Technologically enabled telepathy
Futurists think that brain-computer interfaces may make telepathy possible. There has already
been progress in connecting brains with machines, and a man-machine-man bridge is
considered very possible.[citation needed] And if man-machine-man bridges can be made, then
such a link can be achieved over great distances using the Internet.
Technologically enabled telepathy is also called "techlepathy," "synthetic telepathy," or
"psychotronics."
Some people, occasionally referred to by themselves or others as "transhumanists", believe that
technologically enabled telepathy is a technology that humans should pursue in order to
improve themselves.
Kevin Warwick of the University of Reading, England is one of the leading proponents of this
view and has based all of his recent cybernetics research around developing technology for
directly connecting human nervous systems together with computers and with each other. He
believes techno-enabled telepathy will in the future become the primary form of human
communication.
What is Psychotronics?
Psychotronics is literally any electronic device that has the capability of altering the functionality
of the mind or the body. In a way, the effects of psychotronics are similar to music that "soothes
the savage beast". We all know that different kinds of music - because of their beat and rhythm
and the frequencies of the instruments - can have a definite effect on the mood and emotions of
people.
Psychotronic devices work much the same way, except that psychotronics is typically used
covertly. Its effects are delivered either by 1) directing electo-magnetic waves at a person's
brain or body in order to cause it to mal-function or by 2) transmitting subliminal messages
directly to the brain in order influence thoughts, beliefs and decisions using what the military
calls "voice to skull" communications, sometimes also referred to when describing "synthetic
telepathy".
The patents deriving from Bernard J. Eastlund’s work provide the ability to put unprecedented
amounts of power in the Earth’s atmosphere at strategic locations and to maintain the power
injection level, particularly if random pulsing is employed, in a manner far more precise and
better controlled than accomplished by the prior art, the detonation of nuclear devices at various
yields and various altitudes. (ref High Frequency Active Auroral Research Project, HAARP).
Some patents, now owned by Raytheon, describe how to make “nuclear sized explosions without
radiation” and describe power beam systems, electromagnetic pulses and over-the-horizon detection
systems. A more disturbing use is the system developed for manipulating and disturbing the human
mental process using pulsed radio frequency radiation (RFR), and their use as a device for causing
negative effects on human health and thinking. The victim, the innocent civilian target is locked on
to, and unable to evade the menace by moving around. The beam is administered from space. The
Haarp facility as military technology could be used to broadcast global mind-control, as a system for
manipulating and disturbing the human mental process using pulsed radio frequency (RFR). The
super-powerful radio waves are beamed to the ionosphere, heating those areas, thereby lifting them.
The electromagnetic waves bounce back to the earth and penetrate human tissue.
Policy Considerations
From Euro Group on Ethics re. Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
implant technology 2005:
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Autonomy and Limits on ICT Implants. The limitations on ICT implants in the human body as
deriving from an analysis of the principles contained in various legal instruments should be
assessed further by having regard to general principles and rules concerning the autonomy
of individuals, which here takes the shape of freedom to choose how to use one’s body, to
quote a well-known slogan, “I am the ruler of my own body”, freedom of choice as regards
one’s health, freedom from external controls and influence…..the purpose specification
principle mandates at least a distinction between medical and non-medical applications.
However, medical applications should also be evaluated stringently and selectively, partly to
prevent them from being invoked as a means to legitimise other types of application….the
principle of integrity and inviolability of the body rules out that the data subject’s consent is
sufficient to allow all kinds of implant to be deployed; and the dignity principle prohibits
transformation of the body into an object that can be manipulated and controlled remotely –
into a mere source of information.
The Precautionary Principle: The EGE has stressed that modern information and
communication technologies make mankind more powerful but at the same time more
vulnerable. Ethics should aim at ensuring the respect for human rights and freedoms of the
individual, in particular the confidentiality of data. In other words, the EGE has
recommended caution as a general ethical principle with regard to information and
communication technologies. This principle entails the moral duty of continuous risk
assessment with regard to the not fully foreseeable impact of new technologies as in the
case of ICT implants in the human body22. This assessment concerns particularly the
analysis of present and future situations in which the use of ICT implants in the human body
may be considered as a potential risk, or even as a potential threat to human dignity or to
other ethical principles. It should be stressed that there are no reliable scientific
investigations concerning the long-term health impact of ICT implants in the human body.
