TURBOEEG: A fast open-source brain imaging package for electroencephalography

Introduction

Electroencephalography (EEG) from scalp potentials is a crucial non-invasive technique for imaging the electric brain activity. EEG is of primary importance in several scenarios of substantial societal impact ranging from electric characterization of epileptic seizures to the development of brain-computer interfaces.

EEG Imaging Technology

One of the key technologies in advanced EEG imaging is the source imaging/localization procedure where the volume electric current responsible for the scalp potential is obtained by solving an inverse source problem. This, in turn, requires several solutions of the EEG forward problem. The imaging of the brain currents is what transforms standard EEG readings into high-resolution EEG brain imaging.

Computational Challenges

Lamentably, the standard EEG forward problem has cubical computational complexity, resulting in an eightfold increase in computer memory and computational time every time the problem doubles in size. This substantially limits the impact of EEG imaging, especially in low-power computational systems and in social settings that cannot afford expensive computing machines.

Project Objectives

The object of the “TurboEEG” project is to radically change this paradigm. We will translate the outcomes of the ERC Consolidator Grant project “321” into the field of EEG neuroimaging by obtaining and distributing the first existing EEG open-source package that will solve the EEG imaging problem in linear complexity. This will speed up standard EEG imaging by orders of magnitude and make high-resolution EEGs widely available and affordable.

Societal Impact

Since EEG source imaging is what transforms a standard EEG device into a high-resolution one, the new open-source tool will have a substantial impact on society. It will make high-resolution EEG technology available in environments where top computational power is not accessible, such as:

• Small hospitals
• Ambulatories
• Schools
• Universities

The new open-source tool will also have a significant impact on education, professional training, and brain research.