Pendant Pod User Manual Rel 3.

Pocket Neurobics

WirelessPendantAAAPods
Technical&UserManual

PendantEEG
PendantpIRHEG

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Release1.112May04,Program/Pod/Standalonemodes
Release2.017July04,simplificationtotwomodesonly:OperatingandProgram
Release2.110August04,addedBoExplorer&BioErasupportforquicklychangingPendantprofile,
samplingratevslinkresiliencetoerrors.
Release3.026October04,includesPendantHEG,bothnIR&pIRsystem
Release3.129November04,addstablesofrfchannelassignment
Release3.25March05,ed.toConnections
Release3.36July2005generalrevision,newimages
Release3.430July2007eegelectrodeinfo
Release3.526February2008newAAAPendantEEG&pIRinfo
Release3.619June2008AAAPendantpIRcalibrationdescribed

IMPORTANTNOTICE:MinderLabsPLMAKESNOWARRANTIES,EXPRESSORIMPLIED,INCLUDING,BUTNOTLIMITEDTO,ANY
IMPLIEDWARRANTYOFMERCHANTABILITYORFITNESSFORAPARTICULARPURPOSE,beyondproductdefectwarrantiesexpressly
giveninthebodyofthisdocument.TheUserisresponsiblefordeterminingwhetherthisproductisfitforaparticularpurpose.
IMPORTANTNOTICE:ThisproductisNOTFORMEDICALUSEandissolelyforPERSONALUSE.Notforusebychildren.Notforuseby
photosensitiveepileptics.Theprospectiveuserisadvisedthatsomeindividualswithsensitivenervoussystemsmayhavenegative
reactionstoneurofeedbackand/orlight&soundtraining.Thiscanbethecaseevenunderprofessionalguidance.Reportsof
negativereactionsarerare&mostlyanecdotal.Ifheadachesordiscomfortarise,ceaseuse.Priortouse,READUSERMANUALinits
entirety,particularlytheSectiononUSERSAFETY.

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Contents

QUICKSTART 4
INTRODUCTION4
USERSAFETY 5
CONDUCTIONOFELECTRICITYTHROUGHEEGELECTRODES.......................................................................................................................................5
INFECTIONRISK(PENDANTEEG).......................................................................................................................................................................5

PRODUCTCARE&MAINTENANCE

SYSTEMRESET............................................................................................................................... ...................................................................5
RECHARGEABLEBATTERY....................................................................................................................................................................................5
WARRANTY.....................................................................................................................................................................................................6

PACKINGLIST 6
CONNECTIONS 6
POWERUP

PUSHBUTTONFUNCTION

RFCHANNELCHANGE............................................................................................................................... .........................................................8
MODECHANGE................................................................................................................................................................................................7
SIGNALVALIDITY.................................................................................................................................................ERROR!BOOKMARKNOTDEFINED.

MANAGINGTHEWIRELESSLINK&FAULTFINDING

INTEFERINGSIGNALS............................................................................................................................... ...........................................................9
NOCONNECTION..............................................................................................................................................................................................9

BATTERYMANAGEMENT

APPENDIX1:PROCEDURETOPLACEELECTRODESANDTHE1020SYSTEM................................................................................................................10

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QuickStart
ThePendantPodsystemacquiresabiosignalandsendsitoverawirelesslinktoaPCapplicationforprocessingand
feedback.ThesystemcomprisesthePendantwirelesspodwithrechargeablebattery,aUSBportwirelessdongle,and
aUSBportbatterycharger.ThesystemcanoperateonanyoneofeightwirelesschannelsthePendantPodandthe
dongleneedtobesettothesamewirelesschannel.

Ifnotsuppliedwiththeproduct,electrodesforthePendantEEGcanbeorderedfromhttp://www.pocket
neurobics.comoralternativelystandard1.5mmelectrodes(donotusegoldelectrodes)canbeobtainedonlinefrom..
http://www.telegrass.comor
http://www.rochestermed.com
TheelectrodekitsuppliedbyPocketNeurobicsincludesscalpandearclipelectrodessufficienttoimplementanyoneor
twochannelprotocol.