Value Conflicts: There could be conflict between the personal freedom to use one’s
economic resources to get an implant that will enhance one’s physical and mental
capabilities and what society at large considers desirable or ethically acceptable. The
borderline between repairing and enhancing is not strict. (Although there are clear examples
of both applications.)
Human Dignity, Integrity and Autonomy
o How far can such implants be a threat to human autonomy particularly when they are
implanted in our brains?
o How far can such implants have irreversible impacts in the human body and/or in the
human psyche and how can reversibility be preserved?
o How will they influence human memory?
o Does a human being cease to be such a “being” in cases where some parts of
his or her body – particularly the brain - are substituted and/or supplemented
by ICT implants? Particularly as ICT implants can contribute to creating
“networked persons” that are always connected and could be configured
differently so that from time to time they can transmit and receive signals
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allowing movements, habits and contacts to be traced and defined. This is
bound to affect their dignity.
Enhancement and Human Self Awareness
o What lies behind the idea of an “enhanced” human being?
o What does perfectibility of human beings mean?
o Does the creation of an improved “race” on the basis of ICT enhancements mean
necessarily a new form of racism? The potential industrial use of ICT implants raises
the question of the limits of such implants for the creation of more efficient bodies
and brains for economic purposes. The question of the use of ICT implants as a
cultural leap in human evolution, similar to the invention of machines or to the
invention of devices complementing and enhancing such devices as human memory
(through writing, printing, digital technology) or other human capabilities.
o How far should the use of such implants to enhance human capabilities be allowed?
o How far can such implants be considered as part of what could be called ‘body
design’ including the personal free design of one’s (enhanced) bodily and psychic
capabilities?
ICT Implants for which Special Caution is Necessary
o ICT implants that cannot be removed easily.
o ICT implants that influence, determine or change psychic functions.
o ICT implants that due to their network capability could be misused in several ways
for all kinds of social surveillance and manipulation, such as for instance in the case
of children, or disabled persons.
o ICT implants influencing the nervous system and particularly the brain and thus
human identity as a species as well as individual subjectivity and autonomy.
o Military applications.
o The distinction between therapeutic applications and enhancements (see Section
6.4.4) is not always clear.
o “Intrusive” technology that by-passes normal sensory experience.
o Implants that will influence biologically and/or culturally future generations.
Under these premises, human beings are seen as parts of a complex system of natural and
artificial messages that function on a digital basis. In this sense the human body can be seen as
data. This view has large cultural effects particularly as it precludes higher level phenomena
such as human psyche and human language or conceives them mainly under the perspective of
its digitization, giving rise to reductionism that oversimplifies the complex relations between the
human body, language and imagination….Furthermore, such a reductive view permits different
kinds of scientific and technological developments and inventions.
“We shall not lay hand upon thee”. This was the promise made in the Magna Carta – to respect
the body in its entirety: Habeas Corpus. This promise has survived technological developments.
Impact Research and ICT Devices
More research on the long term social, cultural and health impact of different types of ICT
implants needs to be carried out, with a particular focus on risk characterisation, risk
assessment, risk management and risk communication. The EGE considers that this should be
kept in mind for the Seventh EU Research Framework Programme. This sort of precautionary
research in a rapidly developing field is of crucial importance.
CHARTER of the INTERAGENCY WORKING GROUP ON NEUROSCIENCE
SUBCOMMITTEE ON SOCIAL, BEHAVIORAL & ECONOMIC SCIENCES
COMMITTEE ON SCIENCE - NATIONAL SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY COUNCIL (a.k.a. FATTAH
NEUROSCIENCE INITIATIVE
The Fattah Neuroscience Initiative (FNI) is an innovative, non-incremental policy initiative designed to
make major progress in understanding the human brain by intensifying, in a collaborative fashion, federal
research efforts across brain disease, disorder, injury, cognition and development. The initiative aims to
coordinate Federal research across agencies and draw upon public-private partnerships and the world of
academia. The initiative promotes research and discovery across brain cognition, development, disease
and injury.
