Silver/Silver Chloride Electrode Tips
Silver/Silver Chloride Electrode Tips
- Cleaning Tips and Care: Immediately after removing electrodes, wipe off any excess paste with a dry tissue. Leave the remaining paste in the electrode cavity undisturbed. However, do not let the paste dry or harden in the cavity. To keep paste moist from session to session simply take the electrodes, with paste in the wells, wrap in a tissue, and place the ends into a ziplock bag. Leave the leads out of the bag and close it as much as possible so that the paste does not dry out. When you are ready to do another session, remove the electrodes from the ziplock bag, add more paste and proceed with your session. Repeat steps above after each session. It is recommended that you briefly soak the electrodes in distilled water at the end of each week to remove all the paste. This will help keep the electrodes clean and prevent paste from accumulating on them.
***Please note you never want to use tap water or bottled water to soak electrodes. Only use distilled water or pure saline solution (using reagent grade saline) - Remove excess noise: Braid the electrodes loosely from0 the NeuroAmp up to the head. This helps subtract out any noise the electrodes might pick up. If you are using tactile feedback, make sure that the tactile device is not sitting in the same surface as the electrodes.
- When choosing your electrode configuration: The ear lobe and mastoid do not get very good connections. Instead use CZ (on top of the head) for the ground.
- Check your electrode configuration: For proper electrode configuration for 1-channel, see below. For 2-channel, using four electrodes and one jumper, please click here.
The Impedance Meter:
The impedance registers only for a second and then goes back to one red light on ground. If the electrodes are not attached to anybody or if there aren?t any electrodes plugged into the Neuroamp then that is normal. It is recommended that you plug the Neuroamp directly into the computer and not into a USB Hub. If the electrodes are attached to someone then make sure your ground has a good connection. If the impedance meter is on, the neurofeedback session will remain paused until the impedance meter is turned back off.
Checking the Impedance Meter:
Once you have a good connection make sure that the impedance meter is then turned off. (The light on the Neuroamp you want to see is the power light- press the ?check impedance meter? button again if you need to and then try resuming your session in Cygnet by pressing the play button.)
There is no need to continuously check electrodes unless there is some sort of movement that you think has pulled the electrodes off or if ?Check electrode? message comes on in Cygnet.
Check Electrode message in Cygnet:
If you see the ?Check electrode? light come on in Cygnet, first make sure you are using the most current version of Cygnet.
Click on ?Help? at the top of Cygnet, click on ?About?, and the Cygnet version should be 1.1.3.14 (or later). The "Check electrode? message can come on if an electrode has a poor connection, the electrode comes loose during the session or when moves, or when client moves or shifts their position in the chair. The ?Check electrode? message may also come on if the electrodes are hanging loose (try braiding the electrodes). The electrodes may pick up extra noise because of vibration from tactile feedback. Artifact, such as eye blinks, can cause the ?Check electrode? light to come on. It can also be triggered by excess 60 Hz activity, which can also be a sign of
increased muscle tension.
See also Cygnet Manual 1 9 0_enD Page 7
The ?Check electrode? function of the Cygnet software is intended to warn you about faulty electrode contact. However, no claims are made regarding the quality of the EEG signal. It is the responsibility of the practitioner to decide if the EEG is suited for the intended purpose.
See also Cygnet Manual 1 9 0_enD Page 33
Check Electrode display:
If the line frequency pick-up exceeds 100V, Cygnet asks you to check the electrode contacts. The ?Check electrode? signal does not mean that the contacts are necessarily bad but suggests that you check ? the actual line pick up level depends not only on the electrode contact quality but also on your environment.
Sintered Silver/Silver Chloride Electrodes Test:
1-Channel Electrode Test:
Make a little ball of Ten20 paste and attach all 3 electrodes to the ball of conductive paste, press the ?Check Impedance Meter? button on the Neuroamp, and all 3 electrodes should go in the green.
2-Channel Electrode Test:
Place electrodes in a cup of saline solution mix a little Ten20 paste into the solution (if there isn?t already any in there), press the ?Check Impedance Meter? button on the Neuroamp, and all 5 electrodes should go in the green.
If one of the electrodes doesn?t light up or doesn?t light up in green, your electrodes may have been damaged. Try activating it again in 30-45 minutes and then test again.