Contributions:NeusenW4

Location

http://www.bci2000.org/svn/trunk/src/contrib/SignalSource/NeusenW4

Versioning

Authors

Jintao Li, Frontier Lab for Applied Neurotechnology (https://ant.chenfrontierlab.com), Tianqiao and Chrissy Chen Institute

Jürgen Mellinger, Neurotechcenter

Source Code Revisions

9405: first working version of NeusenW4 source module

Functional Description

This Source module allows BCI2000 to receive electrophysiological data from one single NeuSenW device. It requires the version 4 of the Neuracle API.

Known Issues

With the NeusenW4 API, it is not possible to achieve a sample block duration less than 100ms. This is a limitation of the API and cannot be improved upon on the BCI2000 side.

Usage of Device

• 
  Figure 1: NeusenW

• 
  Figure 2: Smart Sync Center

• 
  Figure 3: Dongle

These are all devices you need to use the Source module: NeusenW amplifier, Smart Sync Center, and the dongle provided by Neuracle. Start by connecting the Smart Sync Center to the power source. Then, turn on the amplifier and plug the dongle into the computer. No other software is needed. Make sure the computer and amplifier are connected to the Smart Sync Center through Wi-Fi.

• 
  Figure 4: Trigger Box

The trigger box can record a variety of types of events (such as sound, light, program output), with sufficiently high timing accuracy and neurophysiological data synchronously, but it is not supported by the current version of the Source module.

Setting Up BCI2000

Once you compiled BCI2000 correctly and generated the solution, create a batch file to run the NeusenW Source Module. Just copy one of the existing batch files in BCI2000/batch. Then replace the first line beginning with

Start executable 

with

Start executable NeusenW --local

.

Usage Steps

Make sure that the device and computer are connecting to Smart Sync Center and the dongle is plugged in before you start BCI2000.

1. Double click the batch file you just created.
2. Click the "Config" button.
3. Set suitable parameters. Detail about these parameters can be found below.
4. Click "Set Config".
5. Click "Start" to start the experiment.

Parameters

SourceCh

Defines the number of signal channels to be acquired from the NeusenW device given the following constraints. Only certain numbers of channels are supported for specific sampling rates defined by SamplingRate.

When SamplingRate is not bigger than 1000 Hz (250 Hz/500 Hz/1000 Hz), there is no limit to this parameter. When SamplingRate is 2000 Hz, SourceCh cannot be bigger than 32. When SamplingRate is 4000 Hz, the maximum of SourceCh is 16. When SamplingRate is 8000 Hz, the maximum of SourceCh is 8. When SamplingRate is 16000 Hz, the maximum of SourceCh is 4.

If this parameter is set to "auto", it will automatically be set to the number of available amplifier channels, as is suitable for SamplingRate settings up to, and including, 1000 Hz.

SampleBlockSize

The NeusenW4 API does not support data blocks below 100ms. If you set SampleBlockSize to "auto", a data block duration of 100ms will be chosen.

SamplingRate

The NeusenW device supports 7 different sampling rates: 250 Hz, 500 Hz, 1000 Hz, 2000 Hz, 4000 Hz, 8000 Hz, and 16000 Hz. This parameter may limit the value of SourceCh as described above. When set to "auto", a sampling rate of 1000 Hz will be chosen.

SourceChGain

Use "auto" to have the correct values filled in by the source module.

SourceChOffset

Use "auto", or a list of length SourceCh with all zero entries.

ChannelNames

When set to "auto", channel names will be filled in automatically. If SourceCh is set to 64, EEG 10-20 electrode names from the Neuracle cap will be used. Otherwise, generic channel names indicating the sensor type and number will be created.