Beforefirstuse:
ChargethebatteryovernightonthebatterychargerwhichplugsintoaUSBport.Itisagoodideatoplacethe
batteryontheUSBchargerwheneverthePendantisnotinuse.IfthereisashortageofUSBports,thenalow
costUSBexpansionhub,whichtypicallyprovidesthreeextraUSBports,canbeused.
InstalltheWindowsdriverssuppliedfortheWirelessDongle.RefertoInstallManualfordetailedinformation.
IfBioExplorersoftwarehasbeenpurchased,refertoInstallManualformoreinformation.

Introduction
ThisUserManualdescribesthevariantsofthewirelessPendantPodsystem:
thePendantEEG,a2channelEEG
thePendantpIRHEG(passiveInfrared)
[HEGsystemsmeasurebrainbloodflowoxygenationlevels.TheHEGsystems
requireaspecialheadsetsensor.]
Allsystemsarepods,meaningthattheirpurposeistoacquireabiofeedbacksignal
forprocessingbyseparatePCbasedBiofeedbackApplications.

ThePendantsupportstwoormodesofoperation:
OperatingMode(greenlight):acquiresrawbiosignalsandpassesthis
datatoPCbasedBiofeedbacksoftwareviaaUSBwirelessdongle.Inthe
caseofthePendantEEG,thePodallowsachoiceinsamplingratesof
122/128/256/512samplespersecond(sps)andachoiceineegbio
signalbandwidthof40Hzor48Hz(and56Hzforspecialapplications).
ForthePendantHEGpIR,thesamplingrateasseenatthePC
applicationisfixedat256sps.
ProgrammingMode(redlight):thismodeisselectedtoallow
programmingofthePendant,eithertoupgradethefirmwareofthe
Pendant,ortochangethePendantprofile:eginthecaseofthe
PendantEEG,itssamplingrateandeegsignalbandwidth
CalibrationMode(yellowlight):thismodeallowsfinecalibrationofthetemperaturereading.

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ThePendantPodcurrentlysupportsthefollowingBiofeedbackApplications:
BioExplorerhttp://www.cyberevolution.com
supportsquickPendantprofilechange,versionupgrades,&checkingofcurrentversion
BioErahttp://www.proatech.com/products/bioerapro/
supportsquickPendantprofilechange,versionupgrades,&checkingofcurrentversion
EEGerhttp://www.eeger.com/
supportsthePendantEEGatthedefaultsamplingrateof256sps
PocketNeurobicsFirmwareLoaderhttp://www.pocketneurobics.com/upgrade.htm
supportsversionupgrade(thisisnotabiofeedbackapplication,merelyafileloadutility)

ThePendantEEGfrequencyresponseis1.6Hzto40/48/56Hzwithextensiondownto0.1Hzatalowergainsetting.
ThisallowstheuseofthePendantEEGforSlowCorticalPotential(SCP)andElectrocardiogram(ECG)applications.

UserSafety
ConductionofElectricitythroughEEGElectrodes
Tooperate,EEGsystemsrequirealowresistancepathtothescalp.Shouldthesepathscomeintocontactwithlethal
voltages,seriousinjuriesordeathcouldresult.SafetyisthusanimperativeandPocketNeurobics.comhaveadopted
bestpracticeinthisareaofdesign:
batteryoperation
wirelessexternallinkstoremovethepossibilityofPCfailure&dangerousvoltagesconductedviawires
EEGcurrentsbetweentheunitandtheuserarestrictlylimitedinaccordancewithinternationalstandard
IEC601

