Biomarker Discovery for Autism Prediction Using Massive Feature Extraction Based on EEG Signals Nauman Hafeez, Abdul Rehman Aslam, Muhammad Awais Bin Altaf Sensors, 2026 Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a heterogeneous neurodevelopmental disorder that requires early diagnosis for better intervention. However, current clinical behavioural examinations are time-consuming and prone to human error. Objective and effective biomarkers are essential for the diagnosis and prognosis of the disorder. Electroencephalography (EEG) is a non-invasive and inexpensive brain-imaging technique that is widely applied in the diagnosis of ASD. Feature-based methods have shown better performance in EEG-based applications. Here, we present a prediction framework based on massive feature extraction using the highly comparative time-series analysis (HCTSA) method and a hybrid feature selection method for the classification of ASD from resting-state EEG. Machine-learning models are trained and tested on a different number of selected features. Our models demonstrated 100% accuracy with ≥50 features on a balanced dataset of 56 participants. The most discriminating EEG channels and features were used in the prediction process, as well as those using Shapley values to provide explainability of our framework. Whilst these results are promising, we acknowledge the limitations of a single small-scale dataset and emphasise the need for validation on larger independent cohorts before clinical translation.
A Closed-Loop Ear-Worn Wearable EEG System with Real-Time Passive Electrode Skin Impedance Measurement for Early Autism Detection † Muhammad Sheeraz, Abdul Rehman Aslam, Emmanuel Mic Drakakis, Hadi Heidari, Muhammad Awais Bin Altaf, et al. Sensors, 2024 Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a chronic neurological disorder with the severity directly linked to the diagnosis age. The severity can be reduced if diagnosis and intervention are early (age < 2 years). This work presents a novel ear-worn wearable EEG system designed to aid in the early detection of ASD. Conventional EEG systems often suffer from bulky, wired electrodes, high power consumption, and a lack of real-time electrode–skin interface (ESI) impedance monitoring. To address these limitations, our system incorporates continuous, long-term EEG recording, on-chip machine learning for real-time ASD prediction, and a passive ESI evaluation system. The passive ESI methodology evaluates impedance using the root mean square voltage of the output signal, considering factors like pressure, electrode surface area, material, gel thickness, and duration. The on-chip machine learning processor, implemented in 180 nm CMOS, occupies a minimal 2.52 mm² of active area while consuming only 0.87 µJ of energy per classification. The performance of this ML processor is validated using the Old Dominion University ASD dataset.
A Shallow Autoencoder Framework for Epileptic Seizure Detection in EEG Signals Gul Hameed Khan, Nadeem Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Awais Bin Altaf, Qammer Abbasi Sensors, 2023 This paper presents a trainable hybrid approach involving a shallow autoencoder (AE) and a conventional classifier for epileptic seizure detection. The signal segments of a channel of electroencephalogram (EEG) (EEG epochs) are classified as epileptic and non-epileptic by employing its encoded AE representation as a feature vector. Analysis on a single channel-basis and the low computational complexity of the algorithm allow its use in body sensor networks and wearable devices using one or few EEG channels for wearing comfort. This enables the extended diagnosis and monitoring of epileptic patients at home. The encoded representation of EEG signal segments is obtained based on training the shallow AE to minimize the signal reconstruction error. Extensive experimentation with classifiers has led us to propose two versions of our hybrid method: (a) one yielding the best classification performance compared to the reported methods using the k-nearest neighbor (kNN) classifier and (b) the second with a hardware-friendly architecture and yet with the best classification performance compared to other reported methods in this category using a support-vector machine (SVM) classifier. The algorithm is evaluated on the Children’s Hospital Boston, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (CHB-MIT), and University of Bonn EEG datasets. The proposed method achieves 98.85% accuracy, 99.29% sensitivity, and 98.86% specificity on the CHB-MIT dataset using the kNN classifier. The best figures using the SVM classifier for accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity are 99.19%, 96.10%, and 99.19%, respectively. Our experiments establish the superiority of using an AE approach with a shallow architecture to generate a low-dimensionality yet effective EEG signal representation capable of high-performance abnormal seizure activity detection at a single-channel EEG level and with a fine granularity of 1 s EEG epochs.
