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another site by net advantage
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| A
diagnostic tool for early assesment of AD |
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Diagnostic
Potentials Ltd is developing a diagnostic tool for the early
and accurate detection of Alzheimer's Disease. We have developed
a set of computerized cognitive tasks designed to tap into
aspects of intellectual function, such as memory and attention,
which are particularly at risk in the early stages of AD.
These tasks are combined with an advanced form of measuring
the brain's electrical activity (EEG). The EEG system we use
consists of a 128-channel sensor net which can be put on in
about 5 minutes. Unlike more traditional forms of EEG, this
system does not require abrasion of the skin or the use of
sticky gels, which improves comfort and virtually eliminates
any risk of infection.
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| Why
use EEG with cognitive tasks? |
The
brain's electrical fields vary rapidly -- on a scale of thousandths
of seconds -- in response to cognitive and perceptual events.
this makes EEG very well-suited to measuring some rapidly-occurring
cognitive and brain events, such as recognizing a word, or retrieving
a recent memory. Damage to the brain can cause changes to the
timing features of such events. These changes can serve as clinically
useful markers of the kind and amount of brain damage which
has occurred.
In addition, carefully designed and validated cognitive tasks
can themselves provide useful information which contributes
to the diagnostic process. Response times, and whether responses
are correct, may reveal clinically relevant facts about performance
on memory, attention, or other specific cognitive domains.
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| Why
use "dense array EEG?" |
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relatively large number of sensors -- 128, compared with 12
in a typical clinical montage -- provides another important
advantage. By covering almost all of the upper brain, this system
produces very high resolution topographic maps of electrical
fields on the scalp. This is another important source of information
which can help to isolate clinically important differences in
brain function due to disease.
The
128 channel EEG system used by Diagnostic Potentials Ltd was
developed by Electrical Geodesics Inc www.egi.com
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