Within the first two years, the AEGEUS project has developed a technical prototype for an application in functional neuroimaging. Initially, the clinical specifications had been defined, including defining which stakeholders and users will be most likely working with the device, the requirements from them, as well as the main target applications.
The target application for the proof-of-concept study in healthy volunteers and patients with epilepsy will be initially focused on two regions of interest which were chosen in line with the complementary nature of EEG and US. Because of the higher resolution of the EEG on the surface, the neocortical region of the motor cortex was chosen. In contrast, the hippocampus is a brain region that lies deep under the cortex, out of range for the EEG to capture its signal, but – so our vision – more accessible to functional US.
Within the first year, the clinical specification was used to drive further specification of hardware.
The AEGEUS hardware consists of ultrasound and EEG driving units, which operate the joint ultrasound and EEG headset. Through an iterative process, the hardware was drafted and manufactured in the second year. New diagnostic multichannel ultrasound transducers were developed for transmitting and receiving short ultrasound pulses. Particular emphasis was placed on achieving clean and reliable acoustic coupling and on overcoming the challenges posed by the skull bone. These were complemented by small, novel variable focusing ultrasound transducers designed for the stimulation of deeper brain regions. Together with the EEG system, these components were integrated into an easily applicable cap. The entire setup is controlled by software that reflects the clinical workflow and can also integrate MR and CT data. At the end of the second reporting period, the technical prototype was finalized. This laid the foundation for the clinical testing and optimization of the AEGEUS system, starting in the final project phase in 2026.
