Earable Platform with Integrated Simultaneous EEG Sensing and Auditory Stimulation

TL;DR

This paper introduces a personalized in-ear EEG device that combines EEG sensing and auditory stimulation, offering a comfortable, discreet, and effective solution for long-term brain monitoring and closed-loop neuromodulation.

Contribution

The work presents a novel in-ear EEG monitor that simultaneously captures brain signals and delivers audio, demonstrating stable contact and potential for real-time closed-loop applications.

Findings

Successful detection of EOG, eye blinks, jaw clenches, ASSR, and alpha modulation.

Impedance measurements indicate stable electrode-skin contact comparable to traditional electrodes.

The device enables real-time brain monitoring and adaptive auditory stimulation.

Abstract

Conventional scalp-based EEG systems are cumbersome to use, requiring extensive setup, restrictive wiring, and conductive gels that can dry out and limit long-term monitoring, while also carrying social stigma. As a result, there is increasing interest in in-ear EEG technology to improve comfort, convenience, and discretion for users. This work presents a personalized in-ear EEG monitor (IEEM) that simultaneously captures EEG signals from the outer ear while delivering audio playback through the same device. The earpiece is custom-molded to precisely match the user's ear anatomy, providing effective sound isolation from the environment and enabling direct audio transmission into the ear canal. Testing of the assembled earpiece shows successful detection of electrooculography (EOG), eye blinks, jaw clenches, auditory steady-state responses (ASSR), and alpha modulation. Electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) measurements confirm stable electrode-skin contact, with impedance values similar to those of traditional dry electrodes. The integrated approach enables potential closed-loop neuromodulation applications all in the ear where brain activity can be monitored in real-time and corresponding acoustic stimulation delivered adaptively.