A Wearable EEG Acquisition Device With Flexible Silver Ink Screen Printed Dry Sensors Muhammad Sheeraz, Wala Saadeh, Muhammad Awais Bin Altaf Proceedings IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 2023 Current electroencephalogram (EEG) measuring systems are bulky, impose constraints on patients, and require pre and post-measuring procedures. Usually, the EEG systems use either wet or dry EEG sensors, with the former suffers from skin preparation, the issues of adhesive conductive gels, and one-time usability whereas the latter causes skin irritation, abrasion, and pain upon pressure. Hence, these sensors are not suitable for long-term measurements. This paper presents a novel, wireless, behind-the-ear wearable EEG acquisition device that incorporates flexible dry EEG sensors. Silver ink-printed flexible sensors are fabricated using screen printing to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks and limitations of conventional EEG sensors. The flexible sensors form a capacitive link with the skin via an adhesive layer between the sensor and the person's skin and are capable of acquiring the EEG without any skin preparation or gel. The performance of the printed flexible EEG sensors is tested by comparing them with the standard Ag/AgCl pre-gelled sensors. The alpha wave test and evoked potential EEG test are also performed for verification. The proposed device has a small form factor similar to a hearing aid and an in-house configurable Analog Front End (AFE) and Digital Back End (DBE) Processor and is capable of acquiring continuous EEG for a longer duration in a user-friendly and socially discrete manner.
Channels and Features Identification: A Review and a Machine-Learning Based Model With Large Scale Feature Extraction for Emotions and ASD Classification Abdul Rehman Aslam, Nauman Hafeez, Hadi Heidari, Muhammad Awais Bin Altaf Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2022 Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is characterized by impairments in social and cognitive skills, emotional disorders, anxiety, and depression. The prolonged conventional ASD diagnosis raises the sheer need for early meaningful intervention. Recently different works have proposed potential for ASD diagnosis and intervention through emotions prediction using deep neural networks (DNN) and machine learning algorithms. However, these systems lack an extensive large-scale feature extraction (LSFE) analysis through multiple benchmark data sets. LSFE analysis is required to identify and utilize the most relevant features and channels for emotion recognition and ASD prediction. Considering these challenges, for the first time, we have analyzed and evaluated an extensive feature set to select the optimal features using LSFE and feature selection algorithms (FSA). A set of up to eight most suitable channels was identified using different best-case FSA. The subject-wise importance of channels and features is also identified. The proposed method provides the best-case accuracies, precision, and recall of 95, 92, and 90%, respectively, for emotions prediction using a linear support vector machine (LSVM) classifier. It also provides the best-case accuracy, precision, and recall of 100% for ASD classification. This work utilized the largest number of benchmark data sets (5) and subjects (99) for validation reported till now in the literature. The LSVM classification algorithm proposed and utilized in this work has significantly lower complexity than the DNN, convolutional neural network (CNN), Naïve Bayes, and dynamic graph CNN used in recent ASD and emotion prediction systems.
Multiphysiological Shallow Neural Network-Based Mental Stress Detection System for Wearable Environment Muhammad Sheeraz, Abdul Rehman Aslam, Muhammad Awais Bin Altaf Proceedings IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 2022 Health problems related to stress are increasing globally and significantly affect the mental health and quality of life of human beings. Continuous suffering from stress may lead to serious psychological and physical health problems. But still, no effective and reliable stress detection methods are available. In this paper, a novel wearable device is presented to measure electroencephalogram (EEG) and electrocardiogram (ECG) simultaneously in a non-invasive approach. This system includes an analog front end (AFE) integrated with a machine learning-based digital backend (DBE) processor for mental stress prediction using only 3 electrodes. A PCB prototype is developed using the commercial off-the-shelf components. The developed prototype shows excellent noise performance of $0.1\\mu V_{rms}$ and predicts the mental stress with a classification accuracy of 92.7%. The proposed system is lightweight and easily wearable (behind the ear). The data is acquired from 25 participants for different stress scenarios including the Arithmetic Test and Stroop Color Word Test. Different EEG and ECG based features combinations are used for the classification of stress conditions using a shallow neural network (SNN) classifier.
