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I have initiated and led research in the application and development of signal processing theory, computing, artificial intelligence techniques especially artificial neural networks), and instrumentation to the recording and analysis of stimulus-related responses (evoked potentials) and the removal of ocular artifacts from the human electroencephalogram (EEG).
This has included invention of the methods for differentiating between patients with brain diseases and normal subjects. This work is being undertaken in collaboration with the Section of Clinical Neurology, Royal Hallamshire Hospital, Sheffield. In particular, Parkinson's disease and amnesia are being studied. The research team includes electronic engineers, clinical neurophysiologists and neurologists, a statistician, and research assistants working for PhD degrees.
The projects have applications in clinical diagnosis, monitoring, the prediction of conditions such as Huntington's Disease, Parkinson's Disease and schizophrenia, and the understanding of amnesia and of brain function. There is
also the possibility of producing instrumentation and software for the market place.
Current work involves measuring a number of event related potentials in the EEGs of subjects with Huntington’s Disease, Parkinson’s Disease, and persons with memory impairment and also matched healthy control subjects. The aims then are
to extract features from these potentials which relate to severity of impairment or symptom scores so that the conditions and the effects of drugs may be monitored. We also expect to learn more about the signal sources and brain mechanisms.
Some results of the research are:
(i) differentiation between the CNV (Contingent Negative Variation) responses of different patient groups and between them and normal subjects,
(ii) the sub-classification of Parkinson's Disease with prognostic possibilities,
(iii) extraction of single trial CNVs and their components and their source signals, and information about the signal transmission channels in the brain using the technique of Independent Component Analysis,
(iv) a technique for removing ocular artefacts from the EEG,
(v) purpose-designed instrumentation for recording and analysing evoked potentials.
Dr. B.W. Jervis, b.w.jervis@shu.ac.uk
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