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CloseIDUN IN-EAR EEG: AN ADVANCED SMART WATCH FOR THE BRAIN
A recent study found that 1 in 3 people worldwide suffer from sleep apnea, while 80% of the population remains undiagnosed.1 Another neurological study pointed to high mental workload and fatigue noticeably reducing focus and reaction time by triggering stress-related changes in the body.2
These brain health and well-being challenges formed the basis for the collaboration of IDUN Technologies and Analog Devices on the IDUN Guardian, a brain-sensing earbud. This hardware/software platform combines IDUN’s patented DRYODE™ electrode technology with ADI’s universal front end for bio potential signals on the body to capture electroencephalography (EEG) signals and transform them into actionable insights.
IDUN Guardian represents a first-of-its-kind, consumer wearable solution that incorporates sleep and productivity tracking in a hearable (not wearable/wristwatch). One potential application for IDUN Guardian is hands-free device control, which could significantly benefit individuals with disabilities.
“ADI recognized early on the enormous potential of brain-sensing earbuds. This collaboration has been instrumental in transforming IDUN Guardian into a platform for mass-market adoption. ADI’s analog front-end solutions allowed us to significantly shrink the form factor and reduce power consumption, making the leap from niche BCI applications to scalable consumer products possible.”Simon Bachmann
CEO | IDUN Technologies
AT A GLANCE
COMPANY
Founded in 2017 by Séverine Gisin and Simon Bachmann, IDUN Technologies (pronounced “eee-doon”) AG is a Swiss neurotechnology company that measures and analyzes brain activity via in-ear EEG hearables (IDUN Guardian). They aim to make brain data more accessible, combining hardware, data, algorithms, and personalization to create a more empathic digital world.
GOAL
Integrate neurotechnology into consumer hearables, making it a mainstream reality with potential applications including sleep monitoring, cognitive performance tracking, hands-free device control, enhancing hearing aids, and enabling brain-computer interfaces (BCI).
CHALLENGES
Optimizing electrode placement for consistent signal quality, ensuring user comfort for prolonged use, and integrating audio functionalities without introducing electrical noise. Also, enhancing SWaP (size, weight, and power) to gather EEG data from an extremely small footprint.
SOLUTION
ADI provided the advanced, analog, front-end components and biosensors technology that enables making EEG a reality in low power consumer earbuds, while also supporting audio. The result is a compact, reliable, brain-sensing earbud suitable for applications, from cognitive workload monitoring to immersive entertainment experiences.
What is EEG and brain sensing?Electroencephalography (EEG) records brain activity using electrodes on the scalp or in the ear. These electrodes detect tiny neural signals, which are amplified and analyzed to provide insights into brain function, supporting neurological health and wellness monitoring. |
IN-EAR EEG ENABLES FUTURE WELLNESS INSIGHTS
The IDUN Guardian earbuds use IDUN’s patented DRYODE “dry” electrode technology, enabling EEG monitoring without messy gels or skull caps. This allows comfortable, at-home EEG monitoring while providing biometrics and classifiers for frequency bands, jaw clench, and eye movement detection.
IDUN Guardian’s channels are optimized for EEG, with built-in filters for clean, accurate signals, and skin contact impedance to add valuable insights for applications like stress monitoring. Safety features include pacemaker detection and shock protection. Plus, sleep staging from EEG allows accurate microarchitecture (sleep stages) and allows for audiomodulation (acoustic stimulation).
What’s more, IDUN Guardian tracks EEG, EMG (electromyography–muscle), and EOG (electrooculography–eye movements), all from one channel, similar to what occurs during a polysomnography (PSG)—a comprehensive sleep study used to diagnose sleep disorders.
Unlike smartwatches, IDUN Guardian offers reliable sleep tracking and cognitive insights and interventions (for example, acoustic stimulation). Data is conveniently transferred via Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) to IDUN software for analysis. Its compact, energy-efficient design makes it the ideal wearable for a health and wellness device.
"Our partnership with IDUN Technologies marks a breakthrough in consumer neurotechnology. Integrating state-of-the-art biosensors into everyday earbuds to transform brain-sensing from a clinical tool into a lifestyle feature… and setting a new standard for future consumer products.”Matthew Tyler
Managing Director Product Line Management/Consumer | Analog Devices
A PARTNERSHIP ENGINEERED FOR GOOD
This ambitious, humanity-driven partnership between IDUN and ADI represents an important leap forward in size, power efficiency, and seamless integration of neuroscience into consumer wearables. It helps pave the way for expanded breakthroughs in delivering enhanced experiences in entertainment, productivity, and personal well-being.
