Wenyan Jia, PhD

This biomedical engineering project, Development and Evaluation of a Novel Wireless EEG Monitoring Sensor, aims to develop an effective device to the long-standing EEG electrode placement problem. Dr. Jia is developing an ultra-portable EEG monitoring device consisting of a skin-grabbing electrode and a software component installed within a cell phone. The electrode, called skin screw electrode, is based on microelectronics technology. It does not require the use of electrolyte, and can self-adhere to the scalp without a glue or a tape. The skin screw electrode can be applied to the scalp and removed in approximately one second. Unlike the existing dry electrodes which have a high skin contact impedance value, the skin screw electrode has low and stable impedance comparable to that of commercial disc electrode. With this new development, EEG data can be acquired quickly and conveniently from patients. When a cell phone network connection is available, the EEG data can be wirelessly transmitted for remote diagnosis and monitoring.