Investigation of Neurophysiological Biomarkers Using Dry Electrodes EEG Device in Patients with Neurological Diseases Undergoing Motor Neurorehabilitation: Protocol Trial

The scope of this paper is to present a study protocol focused on the identification of neurophysiological biomarkers capable to characterize and/or potentially predict the results of motor rehabilitation in patients with neurological pathologies (i.e., stroke or Multiple Sclerosis) involving motor functional deficits of the upper limb. Particularly, using a dry electrodes device, weekly EEG recordings will be conducted to quantify the neuro-motor changes. Longitudinal changes in EEG biomarkers will be correlated with patients' clinical data/evaluations and with electromyography and kinematic data acquired during specific upper limb motor tasks. A preliminary feasibility study was performed on a group of healthy subjects to investigate: i) the feasibility of the proposed protocol using the EEG system equipped with dry electrodes; ii) the usability of the EEG system from the operators' point of view, and iii) the comfort assessment rated by the subjects. This paper presents the methodological approach that will be used in the study protocol and the preliminary results of feasibility obtained from a subset of healthy participants.