How I Plan to Record My Brain Waves (EEG) 🧠⚡️

Summary

Jared Beckwith shares his journey of building an affordable EEG machine to record his own brain activity. Working at a hospital, he has always been fascinated by EEGs but found commercial machines too expensive. With the help of his father, an electrical engineer, and his brother, Jared is designing his own system using analog-to-digital converters and custom software. His goal is to record his posterior dominant rhythm (PDR) and study his brain activity, focusing on the reactivity and symmetry of his brain waves. The video invites viewers to follow along on his journey of creating a DIY EEG machine.

Takeaways

• 😀 Jared Beckwith works at a hospital and performs EEG tests on patients, recording their brain activity.
• 😀 Jared has always wanted to record his own brain activity but found EEG machines expensive, often costing over $10,000.
• 😀 Due to the high cost, Jared decided to create his own EEG machine, aiming to make it as affordable as possible.
• 😀 The goal is to build a low-cost EEG machine that can record brain activity using an analog-to-digital converter.
• 😀 Jared is working with his dad, an electrical engineer, to help design and build the EEG machine.
• 😀 They plan to use four electrodes (plus reference and ground) to record from four key points on Jared's head, known as P3, O1, P4, and O2.
• 😀 The EEG machine will monitor the posterior dominant rhythm (PDR), which is the brain wave pattern that appears when someone closes their eyes and relaxes.
• 😀 Jared will analyze the reactivity of his PDR by checking if it appears when he closes his eyes and if it goes away when he opens them.
• 😀 The EEG machine will help Jared measure the frequency of his posterior dominant rhythm, which falls within the 8-12 Hz range (alpha rhythm).
• 😀 Jared shares that, even though the machine doesn't look like a traditional EEG output yet, they're able to display and test various frequencies from the chips, with plans for further development in future videos.

Q & A

What motivated Jared to build his own EEG machine?

Jared was motivated to build his own EEG machine because professional EEG machines were too expensive, costing over $10,000, which was more than his car and would have caused financial strain.

How does Jared plan to save money with this project?

Jared plans to save money by creating his own EEG machine and software with the help of his father, an electrical engineer, instead of buying a professional machine.

What is the posterior dominant rhythm (PDR) that Jared is focusing on?

The posterior dominant rhythm (PDR) is a type of brain wave pattern that appears when a person is relaxed and has their eyes closed. Jared is specifically interested in monitoring this rhythm in his own brain activity.

How many electrodes will Jared use for his EEG project?

Jared will use a total of six electrodes: four electrodes for recording brain activity and two for reference and ground.

What does an EEG machine do with the brain's electrical activity?

An EEG machine converts the brain's electrical activity from an analog signal into a digital signal, which can then be displayed on a computer screen as squiggly lines.

What frequency range does the posterior dominant rhythm typically fall into?

The posterior dominant rhythm typically falls within the 8 to 12 Hz range, which is considered the alpha rhythm range in EEGs.

What is the purpose of monitoring the reactivity of the PDR?

The purpose of monitoring the reactivity of the PDR is to observe how it changes when Jared closes his eyes (relaxed) and when he opens his eyes. This helps in assessing the brain's normal response and symmetry.

What role does Jared’s father play in the EEG project?

Jared’s father, an electrical engineer, is helping him understand the technical aspects of the circuit boards and is also assisting in creating the EEG machine and software.

What is the significance of the electrode placement on the left and right sides of Jared’s head?

The electrode placement follows the convention of using odd-numbered electrodes on the left side (e.g., P3, O1) and even-numbered electrodes on the right side (e.g., P4, O2). This ensures balanced and accurate data recording.

How does Jared plan to display the EEG data on a computer screen?

Jared and his team will use software that takes the data from the analog-to-digital converters and displays the EEG signals on the computer screen, allowing them to observe the brain waves and their patterns.