Assessment of changes in the electrical activity of the brain during general anesthesia using portable electroencephalography

Introduction: The analysis of the electrical activity of the brain using scalp electrodes with electroencephalography (EEG) could reveal the depth of anesthesia of a patient during surgery. However, conventional EEG equipment, due to its price and size, are not a practical option for the operating room and the commercial units used in surgery do not provide access to the electrical activity. The availability of low-cost portable technologies could provide for further research on the brain activity under general anesthesia and facilitate our quest for new markers of depth of anesthesia. Objective: To assess the capabilities of a portable EEG technology to capture brain rhythms associated with the state of consciousness and the general anesthesia status of surgical patients anesthetized with propofol. Methods: Observational, cross-sectional trial that reviewed 10 EEG recordings captured using OpenBCI portable low-cost technology, in female patients undergoing general anesthesia with propofol. The signal from the frontal electrodes was analyzed with spectral analysis and the results were compared against the reports in the literature. Results: The signal captured with frontal electrodes, particularly α rhythm, enabled the distinction between resting with eyes closed and with eyes opened in a conscious state, and sustained anesthesia during surgery. Conclusions: It is possible to differentiate a resting state from sustained anesthesia, replicating previous findings with conventional technologies. These results pave the way to the use of portable technologies such as the OpenBCI tool, to explore the brain dynamics during anesthesia.