ENSURETHATTHEUNITISOPERATEDINSAFERESIDENTIALOROFFICEENVIRONMENTSDONOTUSEININDUSTRIAL
ORHOSPITALENVIRONMENTS.CONNECTEEGCABLETOPENDANTEEGUNITONLYDONOTCONNECTTOANYOTHER
DEVICEORCONNECTOR.
InfectionRisk(PendantEEG)
TraditionalapproachestotheplacementofEEGelectrodesonthescalpinvolveabradingtheskintoreduceelectrode
scalpimpedance(lessthan5Kohmsistraditionallyrecommended).Breakingtheskincreatestheriskofinfectionfrom
bloodbornepathogenssuchasHIV,HepatitisC,andCreutzfeldtJakobdisease.Althoughtherehavebeennoreported
casesofsuchinfectionsresultingfromEEGsessions,theU.S.CentreforDiseaseControlhasissuedguidelines
recommendingthatelectrodesbesterilisedpriortoreuse.

WithmoderninstrumentationamplifiersasusedinthePendantEEG,anelectrodescalpimpedanceoflessthan5K
ohmsisnotnecessary.Valueslessthan40Kohmsarequiteserviceable.Itisthereforerecommendedthatskinnotbe
abraded.Bothcupelectrodeandsalinesolutionelectrodescanperformsatisfactorilywithoutabrasiveskinpreparation.
Whenusingconductiveelectrodepaste&metalliccupelectrodes,therecommendedprocedureistofirstrub
conductivepasteonthesite,thenaddmorepastetothesiteforbulk,andthenapplytheelectrode(filledtoexcesswith
paste).

ProductCare&Maintenance
SystemReset
ThePendantPodscanberesetbyturningoffthedeviceviatheswitchatthebaseoftheunit.
RechargeableBattery
TwoAAANiMHrechargeablebatteriesaresuppliedwiththeunit.Theunitcanoperatecontinuouslyforupto8hours
afterovernightrecharge.IfthePendantPodisusedonlyirregularly,pleaseremovethebatteryfromtheunitpriorto
storage.Shelflifeforafullychargedbatteryisafewweeks.Thebatteryshouldbegoodforatleast300chargecycles.
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Warranty
ThePendantPodsarewarrantedagainstelectricalfailurefor30daysfromdateofpurchase(seeexceptionsbelow).If,
withinthis30dayperiod,theunitceasestofunctionwithitnothavingexperiencedphysicaldamagetothecase,it,
togetherwithitswirelessdongle(doNOTreturnelectrodes,headsetsorcharger),maybereturnedtothefactoryfor
freerepairorreplacement.Fordetailsonshipping,pleaseemailsupport@PocketNeurobics.com.:

Shippingcoststothefactoryaretheresponsibilityoftheuser(typicallyaboutUS$40).PocketNeurobicsshallrepairor
replacetheunitandpayforreturnshipment.

Theunitisnotwarrantedagainstabuse,noragainst
failureofthebattery
corrosionorcontaminationofEEGelectrodes(electrodesareconsideredaconsumable)

ReplacementbatteryunitscanbeobtainedfromlocalelectronicsstoressuchasTandy.Replacementelectrodescanbe
orderedfromRochestermed.com,TeleGrass.comorothersources.(SeePocketNeurobicshomepagefordetails.)

Forunitswhichfailwhilstoutofwarranty,andnothavingsufferedphysicaldamage,aservicefeeofUS$120forrepair
orreplacementshallbeapplicable.

PackingList

PendantEEGw.touchproofelectrodeinterface(electrodesnot
supplied)
or
PendantHEGpIR(headsetnormallyincluded)
2AAArechargeablebatteries
USBwirelessdongle
USBNiMHbatterycharger
RetractableUSBextensionCable
InstallManual
CDincluding
thisusermanual
WindowsdriversfortheWirelessDongle
CopyofBioExplorer(requiresUSBsecuritydongle)
SampleBioExplorerdesigns
SampleBioExplorervideofiles
UpdatesandGeneralInformation

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9
9
9
9
9
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Connections
ThePendantEEGinterfacestostandard1.5mmtouchproofelectrodes.TheunitprovidestwobipolarmontageEEG
circuitsandaNeutralelectrodeatotaloffiveEEGelectrodes.

