Any alternatives to OpenBCI electrode gel for OpenBCI cap ?
Mukil
India
in Electrodes
I'm using an OpenBCI EEG electrode cap (sintered). I could find Ten20 conductive paste but I'm not sure to use it with my electrode cap because it says 'It is recommended companion to Gold Cup Electrodes' .
Thanks for the clarification in advance.
Comments
Mukil, hi.
You want the jar of Electro-Gel, looks like below. You can likely find an EEG supplies store near you.
https://shop.openbci.com/products/electrodegel
There are other manufacturers as well. As long as the gel is intended for electrode caps, it should be fine. You definitely do not want a 'paste' product. It needs to be in a jar and liquid enough to inject with a syringe.
William
Found this stuff in your India Amazon,
https://www.amazon.in/Jomed-Electrode-Gel-250ml-pack/dp/B09SD14FVP/
Note that one aspect of the Electro-Gel in the Shop, is that it somewhat 'solidifies' upon contact with the air. I believe they have some type of starch mixed in with the water and saline. This is an advantage, since when injecting EEG gel, you want it to contact the skin under the electrode, but NOT to run down the scalp and make conductive 'bridges' to other 10-20 sites. For this reason the Electro-Gel is cloudy, as evidence of this starchy component.
The gel above is perfectly clear, which leads me to believe that it likely does NOT have this 'solidification' feature. But if you take care and use the minimum possible gel injection per site, running down is less an issue.
Also it is not packaged in a large mouth jar, making drawing it into a syringe less convenient. I suppose you could transfer it to another container.
I suggest calling around or visiting the various medical supply stores in India, and seeing if you can get the official Electro-Gel there. If not then settle for an alternative.
Thank you so much for the clarification
I have been using OpenBCI's official Electrode Gel. Because it is mentioned that 'use by March 17 2023', I have got to find a quick alternative to it, since importation can take time.
Actually that "expiration date" is not so hard and fast. You could email (contact at openbci.com) and ask some estimated lifetimes.
The stuff really only "expires" when exposed to air for extended periods. So another approach to extending the gel life, is to put some portion of it in a smaller container. And dispense from there. Don't leave the large container open for extended periods.
If it is really expired, it will cease to have the same liquidity properties as when new. As long as you store it at room temperature, leave it closed when not using, do not encourage evaporation (hot temperatures), it should last well past the labeled expiration.
https://openbci.com/forum/index.php?p=/discussion/3306/electro-gel-expiration-date-can-it-be-used-with-electro-cap
Thank you, William