NeuroGenesysHow much data does a brain recording make?
Channels × sample rate × bits per sample. A consumer EEG headband produces a few kilobits a second; a thousand-channel intracortical implant recording broadband produces hundreds of megabits. Pick a setup to see the bit rate, storage per hour and day, and whether it fits a wireless link.
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1 · Recording setup
2 · Data rate and storage
Against common links
- Bluetooth LE (1M PHY) · 1 Mbps air rate; usable throughput is well below1.5× over capacity
- Bluetooth LE (2M PHY) · 2 Mbps air rate; usable throughput is well below77% of capacity
- USB 2.0 High Speed · 480 Mbps wired0.32% of capacity
Raw payload only: channels × sample rate × bits. Packet headers, error correction and timestamps add overhead, and storage formats (EDF, NWB) may pad samples to 16 or 32 bits.
Questions
What sample rate does EEG need?
Clinical and research EEG usually samples at 250 to 2,000 Hz, enough for brain rhythms up to about 100 Hz with margin. Recording action potentials (spikes) from individual neurons needs 20,000 to 30,000 Hz.
How much storage does an hour of EEG take?
A 64-channel cap at 1 kHz and 24 bits produces about 1.5 Mbps raw, or roughly 0.7 GB per hour before compression. A 4-channel headband at 256 Hz is under 6 MB per hour.
How do wireless BCIs handle the data?
They reduce it on the implant: detecting spikes and sending only their timing, or sending band power per channel instead of the raw waveform. That can cut the data rate by a factor of a hundred or more, which is what the compression ratio input models.
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