Why is the FNI tackling these issues now?
We stand at a tipping point, on the cusp of significant, life-changing discoveries. Incredible progress has
been made in the area of neuroscience over the last ten years and strategic collaboration and investment
will allow real progress to attack problems which have long been unresolved.
This collaborative is significant both in its interdisciplinary nature and the precedence it stands to set in
addressing broad national priorities. Congressman Fattah is also partnering with the American Academy
for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to host a series of congressional briefings educating Members
of Congress and their staff about current neuroscience research. Topics presented thus far have included
infant brain development and mental illness in young adults.
A. Official Designation
The Interagency Working Group on Neuroscience (IWGN) is established by action of the National
Science and Technology Council (NSTC), Committee on Science (CoS), Social, Behavioral and
Economic Sciences Subcommittee (SBE).
B. Purpose and Scope
Consistent with Title III of the Conference Report accompanying the Consolidated and Further
Continuing Appropriations Act of 2012, the IWGN will coordinate activities in neuroscience research
across the Federal government with a focus on the fundamental understanding of learning, brain
development and plasticity, and brain health and recovery. The working group will enhance Federal
efforts related to: improving our understanding of learning and cognition and applying that to
improvements in education and other areas; improving our understanding of a variety of neurological
conditions and injuries; and developing appropriate resources, tools, techniques, interventions, and
therapies to assist in research, treatment, and recovery.
C. Functions
The functions of the IWGN are to:
1. Facilitate efforts across Federal agencies to improve coordination and collaboration of R&D agendas
on neuroscience.
2. Identify cross-cutting national R&D priorities that would benefit from neuroscience research outcomes,
with a particular focus on brain health and recovery and fundamental research on learning, cognition, and
education.
3. Communicate research needs and priorities in neuroscience to the Administration and Federal agencies.
4. Liaison with, respond to, and provide expert information to the Office of Science and Technology
Policy (OSTP) and NSTC subcommittees on relevant issues of national concern involving neuroscience
and related technologies.
5. Identify and advise on priorities for strengthening research on neuroscience as a resource for meeting
national priorities and achieving national goals, including fostering advances in basic scientific research
in neuroscience and, where applicable, translating these to address national needs.
6. Encourage public access to, and sharing and preservation of, neuroscience and related behavioral data,
along with the development of relevant data infrastructure and analysis, visualization, and modeling tools,
techniques, and methodologies.
7. Foster the development of a core cadre of relevant experts from across the Federal government to
address issues pertaining to neuroscience.
8. Support informed Federal policy development by providing technical perspectives and expert
perspectives related to neuroscience.
9. Produce an interim report by November 1, 2012 identifying 5-10 research areas where communication
and/or coordination across Federal agencies can foster advances that address national needs. By March 1,
2013, produce a white paper defining, for some of the identified research areas, concrete actions the
Federal government can take to enable acceleration of progress in neuroscience research and
development.
D. Membership
The following NSTC departments and agencies are represented on the IWGN:
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Department of Agriculture;
Department of Defense;
Department of Education;
Department of Energy;
Department of Health and Human Services (Co-chair);
Department of Homeland Security;
Department of Justice;
Department of Veterans Affairs;
Central Intelligence Agency;
Environmental Protection Agency;
National Aeronautics and Space Administration;
National Science Foundation (Co-chair); and
Office of the Director of National Intelligence.
The following organizations in the Executive Office of the President shall also be represented on the
IWGN:
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Office of Management and Budget,
Office of National Drug Control Policy, and
Office of Science and Technology Policy.
Cooperating departments and agencies shall include other such Executive organizations, departments, and
agencies as the Co-chairs may, from time to time, designate.
