Low resolution conductivity estimation to improve source localization

Bioelectric source localization in the brain is sensitive to geometry and conductivity properties of the different head tissues. We propose a method that individually optimizes a realistically-shaped volume conductor with regard to the conductivities using a simulated annealing optimizer in discrete parameter space. We show that the method is able to simultaneously reconstruct two reference sources and a reference skull:brain conductivity ratio even in the presence of realistic noise. The individually optimized head model can then be used for the analysis of clinical or cognitive data.