Diagnosing epilepsy using entropy measures and embedding parameters of EEG signals

Epilepsy is a neurological disorder that affects normal neural activity. These electrical activities can be recorded as signals containing information about the brain known as Electroencephalography (EEG) signals. Analysis of the EEG signals by individuals for epilepsy diagnosis is subjective and time-consuming. So, an automatic classification system with high detection accuracy is required to overcome possible errors. In this study, the discrete wavelet transform has been applied to EEG signals. Then, entropy measures and embedding parameters have been extracted. These features have been investigated individually to find the most discriminating ones. The significance level of each feature was evaluated by statistical analysis. Consequently, LDA and SVM algorithms have been employed to categorize the EEG signals. The results have indicated that the features of Embedding parameters, PermutationEntropy, FuzzyEntropy, SampleEntropy, NormEntropy, SureEntropy, LogEntropy, and ThresholdEntropy have the potential to discriminate epileptic patients from healthy subjects significantly. Also, SVM classifier has achieved the highest classification accuracy. In this study, we could find effective embedding-based and entropy-based features as appropriate single measures for identifying abnormal activities that can efficiently discriminate the EEG signals of epileptics from healthy individuals. According to the results, they can be used for automatic classification of epileptic EEG signals that are difficult to examine visually

Invasive epilepsy surgery evaluation

Intracranial EEG (iEEG) recordings are widely used for the work up of pharmacoresistant epilepsy. Different iEEG recording techniques namely subdural grids, strips, depth electrodes and stereoencephalography (SEEG) are available with distinct limitations and advantages. Epilepsy centres mastering multiple techniques apply them in an individualised patient approach. These tools are used to map the seizure onset zone which is pivotal in approximating the epileptogenic zone, i.e. the zone which is indispensable for the generation of seizures and when resected will render the patient seizure free. Besides, the implanted electrodes can be used to define eloquent cortex through direct cortical stimulation. Different clinical scenarios exist which favour one iEEG recording technique over the other. Proximity of the presumed epileptogenic zone to eloquent cortex, for example, is a clinical scenario which may favour grid electrodes over SEEG. We here review the indication for iEEG for the work-up of patients suffering from pharmacoresistant epilepsy. In addition, we provide a description of the recording techniques focussing on the main techniques used: grid electrodes, depth electrodes and stereoencephalography. We then outline different clinical scenarios and the preferred technical approach for intracranial recordings in these scenarios. Finally, we highlight which advances have been made in the field of iEEG and which advances are in the pipeline waiting to be established for clinical use. This review provides the clinician with an update on the diagnostic use of intracranial EEG for epilepsy surgery and thus aids in understanding patient selection for this technique which may ultimately improve referral patterns

A Comparison of Machine Learning Classifiers for Energy-Efficient Implementation of Seizure Detection

The closed-loop application of electrical stimulation via chronically implanted electrodes is a novel approach to stop seizures in patients with focal-onset epilepsy. To this end, an energy efficient seizure detector that can be implemented in an implantable device is of crucial importance. In this study, we first evaluated the performance of two machine learning algorithms (Random Forest classifier and support vector machine (SVM)) by using selected time and frequency domain features with a limited need of computational resources. Performance of the algorithms was further compared to a detection strategy implemented in an existing closed loop neurostimulation device for the treatment of epilepsy. The results show a superior performance of the Random Forest classifier compared to the SVM classifier and the reference approach. Next, we implemented the feature extraction and classification process of the Random Forest classifier on a microcontroller to evaluate the energy efficiency of this seizure detector. In conclusion, the feature set in combination with Random Forest classifier is an energy efficient hardware implementation that shows an improvement of detection sensitivity and specificity compared to the presently available closed-loop intervention in epilepsy while preserving a low detection delay

Across-subjects classification of stimulus modality from human MEG high frequency activity

Single-trial analyses have the potential to uncover meaningful brain dynamics that are obscured when averaging across trials. However, low signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) can impede the use of single-trial analyses and decoding methods. In this study, we investigate the applicability of a single-trial approach to decode stimulus modality from magnetoencephalographic (MEG) high frequency activity. In order to classify the auditory versus visual presentation of words, we combine beamformer source reconstruction with the random forest classification method. To enable group level inference, the classification is embedded in an across-subjects framework. We show that single-trial gamma SNR allows for good classification performance (accuracy across subjects: 66.44%). This implies that the characteristics of high frequency activity have a high consistency across trials and subjects. The random forest classifier assigned informational value to activity in both auditory and visual cortex with high spatial specificity. Across time, gamma power was most informative during stimulus presentation. Among all frequency bands, the 75 Hz to 95 Hz band was the most informative frequency band in visual as well as in auditory areas. Especially in visual areas, a broad range of gamma frequencies (55 Hz to 125 Hz) contributed to the successful classification. Thus, we demonstrate the feasibility of single-trial approaches for decoding the stimulus modality across subjects from high frequency activity and describe the discriminative gamma activity in time, frequency, and space

Deep learning-based EEG emotion recognition: Current trends and future perspectives

Automatic electroencephalogram (EEG) emotion recognition is a challenging component of human–computer interaction (HCI). Inspired by the powerful feature learning ability of recently-emerged deep learning techniques, various advanced deep learning models have been employed increasingly to learn high-level feature representations for EEG emotion recognition. This paper aims to provide an up-to-date and comprehensive survey of EEG emotion recognition, especially for various deep learning techniques in this area. We provide the preliminaries and basic knowledge in the literature. We review EEG emotion recognition benchmark data sets briefly. We review deep learning techniques in details, including deep belief networks, convolutional neural networks, and recurrent neural networks. We describe the state-of-the-art applications of deep learning techniques for EEG emotion recognition in detail. We analyze the challenges and opportunities in this field and point out its future directions