Shallow Sparse Autoencoder Based Epileptic Seizure Prediction Gul Hameed Khan, Nadeem Ahmad Khan, Muhammad Awais Bin Altaf Proceedings 2022 IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine Bibm 2022, 2022 Epileptic patients ’ quality of life can be significantly improved by epileptic seizure prediction based on scalp electroencephalogram (EEG). With the advancement of brain e-health technologies, there is an essential need for a method that accurately predicts seizures while running on computing platforms with very low computing resources. Moreover, existing methods do not provide EEG analysis on an individual channel basis to identify the abnormalities in the data. In order to address this issue, we propose an efficient framework for patient-specific seizure prediction. A hybrid model comprising of a shallow autoencoder (AE) with only one hidden layer and a support vector machine (SVM) classifier has been developed. Both multi-channel and single channel EEG signal processing schemes have been developed. Generating a lower dimensional sparse signal with AE in the first stage and classifying the signal using SVM in the second stage are the two stages that the model separates into when processing EEG data. We initially train the AE to provide an optimum sparse signal and then use this sparse signal as input for an SVM classifier to categorize the EEG data. Using the 10-fold cross validation strategy, the proposed model tests 13 patients from the CHB-MIT dataset and achieves an average sensitivity of 98% and an average area under the curve (AUC) of 99%. We have compared our hybrid approach ’s performance with both deep learning models and traditional techniques. The proposed methodology outperforms state of the art seizure prediction methods, demonstrating its effectiveness.
A 2.7μJ/classification Machine-Learning based Approximate Computing Seizure Detection SoC Abdul Muneeb, Mubashir Ali, Muhammad Awais Bin Altaf Proceedings IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 2022 An electroencephalogram (EEG) based non-invasive 2-channel System on Chip (SoC) is presented to detect and report the seizure event of the epileptic patient. The SoC incorporates an area and power-efficient dual-channel analog front-end (AFE) and machine learning-based differential difference approximate computing seizure detection ($\\text{D}^{2}$ACSD) processor. The $\\text{D}^{2}$ACSD processor integrates approximate computing feature extraction and fixed-point linear support vector machine (LSVM) classifier to minimize the area-and-power utilization. The AFE comprises of two duty-cycled resistive MOSFET (DCRM) capacitively coupled instrumentation amplifier ($\\text{C}^{2}$IA), a programmable gain amplifier, and multiplexed SAR-ADC. The DCRM-C2IA utilizes proposed DCRM technique to boost the equivalent resistance of the integrator of the DC servo loop. The 5m$\\text{m}^{2}$SoC is implemented in 0.18$\\mu$m, CMOS process while achieving an average accuracy of 89.19%, sensitivity 92.18% and specificity 89.13% for the random and block-wise splitting of data in train/test sets. The implemented DCRM-C2IA achieves an integrated noise of 0.80$\\mu$Vrms over 0.5-100Hz frequency band. The realized system consumes $2.7\\mu \\text{J}/$classification to continuously detect seizure onset for timely suppression.
Design of energy-efficient electrocorticography recording system for intractable epilepsy in implantable environments Proceedings IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 2020
Biomarker Discovery for Autism Prediction Using Massive Feature Extraction Based on EEG Signals N Hafeez, AR Aslam, MAB Altaf Sensors 26 (6), 1862 , 2026 2026
Influence of Si on structure, mechanical properties, and thermal stability of reactively and non-reactively sputtered high-entropy (Hf, Ta, Ti, V, Zr) carbides MA Altaf, BI Hajas, S Kolozsvári, T Wojcik, A Kirnbauer, PH Mayrhofer Surface and Coatings Technology, 132564 , 2025 2025 Citations: 3
Simplified eye sensitivity model based fast tone mapping algorithm for HDR images N Mujtaba, IR Khan, NA Khan, MAB Altaf Signal, Image and Video Processing 19 (6), 460 , 2025 2025 Citations: 2
