Sparse EEG Source Localization Using Bernoulli Laplacian Priors

International audienceSource localization in electroencephalography has received an increasing amount of interest in the last decade. Solving the underlying ill-posed inverse problem usually requires choosing an appropriate regularization. The usual l2 norm has been considered and provides solutions with low computational complexity. However, in several situations, realistic brain activity is believed to be focused in a few focal areas. In these cases, the l2 norm is known to overestimate the activated spatial areas. One solution to this problem is to promote sparse solutions for instance based on the l1 norm that are easy to handle with optimization techniques. In this paper, we consider the use of an l0 + l1 norm to enforce sparse source activity (by ensuring the solution has few nonzero elements) while regularizing the nonzero amplitudes of the solution. More precisely, the l0 pseudonorm handles the position of the non zero elements while the l1 norm constrains the values of their amplitudes. We use a Bernoulli–Laplace prior to introduce this combined l0 + l1 norm in a Bayesian framework. The proposed Bayesian model is shown to favor sparsity while jointly estimating the model hyperparameters using a Markov chain Monte Carlo sampling technique. We apply the model to both simulated and real EEG data, showing that the proposed method provides better results than the l2 and l1 norms regularizations in the presence of pointwise sources. A comparison with a recent method based on multiple sparse priors is also conducted

Review on solving the inverse problem in EEG source analysis

In this primer, we give a review of the inverse problem for EEG source localization. This is intended for the researchers new in the field to get insight in the state-of-the-art techniques used to find approximate solutions of the brain sources giving rise to a scalp potential recording. Furthermore, a review of the performance results of the different techniques is provided to compare these different inverse solutions. The authors also include the results of a Monte-Carlo analysis which they performed to compare four non parametric algorithms and hence contribute to what is presently recorded in the literature. An extensive list of references to the work of other researchers is also provided

Localización de fuentes cerebrales para la caracterización de la demencia debida a la enfermedad de Alzheimer

En el presente Trabajo de Fin de Máster se localizaron tanto espacial como espectralmente las alteraciones de los generadores neuronales provocadas por el deterioro cognitivo leve y la demencia debidos a la enfermedad de Alzheimer. Para ello, se midió la potencia relativa a nivel de sensor y nivel de fuente, y se evaluó el grado de relación de dichas medidas. Los resultados muestran que los primeros cambios aparecen en la banda zeta y conforme avanza la demencia se extienden a las bandas beta y alfa. La correlación entre la potencia relativa a nivel de sensor y a nivel de fuente es significativa, sobre todo para bandas bajas y en la zona frontal y occipital.Departamento de Teoría de la Señal y Comunicaciones e Ingeniería TelemáticaMáster en Ingeniería de Telecomunicació

Heterogeneous multicore systems for signal processing

This thesis explores the capabilities of heterogeneous multi-core systems, based on multiple Graphics Processing Units (GPUs) in a standard desktop framework. Multi-GPU accelerated desk side computers are an appealing alternative to other high performance computing (HPC) systems: being composed of commodity hardware components fabricated in large quantities, their price-performance ratio is unparalleled in the world of high performance computing. Essentially bringing “supercomputing to the masses”, this opens up new possibilities for application fields where investing in HPC resources had been considered unfeasible before. One of these is the field of bioelectrical imaging, a class of medical imaging technologies that occupy a low-cost niche next to million-dollar systems like functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). In the scope of this work, several computational challenges encountered in bioelectrical imaging are tackled with this new kind of computing resource, striving to help these methods approach their true potential. Specifically, the following main contributions were made: Firstly, a novel dual-GPU implementation of parallel triangular matrix inversion (TMI) is presented, addressing an crucial kernel in computation of multi-mesh head models of encephalographic (EEG) source localization. This includes not only a highly efficient implementation of the routine itself achieving excellent speedups versus an optimized CPU implementation, but also a novel GPU-friendly compressed storage scheme for triangular matrices. Secondly, a scalable multi-GPU solver for non-hermitian linear systems was implemented. It is integrated into a simulation environment for electrical impedance tomography (EIT) that requires frequent solution of complex systems with millions of unknowns, a task that this solution can perform within seconds. In terms of computational throughput, it outperforms not only an highly optimized multi-CPU reference, but related GPU-based work as well. Finally, a GPU-accelerated graphical EEG real-time source localization software was implemented. Thanks to acceleration, it can meet real-time requirements in unpreceeded anatomical detail running more complex localization algorithms. Additionally, a novel implementation to extract anatomical priors from static Magnetic Resonance (MR) scansions has been included

Localization of brain signal sources using blind source separation

Reliable localization of brain signal sources by using convenient, easy, and hazardless data acquisition techniques can potentially play a key role in the understanding, analysis, and tracking of brain activities for determination of physiological, pathological, and functional abnormalities. The sources can be due to normal brain activities, mental disorders, stimulation of the brain, or movement related tasks. The focus of this thesis is therefore the development of novel source localization techniques based upon EEG measurements. Independent component analysis is used in blind separation (BSS) of the EEG sources to yield three different approaches for source localization. In the first method the sources are localized over the scalp pattern using BSS in various subbands, and by investigating the number of components which are likely to be the true sources. In the second method, the sources are separated and their corresponding topographical information is used within a least-squares algorithm to localize the sources within the brain region. The locations of the known sources, such as some normal brain rhythms, are also utilized to help in determining the unknown sources. The final approach is an effective BSS algorithm partially constrained by information related to the known sources. In addition, some investigation have been undertaken to incorporate non-homogeneity of the head layers in terms of the changes in electrical and magnetic characteristics and also with respect to the noise level within the processing methods. Experimental studies with real and synthetic data sets are undertaken using MATLAB and the efficacy of each method discussed