Early Detection of Alzheimer’s Onset with Permutation Entropy Analysis of EEG

In this short research communication, a new bio-marker based on information theory for the early diagnosis of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is proposed. Permutation Entropy (PE) seems, indeed, a promising feature, easily extracted from the multichannel EEG of a patient, for both measuring the (nonlinear) complexity of the related time series and the effect of slowing which is typically observed in EEG spectra. This feature could be added to other well known bio-markers (like the ratios of spectrum power in different rhythms) in order to improve the sensibility and specificity of the diagnosis and to monitor the possible conversion from Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) to AD. A sample result is presented here.