How to disinfect your Brain Products EEG equipment

How to disinfect your Brain Products EEG equipment

With labs and universities starting to re-open after the coronavirus lockdown, many researchers are able to start recording EEG data again. We would like to support you by summarizing our guidelines for disinfecting your Brain Products EEG equipment.

Electrodes

For passive electrodes (e.g. R-Net, BrainCaps, LiveCap), other physiological sensors using passive Ag/AgCl electrodes and also our active electrodes (e.g. actiCAP, actiCAP slim/snap, actiCAP Xpress, actiCAP Xpress Twist), we recommend using the Perfektan TB disinfecting agent (within the EU) and the Envirocide disinfecting agent (outside of the EU). Please adhere to the recommended exposure time and safety precautions as stated by the manufacturer of these products. Be sure to always rinse equipment thoroughly after disinfection procedures and let air dry. Please note that stronger agents will speed up deterioration of products.

Surfaces

For disinfecting the surfaces of products (amplifiers, batteries, adaptor boxes, etc.), we recommend wiping them down with a tissue drenched in a 70% concentration of isopropyl alcohol (commonly called isopropanol or 2-propanol) for at least 30 seconds.

General remarks

If you are unable to purchase the products mentioned above in your region, a disinfecting product with similar proportions and active ingredients would be recommended. Please understand that we are unable to provide confirmation for the wide range of disinfecting products available worldwide.

Although disinfecting your caps, electrodes and other measurement instruments is a great step in protecting yourselves and your participants from possible infection, please consider further protective measures recommended by your local authorities. As the official guidelines and recommendations on prevention of SARS-CoV-2 may vary across countries and institutions, please refer to the local guidelines and protocols for your institute or department, as well as check CDC guidelines.

Steve Luck and colleagues recently published a protocol for reducing covid19 transmission in EEG research. This protocol outlines a set of procedures – such as wearing personal protective equipment, preparing the participants and disinfecting the equipment – that are designed to reduce the risks of EEG recordings in the context of the covid19 pandemic. We recommend this as additional reading in order to minimize transmission risk as much as possible.