Which low-cost EEG device to choose for meditators who want to measure gamma waves in their brain?

Last Updated on May 22, 2023 by pg@petergamma.org

Do we not yet have an affordable EEG device to measure localize gamma waves in the brain? Not the MRIS. For this application, the more EEG channel, the better. There are devices on the market with up to 32 channels which are affordable. But most of them have issues:

Cody Rall MD with Techforpsych has already shown a demo to Map Your Own Gamma Waves With Muse Headband and Mind Monitor:

But does this convince you?

We found these issues

Muse headband & Mind Monitor

• only four channels makes it difficult to localize gamma waves
• only Bluetooth transmission, WIFI is better to measure gamma waves
• Who wants an Android in the path of is development?
• Muse SDK not available anymore
• What remains is BrainFlow, but we do not know anybody who uses BrainFlow exept for Thanasis Koutras with OpenBCI on his Raspberry Pi.
• What remains is also Alexandre Barachands Muse LSL who developed the Muse LSL with a friend for fun and in his spare time over the week-end.

Neurocity Crown

• The device offers fast Wifi transmission and an SDK
• But the architecture of the device with only 8 EEG channels which are mounted fixed on a headband limits it’s use
• No connector for EEG cap available.
• High shipping costs and import taxes.
• No support forum.

OpenBCI USA

• No WIFI shield available.
• Only up to 16 channels, 32 channels would be better.
• High shipping costs and import taxes.
• The issues Robert Oostenveld mentioned about OpenBCI on his blog about OpenBCI, they are listed also in our journal.
• Arbitrary locking of accounts.
• Wrong or incomplete information of users by OpenBCI supporters, as for instance in the example of Stellar Power. This case has been discussed in our journal. An OpenBCI supporter entitled the OpenBCI WIFI shield as depricted, buit is it not one of the most advanced and interesting components of OpenBCI, developed by computer scientist A.J. Keller?
• What other options do OpenBCI users have than buying components from competitors? OpenBCI WIFI shields can be repaired. Stellar Power was not not informed about this subject properly.
• Whe have also the Python examples of sendex, but shall we use Brainflow with OpenBCI or the Python examples of sendex?
• Brainflow has also Python examples, but only for the cable version and the WIFI shield version of OpenBCI Cyton. Sendex examples uses the OpenBCI Bluetooth dongle, Ganglion boards are again a different case, so we have a great diversity of software and hardware options, but do we have a community for those?

Unicorn Black

• It has WIFI support.
• But it has only 8 EEG channels.

Epoc Flex 32

• The device has 32 channels and WIFI support.
• The sampling rate is low.
• The warranty time is only 6 month.
• High shipping costs and import taxes.

Hack EEG 8 – 32 channel EEG with WIFI

• no full proof of function of 32 channel EEG by Adam Feuer.
• Unavailable eventually until the end of 2023.
• High shipping costs and import taxes.
• According to his linkedIN profile, Adam Feuer is no longer CEO of Starcat.io, who else is then CEO of stracat.io? Is starcat.io given up?

Aliexpress 32 channel EEG board

https://vi.aliexpress.com/i/1005002553363982.html?gatewayAdapt=glo2vnm

• It has Wifi.
• It has only 75 days money back warranty.
• It uses the same chip as OpenBCI the TI ADS1299 which has a 24 bit sampling rate.
• We do not know anyone who has used this board or even teste it exept from the manufacturer.
• It is an expensive device without a 24 month warranty, this is risky.
• We do not know of any reseller who offer the device with warranty.
• Keil software interface needs to be coded

OpenBCI Cyton board with WIFI shield and InfluxDB

• The OpenBCI WIFI shield has issues.
• But it can be bought from different seller, also as an issue-free version, the information about it can be found in our blog.
• According to William Croft from OpenBCI, if we combine multiple OpenBCI Cyton boards with InfluxDB, certain parameters are missing, but we can eventually do without those parameters to measure the brain waves of meditators.
• This option is interesting and we think it is a better architecture than 32 channel boards, since if a single Cyton board breaks, the costs for replacement are not as high as for the replacement of a whole 32 channel board.
• We have experienced that Alexpress EEG device seller shoot up prices if they receive good reviews, which is an issue.

Combine sensor data from single EEG TGAM chips in InfluxDB

• We do not know of anyone who as done this yet.
• We do not know of a software which supports this.
• But it can quiet easily be done, and the effort to implement it is not very big.
• Hardware costs are in the range of multiple EEG sensor devices.
• It requires soldering and takes time.
• The advantage is to not depend on manufacturers with expensive EEG modules or manufacturers which shoot up prizes.
• It would be highly desirable that engineers develop boards with multiple single EEG TGAM modules which can be connected to EEG software for an affordable price.

We are physiologists and not soft- and hardware developers, reviewers, testers or debuggers. We are on a long-term project and interested in such devices. www.petergamma.org is a private project on a personal web site. We are not interested in product developers who develop these devices and want to sell those to us. But we welcome engineering and other students who are looking for a diploma thesis project, a PhD. thesis project, or a project, to write a paper about it. Many of these EEG devices are rarely used, and it might be worth to evaluate and test these further.