Redterminalsindicatethe+electrodeandblackterminalsindicatetheelectrode.Theoutermostredterminal
identifiesEEGChannel1.ThegreenterminalistheNeutralelectrode.Itisadrivenrightlegcircuitandworksactively
tosuppress50/60Hzinterference.Ifoperatingjustoneeegchannel,chooseEEGChannel1.

ThePendantHEGsconnectdirectlytotherespectiveheadset.

ThewirelesslinkconnectstoaUSBwirelessdonglewhichcanbeconnected
directlyintoaUSBportor,toimprovelinkresilience,attachedtothemonitor
withthevelcrosuppliedinaccordancewiththeimages.

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Thereisanon/offswitchatthebaseoftheunit,andthereisapushbuttonswitchonthesideoftheunit.Theswitchon
thesideoftheunitcontrolsthesettingofOperating/Programmingmode,andthesettingofthewirelesschannel
number.

ForallPendantPods,therearetwochannelsofdatasenttothePCoverthewirelesslink.Thesetwochannelsare
assignedasfollows:

Device
RFLinkChannel1
RFLinkChannel2
PendantEEG
EEGChannel1
EEGChannel2
PendantHEGpIR
HEGChannel1
BatteryVoltagereadout

PowerUp
ThePendantPodsareswitchedonandoffbyasmallswitchonthebaseoftheunit.

PushbuttonFunctions

ThePendantPodshavethree(03)pushbuttonsonthesideoftheunitasfollows:

Changesmodeafter4seconds
V+

Changeschannelsup

Changeschannelsdown

Allbuttonsareactivatedbypressure.ThegreenLEDindicatesOperatingModeandtheredLEDindicatesProgramming
Mode.Ineithermode,thewirelesschannelnumberisindicatedbythenumberofflashes(oneflashindicatesWireless
channel01isactive,eightflashesindicateWirelesschannel08isactive).TheV+andVchannelchangebuttonsareonly
activeinProgrammingMode.

Modechange
Pressingthebuttonforgreaterthanfoursecondswilltogglebetweenmodes:

OperatingMode(greenLED):acquiresrawbiosignalsandpassesthisdatatoPCbasedBiofeedbacksoftwareviaaUSB
wirelessdongle.ThePendantEEGisshippedwith256sps/40Hzasthedefaultprofile,howeverotherprofiles(ieother
samplingratesandbandwidths)canbeselectedifthisfunctionissupportedbytheBiofeedbackApplication.To
reprogramthePendant,itfirstmustbeplacedonProgrammingMode(redLED).ForthePendantpIRpressingthe
modebuttonagainwillchangetoCalibrationmode.

NotethatthePendantPodpassesadviceonthecurrentsamplingratetotheBiofeedbackApplication,andthe
BiofeedbackApplicationwillautomaticallyswitchtothecorrectsamplingrate.

ProgrammingMode(redLED):thismodeisselectedtoallowchangingProfiles:iechangingthesamplingrateorEEG
signalbandwidth,orageneralupgradeofthePendantPodsfirmwareasnewfeaturesareintroduced.

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Wirelesschannelchange

Itmayberequiredtochangethewirelesschannelnumberforoneoftworeasons:
thereisinterferencefromsourcessuchaswirelessLANs,orBluetoothdevices
thereismorethanonePendantdevicewithinarangeof10metres

BoththePendantandtheWirelessDongleneedtobesettothesamewirelesschannel.TheWirelessDongleusesthe
followingmechanismtomanuallychangethewirelesschannel:

InProgrammingMode,activatingtheV+orVpushbuttonwillselectoneoftheeightavailablewirelesschannels.
PressingV+willincrementthewirelesschannelnumberbyoneandpressingVwilldecrementthechannelnumberby
one.TheLEDwillflashaccordingtothewirelesschannelselected(asingleflashforrfch1,etc).