E. Private-Sector Interface
The IWGN may seek advice from members of the President's Council of Advisors on Science and
Technology and will recommend to the Director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy the
nature of additional private-sector1 advice needed to accomplish its mission. The 1 The Federal Advisory
Committee Act, 5 U.S.C. App., as amended, does not explicitly define “private sector,” but the phrase is
generally understood to include individuals or entities outside the Federal government such as, but IWGN
may also interact with and receive ad hoc advice from various private-sector groups as consistent with the
Federal Advisory Committee Act.
F. Termination Date
This charter shall terminate no later than December 31, 2014, unless renewed by the Co-chairs of the SBE
and LSSC.
People
Christopher James
Professor Christopher James, joint director of Warwick University’s Institute of Digital
Healthcare (IDH), has used his extensive knowledge of human brain anatomy in conjunction
with BCI to send signals from one brain to another.
Russell Tice
There are many people who hope that NSA whistleblower Russell Tice will speak truth to power
regarding a subject that is a specialty of his - space operations systems, command and control
warfare, advanced technology and all-source collection analysis. During an 18-year career, he
worked on some of the most secretive programs in the government. The technology he is aware
of is the same sort of technology brought to light in the original draft of the Space Preservation
Act of 2001(2) as introduced by Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-Ohio). In it, it specifically calls for a
ban on the use and development of space-based "psychotronics" as in these excerpts.
The terms `weapon' and `weapons system' mean a device capable of any of the following:
directing a source of energy (including molecular or atomic energy, subatomic particle beams,
electromagnetic radiation, plasma, or extremely low frequency (ELF) or ultra low frequency
(ULF) energy radiation) against an object; or
Inflicting death or injury on, or damaging or destroying, a person (or the biological life, bodily
health, mental health, or physical and economic well-being of a person) by: electromagnetic,
psychotronic, sonic, laser, or other energies directed at individual persons or targeted
populations for the purpose of information war, mood management, or mind control of such
persons or populations
Such terms include exotic weapons systems such as: electronic, psychotronic, information
weapons, chemtrails....
What is truly important about the Space Preservation Act of 2001 is that it represented a formal
acknowledgement of the existence of such weapons, devices and mind control technologies the
United States Government currenly employs. This, despite numerous calls for bans over the
years by the United Nations, not to mention the British government.
John Norseen
According to John Norseen (4), the Lockheed Martin neuroengineer and pre-eminent authority
on psychotronics, brain-mapping and mind control applications, "you can begin to manipulate
what someone is thinking even before they know it."...creating what Norseen has dubbed
"synthetic reality. But Norseen says he is "agnostic" on the moral ramifications, that he's not a
mad scientist – just a dedicated one. "The ethics don't concern me," he says, "but they should
concern someone else."
In January 2000 the Lockheed Martin neuroengineer Dr John D. Norseen, was quoted (US
News and World Report, 2000) as hoping to turn the electrohypnomentalaphone, a mind
reading machine, into science fact. Dr Norseen, a former Navy pilot, claims his interest in the
brain stemmed from reading a Soviet book in the 1980’s claiming that research on the mind
would revolutionize the military and society at large. By a process of deciphering the brain’s
electrical activity, electromagnetic pulsations would trigger the release of the brain’s own
transmitters to fight off disease, enhance learning, or alter the mind’s visual images, creating a
‘synthetic reality’. By this process of BioFusion, (Lockheed Martin, 2000) information is placed in
a database, and a composite model of the brain is created. By viewing a brain scan recorded by
(functional) magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine, scientists can tell what the person
was doing at the time of recording – say reading or writing, or recognise emotions from love to
hate. “If this research pans out”, says Norseen, “you can begin to manipulate what someone is
thinking even before they know it.” But Norseen says he is ‘agnostic’ on the moral ramifications,
that he’s not a mad scientist – just a dedicated one. “The ethics don’t concern me,” he says, “but
they should concern someone else.”
N. Anisimov of the Moscow Anti-Psychotronic Center
The term "psycho-terrorism" was coined by Russian writer N. Anisimov of the Moscow AntiPsychotronic Center. According to Anisimov, psychotronic weapons are those that act to "take
away a part of the information which is stored in a man's brain. It is sent to a computer, which
reworks it to the level needed for those who need to control the man, and the modified
information is then reinserted into the brain." These weapons are used against the mind to
induce hallucinations, sickness, mutations in human cells, "zombification," or even death.
