Sub-Second Functional Brain Imaging Using EEG with MRI

We will implement a software package to produce high-resolution scalp-recorded electroencepha-lograms (EEGs) by removing spatial blur distortion due to passive conduction from the brain through thecerebrospinal fluid, skull and scalp. This software package will provide clinicians and researchers witha powerful and inexpensive tool for studying the spatiotemporal dynamics of brain electrical activity, aswell as a convenient means for integrating EEF data with other neuroimaging modalities. It willincorporate our recently developed methods, called Deblurring, which constructs a finite element modelof a subject's head from his/her MRI and computes the potential field at the inner surface of the skullfrom scalp-recorded EEGs. This method has been validate by comparison of the estimated results withdata recorded from subdural grids in neurosurgical patients, and further validation work is beingperformed in ongoing studies. During Phase I, we will determine the practical feasibility of the Deblurringmethod by examining how the accuracy of the method is affected by noise, sampling density at thescalp, and errors in modeling the electrical properties of the skull and scalp. A functional design of thesoftware package will be written.