WhilsttheWirelessDongleisreceivingavalidsignalfromaPendantPod,thegreenLEDontheDonglewillbesteady
on,andthewirelesschannelnumberwillflashoff.WhentheDongleisnotreceivingasignal,theLEDwillbesteadyoff,
andthewirelesschannelnumberwillflashon.Similarly,whenthePendantisinOperatingmode,itsLEDwillbesteady
on,indicatingthatitistransmitting,andwillflashoffthewirelesschannelnumber,whereasinProgrammingmode,its
LEDwillbeoffandthewirelesschannelnumberwillflashon.NotethattheBiofeedbackApplicationsoftwaremayallow
theusertochangetheRFChannelnumberoftheWirelessdongle.
Firmware version and serial number
Toidentifytheversionofthefirmwareonyourunit,theBiofeedbackApplicationmayhaveatoolspecifictothe
PendantPodlabelledAbout.ThePendantneedstobeinProgrammingmodetoactivatethisfunction.Theserial
numberandversionofthefirmwareoftheWirelessDongleandotherdevicesthatthedonglemayhavediscovered,
suchasaPod,arereportedtotheBiofeedbackApplication.Versionnumbersappearsimilarto:

Dgl20xwirelessdongleversion20x
e020xPendantEEGversion20x
h120xPendantHEGpIRversion20x

TheAboutfunctionwillalsoidentifyaserialnumbersuchas:
sn12345678

CalibratingthePendantpIR
PressingtheModebuttonagainchangesthemodefromProgrammingMode(redLED)toCalibrationMode(yellow
LED).InCalibrationmodethewirelesschannelchangebuttonsdescribedabovecanbeusedtoincrementordecrement
thenominaltemperaturereadout+5degCatbodytemperature.Thisisgenerallyaonetimeoperationsincethe
Pendantwillrememberthelastsetting.Thereare16incrementsbetween5degand+5degmeaningaccuracyof+
0.6degCcanbeachieved.Thenominalvalue(ienocalibration)canberestoredbyobservingtheoscilloscopetrace
whilstpressingthecalibrationbuttonsandcountingeightstepsfromeitherthemaximumorminimumexcursion.

SignalValidity
ThePendantPodstransmitinformationtotheBiofeedbackApplicationregardingthevalidityoftherawbiofeedback
data.ThisinformationwilltypicallyappearintheStatusBaroftheBiofeedbackApplication:

PendantEEG:themagnitudeoftheEEGsignal.WheretheEEGsignalisexcessive,perhapsduetoa
poorlycontactingelectrode,thesignalwillbeflaggedasinvalid.
PendantHEGpIR:thermocouplesensornotconnected.

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Managingthewirelesslink&FaultFinding

Interferingsignals
The2.4GhzbandissharedwithBluetooth,somewirelessLANs,microwaveovens,andsome
videoandsoundsurveillancesystems.

Tohelppreventinterference,andtoallowmultipledevicestooperateincloseproximity,eight
wirelesschannelsareprovided.So,inthepresenceofaninterferingsignal,whichwillbe
evidencedbysynchronisationerrorsbeingreportedbytheBiofeedbackApplication,first
recourseistotryadifferentwirelesschannel.Ifthisisnotsuccessful,notethatsignalsatthese
frequenciesdonotpassthruobjects,butratherwillbounceoffwallsetc.Thus,isolatingsystemsthrupartitionsetcwill
generallybeeffective.

AUSBextensioncablecanbeusedtoeitherimprovethelineofsightbetweenthePendantandtheWirelessDongle
(forinstancebyvelcroingthewirelessdongleinanelevatedposition),orbyhidingtheWirelessDongleawayfrom
interferingsignals.Maximumrange(~5m),isbestassuredbyelevatingthedongle.

