reliability
If conventional imaging techniques (MRI, CT scans) are used to detect mild Traumatic Brain Injury, then structural damage can be visualized, but the detection capability deteriorates for functional disorders and concussions
Solution Approach 1:
The patent substitutes structural imaging methods (MRI, CT) with functional electrical measurement. Instead of visualizing anatomical structures, the head mountable device measures electrical signals from the occipital lobes in response to visual stimuli. This substitution enables detection of functional disorders and concussions that structural imaging cannot detect, while maintaining diagnostic reliability through objective electrical signal analysis.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the measurement parameter from structural anatomy (imaged by MRI/CT) to functional electrical activity (measured by electrodes). By measuring the electrical response of neurons in the occipital lobes to visual stimuli, the device detects functional changes associated with concussion and brain injury that are invisible to structural imaging techniques.
3Measurement precision
If multiple functional, physical and neurocognitive tests are performed to assess brain injury, then comprehensive evaluation can be achieved, but the time required for assessment increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the essential diagnostic information from multiple complex tests and consolidates it into a single electrical measurement parameter. Instead of performing numerous functional, physical, and neurocognitive tests, the head mountable device isolates and measures the electrical response of the occipital lobes to visual stimuli. This extraction provides comprehensive evaluation of brain function in a single, quick measurement, resolving the time-comprehensiveness contradiction.
Solution Approach 2:
The device performs multiple diagnostic functions through a single measurement approach. The electrical response measurement simultaneously assesses visual processing, neural conduction, and cortical function, replacing the need for separate functional, physical, and neurocognitive tests. This multi-functionality achieves comprehensive evaluation while minimizing assessment time.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach allows for a more objective and reliable assessment of brain function, capable of detecting subtle changes associated with mTBI, concussion, and other neurological disorders, even when conventional imaging techniques fail.
Implementation Method 1
an LED display including a plurality of LEDs and an LED driver
Implementation Method 2
at least one electrode for measuring electrical potential
Data Source
AI summary
A head mountable device for detecting a functional disorder of a brain in a patient, includes: an opaque visor unit for positioning over eyes of the patient, a plurality of reference sensors adapted to detect a reference electrical potential for the patient during exposure to the visual stimulus, and a sensor housing including at least one electroencephalogram (EEG) electrode for measuring electrical potential generated by the brain of the patient. The visor unit includes an arrangement of a plurality of LEDs positioned on an inside surface of said visor unit to which, during use, the eyes of the patient are exposed, and an LED driver, said LED driver being configured to control each of said LEDs independently to display a visual stimulus.