Methods And Systems For Placement Of An Electrode Array During An Intracranial Electroencephalogram

1 . An electrode system for at least one of an intracranial electroencephalogram, an intracranial electroencephalography, and an electrocorticography, the electrode system comprising:

a subdural electrode array including:

a substrate configured to be applied directly on a brain of a patient, the substrate being conformable to a shape of the brain and having a profile suitable to be placed within a subdural space in between a portion of intact cranium and cerebral cortex of the brain;

a first tracking device arranged on the substrate;

a second tracking device arranged on the substrate; and

a plurality of electrodes, arranged on the substrate, configured to sense electrical activity associated with the brain, wherein each of the plurality of electrodes has a first predefined relationship with the first tracking device and a second predefined relationship;

a tracking system operable to (i) determine a first position of the first tracking device relative to a reference point based on a strength of an electromagnetic field relative to the first tracking device and (ii) a second position of the second tracking device relative to the reference point based on the strength of the electromagnetic field relative to the second tracking device; and

a controller configured to selectively determine a position for each of the plurality of electrodes based on at least one of the first position of the first tracking device and a nearest of the first predefined relationship and the second predefined relationship.

2 . (canceled)

3 . The electrode system of claim 1 , wherein the plurality of electrodes is arranged on the substrate in M rows by N columns.

4 . The electrode system of claim 1 , wherein M is equal to one and N is equal to at least two.

5 . The electrode system as claim 1 , wherein M is equal to at least two and N is equal to at least two.

6 . The electrode system of claim 1 , wherein:

the subdural electrode array includes a unique identifier; and

the controller is configured to identify one or more characteristics associated with the subdural electrode array based on the unique identifier.

7 . The electrode system of claim 6 , wherein the unique identifier is read from at least one of a bar code, a quick response (QR) code, a radio-frequency identification tag, and a serial read-only memory chip.

8 . The electrode system of claim 6 , wherein the one or more characteristics include at least one of a size of the subdural electrode array, a number of the plurality of electrodes, a number of rows and columns of the plurality of electrodes, a size of the substrate, a label for each of the plurality of electrodes, a location of the first tracking device relative to the substrate, and the first predefined relationship between the first tracking device and each of the plurality of electrodes.

9 . The electrode system of claim 8 , wherein the controller is configured to store a plurality of different configurations of electrode arrays.

10 . The electrode system of claim 9 , wherein the controller is configured to receive a user selection of a type of the subdural electrode array from the plurality of different configurations of electrode arrays.

11 . The electrode system of claim 10 , wherein the controller is configured to receive and store one or more images of the brain.

12 . The electrode system of claim 11 , wherein the controller is configured to:

generate for display the one or more images of the brain; and

receive a user selection of a target area of the brain in which the subdural electrode array is to be applied.

13 . The electrode system of claim 12 , wherein the controller is configured to generate a virtual representation of a virtual electrode array, corresponding to the type of the subdural electrode array selected by the user, overlaid onto the selected target area.

14 . The electrode system of claim 13 , wherein:

the controller is configured to register a first space associated with the brain to a second space associated with the brain; and

wherein the first space is a generator coordinate system and the second space is an image coordinate system.

15 . The electrode system of claim 14 , wherein the controller is configured to determine when the subdural electrode array has been applied to a correct location of the brain based on a relationship between the selected target area and a real time location of the subdural electrode array.

16 . The electrode system of claim 1 , further comprising:

an electroencephalography (EEG) amplifier configured to:

receive the sensed electrical activity of the brain via a plurality of measurement signals; and

amplify the plurality of measurement signals, wherein:

the plurality of electrodes are configured to provide the plurality of measurement signals;

the EEG amplifier is configured to provide the amplified plurality of measurement signals to the controller; and

the controller is configured to determine when the subdural electrode array has been applied to the brain based on the amplified plurality of measurement signals.

17 . (canceled)

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20 . (canceled)

21 . A method for tracking a location of a plurality of electrodes of a subdural electrode array for performing at least one of an intracranial electroencephalogram, an intracranial electroencephalography, and an electrocorticography, the subdural electrode array including a substrate with a tracking device and the plurality of electrodes, wherein each of the plurality of electrodes has a predefined relationship with the tracking device, the method comprising:

sliding the subdural electrode array between at least one of:

a portion of an intact cranium and a cortex of a patient; and

on a cortical surface through an opening due to a bone flap;

selectively determining a position of the tracking device relative to a reference point, based on a strength of a generated electromagnetic field, relative to the tracking device; and

determining a position for each of the plurality of electrodes based on the position of the tracking device.

22 . The method of claim 21 , further comprising determining when the subdural electrode array has been applied to the cortex, wherein determining when the subdural electrode array has been applied to the cortex comprises:

measuring electrical activity of a brain of the patient with the plurality of electrodes; and

determining that the subdural electrode array has been applied to the cortex based on the measured electrical activity.

23 . (canceled)

24 . (canceled)

25 . The method of claim 22 , further comprising displaying a virtual representation of a virtual electrode array, wherein displaying the virtual representation of the virtual electrode array includes:

retrieving one or more stored images of a brain of the patient;

receiving a selection of a target area of the brain from the one or more images;

receiving a selection of a type of electrode array from a list of electrode array configurations;

receiving input regarding a position and an orientation of a selected electrode array relative to the target area; and

displaying the selected electrode array overlaid onto the selected target area of the one or more images.

26 . (canceled)

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29 . (canceled)