Alsonotethattheresiliencetowirelesslinkerrorswillbesignificantlyimprovedbyreducingthesamplingrateofthe
PendantEEG(iechangingthePendantEEGProfile).Reducingthesamplingratefrom512spsto256spsorfrom
256spsto122/128sps,willimproveresiliencetoerrors.

NoConnection
IftheBiofeedbackapplicationisnotsynchronisedtotheincomingsignal,checkthefollowing:
IstheremorethanonePendantPodinthevicinity?Ifso,aretheytransmittingonthesamewireless
channel?
IstheGreenlightontheWirelessDongleflashing?Ifnot,theWirelessDongleisfaulty
IstheGreenlightontheWirelessDonglemostlyon?Ifnot,thentheproblemrestswiththePendant.Isthe
PendantinOperatingmode(i.e.isitslightGreen)?IsthePendantonthesamewirelesschannelasthe
WirelessDongle?
IftheGreenlightontheWirelessDongleismostlyon,thentheproblemlieswiththePCorBiofeedback
Application.HastheBiofeedbackApplicationselectedthecorrectvirtualCOMport,andistheParityforthis
portsettonone?HastheBiofeedbackApplicationactivatedthevirtualCOMport?
DoesthedesignforyourBiofeedbackApplicationspecificallyselectthePendantPod,orhasitselected
anotheracquisitiondevice?

BatteryManagement
AlowbatteryconditionisadvisedtotheBiofeedbackApplicationoverthewirelesslink..Thisinformationisusually
presentedintheApplication'sStatusBar.Rechargingthebatteryovernightshouldgivecontinuousoperationforabout
8hours.Itisthereforegoodpracticetoleavethebatteryonchargeeacheveningnotethatthebatterycanbelefton
chargeindefinitely.

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Appendix1:ProceduretoplaceElectrodesandthe1020system

Tomeasureabrainwavesignal,theelectrodescaneitherbeinpairs,withthedifferenceinvoltagebetweenthetwo
electrodescaptured(thisiscalledbipolarmode),ortherecanbeacommonprobetowhichallother(unpaired)
electrodesarereferenced.Thisiscalledreferentialormonopolarmode.Thebipolarmodehastheadvantageofbeing
abletomeasurethedifferencesbetweenvariouspartsofthebrain,whilstthereferentialmodeallowsmultiplesignals
whilstminimisingthenumberofelectrodes.Bothmodesareincommonusage.Notethatthereferenceprobecanbe
attachedtothebodyanywhere,howevermostcommonlyitisattachedtotheearonthesideofthebrainbeing
studied.Ifbothhemispheresarebeingexercised,thereferenceprobecanbeattachedtoeitherearortoboth(usinga
linkedearcable),oralongthemidlineofthebrain.

Itisalsorequiredtoattachaneutralconnectortotheusertoensurethattheuserandtheeegmachineareofequal
potential.Thisisdoneinsuchawaysoastoensureonlyminutecurrentsflowbetweentheuserandtheinstrument.
Theneutralelectrodeisusuallyanearclip.The1020systemdescribesthelocationsonthescalpasshownbelow.

ThesymbolsF,C,P,O,andTareshorthandforthemajorlobesofthebrain:frontal,central,parietal,occipitaland
temporalrespectively,whereasthenumericsubscriptsdescribealocationonthelobe,withoddnumbersontheleft
hemisphereandevennumbersontheright.Notethatasubscriptof"z"denotesthemidlinepoint.

Forasingleactiveprobe(ie1channelreferentialmontage)acommonlyusedpointfortheactiveelectrodeiseitherC3,
C4orCzwiththereferenceononeorbothears.FortwoactiveelectrodesthemostcommonpointsareC3andC4,with
areferenceattheearsoronthemidline.Inaclinicalenvironmentitwouldbecommonfortheelectrodestobe
relocatedfromtimetotimeduringasession,withspecificregimenstotreatspecificconditions.

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