# On the modeling of brain fibers in the EEG forward problem via a new family of wire integral equations

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a novel boundary element method (BEM) for EEG forward modeling that accurately incorporates white matter anisotropy, improving the precision of source localization in neuroimaging.

## Contribution

A new BEM scheme that models white matter anisotropy efficiently using one-dimensional basis functions, extending traditional isotropic models.

## Key findings

- The new scheme accurately models white matter anisotropy.
- It outperforms existing formulations in canonical and realistic cases.
- The method is computationally efficient due to boundary formulation.

## Abstract

Source localization based on electroencephalography (EEG) has become a widely used neuroimagining technique. However its precision has been shown to be very dependent on how accurately the brain, head and scalp can be electrically modeled within the so-called forward problem. The construction of this model is traditionally performed by leveraging Finite Element or Boundary Element Methods (FEM or BEM). Even though the latter is more computationally efficient thanks to the smaller interaction matrices it yields and near-linear solvers, it has traditionally been used on simpler models than the former. Indeed, while FEM models taking into account the different media anisotropies are widely available, BEM models have been limited to isotropic, piecewise homogeneous models. In this work we introduce a new BEM scheme taking into account the anisotropies of the white matter. The boundary nature of the formulation allows for an efficient discretization and modelling of the fibrous nature of the white matter as one-dimensional basis functions, limiting the computational impact of their modelling. We compare our scheme against widely used formulations and establish its correctness in both canonical and realistic cases.