Saber With Hybrid Striding Toom Cook-Based Multiplier: Implementation Using Open-Source Tool Flow and Industry Standard Chip Design Tools MN Abbasi, AR Aslam, MAB Altaf, W Saadeh IEEE Access 13, 1714-1726 , 2024 2024
EEG Database of Epileptic Patients N Fatima, NA Khan, R Basir, MURA Butt, W Saadeh, MAB Altaf 2024 IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine (BIBM … , 2024 2024
A Closed-Loop Ear-Worn Wearable EEG System with Real-Time Passive Electrode Skin Impedance Measurement for Early Autism Detection M Sheeraz, AR Aslam, EM Drakakis, H Heidari, MAB Altaf, W Saadeh Sensors 24 (23), 7489 , 2024 2024 Citations: 9
Characterizing Accuracy Trade-offs of EEG Applications on Embedded HMPs Z Taufique, MAB Altaf, A Miele, P Liljeberg, A Kanduri arXiv preprint arXiv:2402.09867 , 2024 2024
Epileptic Seizure Detection and Prediction MABA Gul Hameed Khan, Nadeem Ahmad Khan, Wala Saadeh Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies: 16th International Joint … , 2024 2024
Flexible wearable biopatches for physiological monitoring using dry thin gold film electrodes M Sheeraz, C Failor, A Cable, NA Khan, EM Drakakis, W Saadeh, ... 2023 IEEE Biomedical Circuits and Systems Conference (BioCAS), 1-5 , 2023 2023 Citations: 3
Flexible EEG headband with artifact reduction and continuous electrode skin impedance monitoring for neurological disorders M Sheeraz, A Innayat, MU Nadeem, C Failor, NA Khan, W Saadeh, ... 2023 IEEE 66th International Midwest Symposium on Circuits and Systems … , 2023 2023 Citations: 4
A wearable EEG acquisition device with flexible silver ink screen printed dry sensors M Sheeraz, W Saadeh, MAB Altaf 2023 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS), 1-5 , 2023 2023 Citations: 5
A shallow autoencoder framework for epileptic seizure detection in EEG signals GH Khan, NA Khan, MAB Altaf, Q Abbasi Sensors 23 (8), 4112 , 2023 2023 Citations: 36
Epileptic seizure detection and prediction for patient support GH Khan, NA Khan, W Saadeh, MAB Altaf International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and … , 2023 2023 Citations: 1
Using Sparse Representation of EEG Signal from a Shallow Sparse Autoencoder for Epileptic Seizure Prediction. GH Khan, NA Khan, W Saadeh, MAB Altaf BIOSIGNALS, 125-132 , 2023 2023 Citations: 4
Shallow sparse autoencoder based epileptic seizure prediction GH Khan, NA Khan, MAB Altaf 2022 IEEE International Conference on Bioinformatics and Biomedicine (BIBM … , 2022 2022 Citations: 7
A fast hdr image tmo based on a simplified eye sensitivity model N Mujtaba, IR Khan, NA Khan, MAB Altaf 2022 IEEE Workshop on Signal Processing Systems (SiPS), 1-6 , 2022 2022 Citations: 3
Efficient flicker-free tone mapping of HDR videos N Mujtaba, IR Khan, NA Khan, MAB Altaf 2022 IEEE 24th International Workshop on Multimedia Signal Processing (MMSP … , 2022 2022 Citations: 5
Channels and features identification: a review and a machine-learning based model with large scale feature extraction for emotions and ASD classification AR Aslam, N Hafeez, H Heidari, MAB Altaf Frontiers in Neuroscience 16, 844851 , 2022 2022 Citations: 23
A closed-loop ear wearable eeg measurement device with realtime electrode skin impedance measurement M Sheeraz, AR Aslam, MAB Altaf, H Heidari 2022 20th IEEE Interregional NEWCAS Conference (NEWCAS), 231-235 , 2022 2022 Citations: 9
A wearable high blood pressure classification processor using photoplethysmogram signals through power spectral density features M Sheeraz, AR Aslam, N Hafeez, H Heidari, MAB Altaf 2022 IEEE 4th International Conference on Artificial Intelligence Circuits … , 2022 2022 Citations: 8
MOST CITED SCHOLAR PUBLICATIONS
An 8-channel scalable EEG acquisition SoC with patient-specific seizure classification and recording processor J Yoo, L Yan, D El-Damak, MAB Altaf, AH Shoeb, AP Chandrakasan IEEE journal of solid-state circuits 48 (1), 214-228 , 2012 2012 Citations: 359
A 16-channel patient-specific seizure onset and termination detection SoC with impedance-adaptive transcranial electrical stimulator MAB Altaf, C Zhang, J Yoo IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 50 (11), 2728-2740 , 2015 2015 Citations: 216
