Aarhus University (AU)—a Denmark-based university—has just received DKK 20 million (USD $2.98 million) for a new research center focusing on a unique method of measuring electrical activity in the brain, according to a press release posted on EurekAlert.
Ear-EEG (ear-ElectroEncephaloGraphy) measures extremely small voltage changes on the surface of the skin inside the ear caused by electrical activity in the brain’s neurons. The protected, discrete placement helps make the method more attractive than traditional EEG measurements, which use electrodes placed on top of the head.
The grant was donated by the families behind WS Audiology and UNEEG Medical and the William Demant Foundation, including Oticon.
The research group Bioelectrical Instrumentation and Signal Processing, headed by Professor Preben Kidmose from the Department of Engineering at AU, has pioneered the area for many years and is currently the “world leader,” according to the announcement.
“We’ve been working on this methodology for the past 10 years, and the new center will ensure a significant expansion of our research activities within ear-EEG,” said Kidmose. “Our research develops the measuring technology itself and explores what is possible to actually measure. We see a huge potential in ear-EEG, both in terms of research and applications. For example, you can use ear-EEG to characterize hearing loss much more precisely than what is practicable today. Ear-EEG can also be used for other things, for example to explore human sleep patterns and help provide a better understanding of various brain diseases.”
One of the great advantages of ear-EEG is that the method enables measurement of brain activity outside the laboratory in a discreet and minimally intrusive manner, over a long period of time (potentially 24/7), and on large cohorts of people.
The method enables researchers to construct devices to measure brain activity and adapt it to the user in a radically different way than today. Among other things, Kidmose hopes it will take researchers a step further towards understanding the human brain.
“Ear-EEG provides a unique opportunity to measure brain in our natural environment,” he said. “And that’s why we can begin to delve into things that we otherwise wouldn’t be able to measure. For example, we don’t really know much about how our sleep varies over time, and how it’s affected by our surroundings. And because we can measure sleep and patterns in the EEG that correlate with cognitive ability, we hope to get a better understanding of the correlation between sleep and cognitive ability. These are just some of the things I hope the technology will help us with.”
The opening of the center is very important for both the William Demant Foundation, UNEEG Medical, and WS Audiology, who consider their massive investment in development of this Danish technology as a matter of course.
“We’re proud to support this world-leading center that can bring forward new knowledge about how we can record impulses in the ears, and how we can use this knowledge to benefit general health,” said Lars Nørby Johansen, chair of the William Demant Foundation. “At the William Demant Foundation, one of our main tasks is to support research and innovation that can help alleviate hearing health.”
The families behind WS Audiology agree.
“We’ve been working with Professor Preben Kidmose at AU for many years, and we’ve seen many exciting results,” said Richard Tøpholm, CTO of UNEEG Medical, a fellow subsidiary with WS Audiology. “That’s why I’m very pleased that we’ve been able to help establish a more permanent framework for his research. Ear-EEG has the potential to help people in surprisingly many areas, and I’m sure that this center will speed up the realization of these opportunities for the benefit of everyone.”
The grant is also very important for Aarhus University’s digitalization strategy, which has focus on research into next-generation technology and methods to monitor and work with the human brain, says the head of section for Electrical and Computer Engineering at the Department of Engineering, Aarhus University, Senior Professor of Engineering Jens Kargaard Madsen: “We’re very pleased that, with this grant, we can now open the ear-EEG center and strengthen our position significantly with a view to continuing as the world leader in this field of research.”
Source: EurekaAlert!, Aarhus University
Images: AU Foto
