Background: The involvement of human subjects in the development of biomedical devices presents both ethical and practical challenges. Electroencephalography (EEG) signals exhibit interindividual variability and are subject to fluctuations induced by movement and emotional states. Hence, the fabrication of artificial tissues (phantoms) capable of accurately replicating human organs and tissues is of critical importance. The primary objective of this study was to create phantoms that accurately mimic the electrical conductivity of human head tissues. Methods: Phantom compositions were optimized to accomplish these objectives. This article details the fabrication and characterization of 116 tissue-mimicking rat head size phantoms (RHSPs) with diverse concentrations, mixing durations, volumes, and combinations of gelatin, salt, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) solution, silver nanopowder (Ag), graphite powder (Gr), polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) solution, sodium alginate (SA) solution, PVA/SA solutions, and potassium sorbate (KS), evaluated for their electrical conductivity properties using an LCR meter. Using the electrical conductivity values derived from the RHSP data, a regression equation was developed in Python, which was then employed to fabricate a human head phantom (HHP). Results: Conductive polymer-based phantoms with electrical conductivity and biological properties comparable to real cranial tissues were successfully developed, making them suitable for EEG electrode and cap applications. The developed HHP was powered by a signal generator, and artificial EEG brain waves were generated using the OpenBCI platform. Based on the acquired data, brain simulations were conducted using the low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) program. The trials produced phantoms with electrical conductivity consistent with that of most tissues within the layers of the human skull. The study provides a framework for the economical and efficient fabrication of both single- and multilayer head phantoms.
Selçuk et al. (Thu,) studied this question.