A Patient-Specific Single Sensor IoT-Based Wearable Fall Prediction and Detection System W Saadeh, SA Butt, MAB Altaf IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering 27 (5 … , 2019 2019 Citations: 196
A 1.83 uJ/Classification, 8-Channel, Patient-Specific Epileptic Seizure Classification SoC Using a Non-Linear Support Vector Machine MAB Altaf, J Yoo IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems 10 (1), 49-60 , 2016 2016 Citations: 150
A 1.1-mW ground effect-resilient body-coupled communication transceiver with pseudo OFDM for head and body area network W Saadeh, MAB Altaf, H Alsuradi, J Yoo IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 52 (10), 2690-2702 , 2017 2017 Citations: 100
An 8-channel scalable EEG acquisition SoC with fully integrated patient-specific seizure classification and recording processor J Yoo, L Yan, D El-Damak, MAB Altaf, A Shoeb, HJ Yoo, A Chandrakasan 2012 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference, 292-294 , 2012 2012 Citations: 88
Design and implementation of a machine learning based EEG processor for accurate estimation of depth of anesthesia W Saadeh, FH Khan, MAB Altaf IEEE transactions on biomedical circuits and systems 13 (4), 658-669 , 2019 2019 Citations: 86
A pseudo OFDM with miniaturized FSK demodulation body-coupled communication transceiver for binaural hearing aids in 65 nm CMOS W Saadeh, MAB Altaf, H Alsuradi, J Yoo IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits 52 (3), 757-768 , 2017 2017 Citations: 64
An on-chip processor for chronic neurological disorders assistance using negative affectivity classification AR Aslam, MAB Altaf IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems 14 (4), 838-851 , 2020 2020 Citations: 63
A 1.83 µJ/classification nonlinear support-vector-machine-based patient-specific seizure classification SoC MAB Altaf, J Tillak, Y Kifle, J Yoo 2013 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference Digest of Technical … , 2013 2013 Citations: 58
Design and implementation of an on-chip patient-specific closed-loop seizure onset and termination detection system C Zhang, MAB Altaf, J Yoo IEEE journal of biomedical and health informatics 20 (4), 996-1007 , 2016 2016 Citations: 56
A Wearable Long-Term Single-Lead ECG Processor for Early Detection of Cardiac Arrhythmia SM Abubakar, W Saadeh, MAB Altaf IEEE/ACM Design, Automation and Test in Europe (DATE), 961-966 , 2018 2018 Citations: 52
A10. 13uJ/classification 2-channel deep neural network-based SoC for emotion detection of autistic children AR Aslam, T Iqbal, M Aftab, W Saadeh, MAB Altaf 2020 IEEE Custom Integrated Circuits Conference (CICC), 1-4 , 2020 2020 Citations: 48
A high accuracy and low latency patient-specific wearable fall detection system W Saadeh, MAB Altaf, MSB Altaf 2017 IEEE EMBS International Conference on Biomedical & Health Informatics … , 2017 2017 Citations: 39
An 8 channel patient specific neuromorphic processor for the early screening of autistic children through emotion detection AR Aslam, MAB Altaf 2019 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS), 1-5 , 2019 2019 Citations: 37
A shallow autoencoder framework for epileptic seizure detection in EEG signals GH Khan, NA Khan, MAB Altaf, Q Abbasi Sensors 23 (8), 4112 , 2023 2023 Citations: 36
A wearable auto-patient adaptive ECG processor for shockable cardiac arrhythmia SM Abubakar, MR Khan, W Saadeh, MAB Altaf 2018 IEEE Asian Solid-State Circuits Conference (A-SSCC), 267-268 , 2018 2018 Citations: 35
21.8 A 16-ch patient-specific seizure onset and termination detection SoC with machine-learning and voltage-mode transcranial stimulation MAB Altaf, C Zhang, J Yoo 2015 IEEE International Solid-State Circuits Conference-(ISSCC) Digest of … , 2015 2015 Citations: 35
A 10.13 uJ/classification 2-channel Deep Neural Network based SoC for Negative Emotion Outburst Detection of Autistic Children AR Aslam, MAB Altaf IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Circuits and Systems 15 (5), 1039-1052 , 2021 2021 Citations: 34
An ECG processor for the detection of eight cardiac arrhythmias with minimum false alarms MA Sohail, Z Taufique, SM Abubakar, W Saadeh, MAB Altaf 2019 IEEE Biomedical Circuits and Systems Conference (BioCAS), 1-4 , 2019 2019 Citations: 33