ACQUISITION OF EPIDERMAL ELECTRODE

It is proposed that the contractor be directly contracted for a research collaboration with NHRC on the project "Development and Testing of Epidermal Electronics" for the purposes of developing new technology for brain and physiology monitoring in a clinical and/or operational setting using novel low-profile electrodes. The contractor will also conduct computational analysis on data collected from the EEG electrodes that they will design and produce as part of this contract. The purpose of the project "Development and Testing of Epidermal Electronics" is to develop EEG technology that is paper thin, easy to apply to human skin, durable for over 24 hours, and provides quality EEG signals. While these electrodes will have many possible applications, the one relevant to this project is to devise a simple and comfortable sleep monitor. The technology will be tested for wearability and quality of signal in an ongoing study of PTSD during a residential treatment program. Finally, the signals acquired using the electrode technology developed will be analyzed by the contractor to develop a novel sleep staging algorithm. The contractor will work on development of epidermal electronics as described in the following: "METHOD AND APPARATUS FOR OPTIMIZING CONFIGURATION AND SPATIAL PLACEMENT OF FRONTAL ELECTRODE SENSORS TO DETECT EEG BRAIN SIGNALS OF INTEREST". These electrodes are the thickness of a sheet of paper and the size of a postage stamp. Development shall include the design, testing and recalibration of both wired and wireless devices. The wired devices should include a standard DIN connector for connection to a standard amplifier. Wireless devices should be self-contained on a single application and will transmit EEG signals to an amplifier located close to the subject. Details to be optimized include electrode material, chemical interfaces, and electrode layout, among other details that may become relevant as development and testing progresses. The contractor will be in contact with Dr. Onton on a monthly basis to report progress on electrode development and any set-backs that may have arisen. Three different designs will be pursued as part of this contract. The first is a wired electrode that can be placed in 3 locations on the head and plugged into a single isolated amplifier to collect the signals. This design is already well underway and requires only minor refinements to produce an optimal signal. The second design is also a wired device but is envisioned to be a simpler application to the subject. This design would be at least 3 sensors, but may be up to 9, that will be integrated on to a single adhesive patch that can be applied directly to the forehead. Electrode materials and interfaces should be quite similar to the first design, but will require optimization in terms of electrode spacing and orientation, as well as solutions for optimal management of exiting wires. The final design is a fully wireless system that may be applied to the forehead and/or forehead-mastoid, depending on results from the wired solutions above. Production of epidermal electronics 60 Wired electrode sets (each set includes 3 electrodes); 30 Multi-channel wired electrode sets (each set is combined on a single strip and may vary from 3-9 electrodes):20 Wireless electrode sets (each set includes 3 electrodes that may be combined on a single strip): Data Analysis Design a novel sleep scoring algorithm, implementable on a Matlab platform that not only deciphers canonical sleep stages, but also detects and scores aberrations in sleep architecture such as abnormal frequency intrusions. This requirement will be delivered by 12/31/13 Final report detailing optimal electrode designs (along with solutions that did NOT work) to be produced by 12/31/13 SECURITY Unclassified PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE 4/15/13 to 12/31/13 TECHNICAL POINT OF CONTACT (TPOC) Dr. Julie Onton Office: +1 (555) 000-0000 contact@example.gov