Treffer: Analysis of electrode performance on amplitude integrated electroencephalography in neonates: evaluation of a new electrode aCUP-E vs. liquid gel electrodes

Background: Neonatologists and clinical neurophysiologists face challenges with the current electrodes used for long-duration amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG) in neonatal intensive care units (NICU), limiting the capacity to diagnose brain damage. Objectives: The objectives of this study were to develop methods for comparing the performance of different electrodes to be used in aEEG. The comparison was done between a newly designed neonate-specific electrode, aCUP-E, with commercial liquid gel electrodes used in amplitude-integrated electroencephalography (aEEG). The comparison included impedance stability, electrode survival, recording quality, usability, and satisfaction of NICU staff. Methods: aEEG recordings with bipolar montage was used, with one hemisphere fitted with commercial electrodes and the other with aCUP-E electrodes, alternated among subjects. Continuous impedance and raw EEG data were collected over a minimum of 24 h, and signal processing was performed using Python and MATLAB. Main results: aCUP-E electrodes demonstrated superior performance, including: Increased impedance stability and electrode survival, enhanced recording quality with fewer artifacts, high correlation in signal capture between electrodes during optimal brain activity segments, higher signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) across varying impedance levels, greater staff satisfaction and ease of use. Moreover, Kaplan-Meier curves indicated a higher survival rate for aCUP-E electrodes over 24 h compared to commercial electrodes. Impedance variability analysis showed statistically significant stability improvements for aCUP-E. Conclusion: aCUP-E electrodes outperform commercial liquid gel electrodes in impedance stability, electrode survival, and recording quality. These results suggest that aCUP-E electrodes could significantly enhance aEEG utilization in diagnosing and treating neonatal brain conditions in NICUs. Future improvements to the aCUP-E electrode may further reduce
The author(s) declare financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article. This study has been funded by “la Caixa” through the contracts LCF/TR/CI21/52650005 and LCF/TR/CC22/52500009, by AGAUR-PERIS through the contract SLT033/23/000062 and also by Social Council from Universitat Rovira i Virgili through the award of Social impact research EX ANTE: aCUP-E Advanced Cup Electrode for Newborns.
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