Trilinear analysis applied to multichannel evoked potentials

A method for applying the topographic components (TC) model to discrimination and classification of multichannel evoked potentials (MEPs) is proposed, and a study designed to demonstrate and test this method is presented. The TC model is used to compare the MEPs of `normal´ and `abnormal´ test subjects to those of a normal reference group, as might be done clinically to screen patients for pathology. The spatial/temporal components identified for the reference group are demonstrated to fit the MEPs of the normal test subjects (not part of the group to which the model was originally fit), but not those of the abnormal test subjects. It is concluded that the TC model can indeed be a useful tool in MEP classification, e.g. in clinical diagnosis, and that further study is warranted along these lines