Simon Bachmann, CEO of IDUN Technologies, agrees. “Beyond the technical support, working with ADI has given us a head start in this emerging field—helping open doors to major OEMs, enabling us to showcase brain-sensing earbuds on a global stage like CES.”
Acquiring ExG Signals: Challenges and Delicate Balance
Electrophysiological signals such as EEG (electroencephalography–brain), EMG (electromyography–muscle), EKG (electrocardiography–heart), and EOG (electrooculography–eye )—known as ExG signals—are vital for monitoring specific areas of the body but are inherently difficult to detect (amplitude is often in microvolt range). Accurate measurement demands sensitive instrumentation, noise reduction, and precise signal conditioning, requiring both advanced engineering and physiological insight.
ADI’s MAX30011 Quad Channel Bio Potential AFE—used in the IDUN Guardian—features a low noise mode that maximizes signal clarity by using more power to achieve minimal input-referred noise, enabling precise, bio-potential measurements.
IN-EAR EEG ANALYSIS FOR EVERYDAY WELL-BEING
Sleep Monitoring
- Offers more accurate insights into sleep stages compared to wrist wearables.
- Helps with audio modulation for sleep improvement.
Personalized Hearing Aid
- Feasibly capture information about the listener’s attentional focus in noisy environments (cocktail party), unlike traditional hearing aids.³
Brain–Computer Interfaces (BCIs)
- Enables hands-free device control for users with motor impairments, expanding VR, robotics, and smart environments.
- Supports intuitive BCI control, with around-the-ear EEG matching scalp EEG for speech imagery, and real-time home appliances control.⁴
Focus and Workload
- Real-time monitoring of cognitive workload in aviation, surgery, and education to enhance performance and safety.
- Distinguishes resting, focused, and drowsy states for driving, piloting, or industrial operation.
- Enables adaptive systems to detect fatigue, vigilance loss, and drowsiness in real-world use.⁴
Mental Health and Wellness
- Detects stress, anxiety, or mood patterns with real-time feedback or meditation guidance.
- Paired with mindfulness apps to improve emotional regulation.
EEG SKULL CAP vs. IDUN GUARDIAN IN-EAR WEARABLES
Neurological/EEG testing in a lab involves “wet” electrodes with conductive gel in tight skull caps to lower skin impedance and improve signal quality, enabling full brain EEG recordings from multiple electrode sites. IDUN Guardian in-ear EEG earbuds use patented “dry” electrodes (DRYODE) without gel, for low impedance, high quality data, and a comfortable, convenient, long-term fit.
ENGINEERING HUMAN INSIGHT WITH IN-EAR EEG EARBUDS
“Revolutionary” is often overused to describe technology that often falls short of its promise. The IDUN Guardian in-ear EEG earbud, however, justifies this claim as it is the first consumer wearable using brain sensing for sleep and productivity tracking in a hearable.
The ADI/IDUN collaboration enabled IDUN Guardian to unlock insights to transformative health and wellness applications—from improved sleep and cognitive performance to enhanced hearing aids and brain-computer interfaces for focus tracking, steering control, and even early detection of Alzheimer’s and epilepsy.
REFERENCES
1 “The Global Sleep Crisis.” ResMed’s 2024 Sleep Survey.
2 Neda Mahdavi, Leili Tapak, Ebrahim Darvishi, Amin Doosti-Irani, and Masoud Shafiee Motlagh. “Unraveling the Interplay Between Mental Workload, Occupational Fatigue, Physiological Responses, and Cognitive Performance in Office Workers.” Scientific Reports, 2024.
3 Mike Thornton, Danilo Mandic, and Tobias Reichenbach. “Comparison of Linear and Nonlinear Methods for Decoding Selective Attention to Speech from Ear-EEG Recordings.” arXiv, 2024.
4 Netiwit Kaongoen, Jaehoon Choi, and Sungho Jo. “Speech-Imagery-Based Brain-Computer Interface System Using Ear-EEG.” Journal of Neural Engineering, 2021.
