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Earbud EEG Feasibility Study

Earbud Electrode Electroencephalography System - Initial Feasibility Study

Status
Completed
Phases
Unknown
Study type
Observational
Source
ClinicalTrials.gov
Registry ID
NCT05257811
Acronym
PRIME
Enrollment
21
Registered
2022-02-25
Start date
2019-09-01
Completion date
2022-08-25
Last updated
2023-11-08

For informational purposes only — not medical advice. Sourced from public registries and may not reflect the latest updates. Terms

Conditions

Epilepsy; Seizure, Sleep

Keywords

electroencephalography, polysomnography

Brief summary

The goal of this study is to characterize the ability of the NextSense ear-EEG device to detect pathologic electrographic signatures of epilepsy and physiologic signatures of sleep in subjects undergoing simultaneous inpatient continuous EEG monitoring, polysomnography, or ambulatory EEG monitoring at home.

Detailed description

For nearly half a century, conventional electroencephalography (EEG) has been the standard of care for monitoring cerebral activity, particularly in the clinical domains of epilepsy and sleep disorders. Standard EEG involves highly time, labor, and cost intensive processes and typically requires subjects to be monitored by specially trained staff in the inpatient setting. Existing ambulatory EEG options are limited to about 3 days in duration because of decline in electrode fidelity beyond that timeframe. There is a need for unobtrusive, easy to use, longitudinal monitoring solutions that can extend to the ambulatory setting. This study will assess whether novel NextSense EEG Earbuds are able to 1) detect seizures of varying types/localizations as well as interictal epileptiform activity (IEA) waveforms compared to simultaneously recorded conventional scalp EEG, or in some cases, intracranial EEG; and 2) detect characteristic electrographic signatures of AASM defined sleep stages compared to simultaneously recorded polysomnography.

Interventions

Each NextSense EEGBud device includes custom-fit earbuds with biometric sensors to detect EEG, motion (via tri-axial accelerometers), and heart rate. A ring laser scanner is used to capture the unique geometry of each participant's ear and external auditory canal. Digital models of the individual ear scans are generated and used to create custom fit, 3D-printed earbuds. This design process allows for consistent contact with the inner surface of the ear canal, providing high quality signal capture of brain activity, cardiac activity, and eye movements.

Sponsors

Emory University
CollaboratorOTHER
NextSense, Inc.
Lead SponsorINDUSTRY

Study design

Observational model
COHORT
Time perspective
PROSPECTIVE

Eligibility

Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
18 Years to No maximum
Healthy volunteers
No

Inclusion criteria

* All patients 18 years of age and older admitted to the Epilepsy Monitoring Unit at Emory University Hospital for long-term inpatient scalp or intracranial cEEG monitoring for diagnostic or pre-surgical evaluation, or patients 18 years and older admitted to the Emory Sleep Center at the Brain Health Center for polysomnography. * To enhance the likelihood of having a sufficient number of enrolled subjects with an adequate number of seizures, investigators may identify patients more likely to have epileptic rather than non-epileptic seizures based on the medical history. * All patients who are undergoing ambulatory EEG monitoring at home.

Exclusion criteria

* Inability to safely tolerate earbuds (e.g. antecedent skin breakdown, recent injury to ear). * Subjects who cannot have all 16 non-midline scalp EEG electrodes placed, since these EEG channels are required to accurately assess the performance of the seizure detection function.

Design outcomes

Primary

MeasureTime frameDescription
Ease of use and tolerability validation of EEG earbuds for patients undergoing cEEG monitoring or polysomnography.up to 2 weeksIndividual tolerance success will be the presence of an interpretable EEG record for at 18 hours a day, for at least three consecutive days. Overall tolerance will be a ≥ 75% ongoing participation rate, i.e. ≤ 25% study drop-out rate. Patients will be questioned about the reasons they felt the EEGBuds needed to be removed, in order to improve future tolerance.
Performance validation of EEG earbuds for patients undergoing cEEG monitoring or polysomnographyup to 2 weeksPerformance validation is measured as sensitivity (true positive) rate as defined as the total number of true detections divided by the total number of seizures; and specificity (false detection rate \[FDR\]) as defined as 24 x number of false detections divided by the total number of EEG hours, for each test subject. Detections will be classified as true or false based on majority rule by expert reviewers (classified by ≥ 2/3 of reviewers). Criteria for Success: 1. ≥ 90% of EEG segments deemed acceptable quality by expert reviewers 2. Overall seizure detection sensitivity of at least 90% and a mean FDR of no more than 5 per 24 hours 3. Overall spike detection sensitivity of at least 90% and a mean FDR of no more than 3 per hour 4. Overall focal slowing detection sensitivity of at least 75% and a mean FDR of no more than 3 per 24 hours (focal slowing is traditionally more difficult to ascertain so criteria will be slightly less stringent)

Countries

United States

Outcome results

None listed

Source: ClinicalTrials.gov · Data processed: Feb 4, 2026