Included in the arsenal are VHF generators, X-rays, ultrasound, and radio waves. Russian army
Major I. Chernishev, writing in the military journal Orienteer in February 1997, asserted that
"psy" weapons are under development all over the globe.
Dr Igor Smirnov, of the Institute of Psycho-Correction in Moscow
Gerwin Schalk
A 39-year-old biomedical scientist and a leading expert on brain-computer interfaces at the New
York State Department of Health’s Wads worth Center at Albany Medical College. The Austrianborn Schalk, along with a handful of other researchers, is part of a $6.3 million U.S. Army
project to establish the basic science required to build a thought helmet—a device that can
detect and transmit the unspoken speech of soldiers, allowing them to communicate with one
another silently.
Gao Shan,
The Scientists Work Team of Electro-Magnetic Wave
Velocity, Chinese Institute of Electronics, LongZeYuan
24-3-501, Hui Long Guan, ChangPing District, Beijing
102208, P.R. China.
E-mail: rg@mail.ie.ac.cn
Medical bionic implants market to be worth $17.82 billion by 2017
By: marketsandmarkets.com
Publishing Date: November 2012
Report Code: MD 1368
Experts predict the global medical bionic implants market to grow by 7.1% in the next five years, and to
be worth $17.82 billion by 2017. The report, “Medical Bionic Implants Market [Vision, Brain, Heart,
Orthopedic, & Ear] – Trends & Global Forecasts to 2017″ analyzes and studies the major market drivers,
restraints, and opportunities from now to 2017.
Bionic implants are mechanical or electronic systems that function like living organisms or parts of living
organisms. The global medical bionic implants market is divided into five categories based on the type of
products, technology used, and type of fixation. It includes:
•vision bionics
•ear bionics
•orthopedic bionics
•heart bionics
•neural/brain bionics
The medical bionic implants market has witnessed a myriad of technological advancements over the
past two decades. It is expected that this trend will continue in the future in a bid to solve present
challenges and fill unmet needs of the market. Manufactures are now focusing on the development of
bionic implant products such as wearable artificial kidney, bio-lung, and artificial pancreas for diseases
that cannot be cured with alternative treatment methods.
Bionics, when extended to the field of medicine, seeks to replace or enhance organs or parts of the
human body using artificial prosthesis. The market is expected to grow at a compound annual growth
rate of 7.1% from 2012 to 2017 to reach $17.82 billion by 2017.
The term ‘bionics’ is analogous to the term ‘biomimetics’, which involves the study and development of
artificial systems that replicate or mimic the functioning of natural biological systems. The science of
bionics deals with the application of naturally found biological systems to the study and development of
artificially engineered systems. The motive behind developing these artificial systems is to replace and
enhance existing natural systems, which may malfunction or fail to function in a desired manner using
either mechanical or electronic modalities. The medical bionic implants market is a potentially growing
one with a global market of $12.67 million in 2012. It is expected to grow at a CAGR of 7.1% to reach
$17.82 billion in 2017.
The global medical bionic implants (artificial organs) market has been segmented as vision bionics, ear
bionics, orthopedic bionics, heart bionics, and neural/brain bionics. Vision bionics consists of the bionic
eye; ear bionics includes cochlear implants and BAHA; orthopedic bionics includes bionic limb, bionic
finger, exoskeleton and electrical bone growth stimulators; heart bionics comprises of pacemakers, TAH,
ventricular assist devices, and artificial heart valves; and neural/brain bionics consists of deep brain
stimulator, vagus nerve stimulator, and spinal cord stimulator. Based on technology, medical bionic
implants are divided into two groups - mechanical bionics and electronic bionics. In addition, depending
upon the type of fixation, they are classified as externally worn and implantable.
The medical bionic implants (artificial organs) industry is under dramatic transformation globally and will
witness significant changes in the coming years, primarily driven by innovation, globalization, and
commoditization of products. Amputation, for instance, was considered equivalent to failure to salvage
a limb; however, with the presence of advanced powered prosthetics, it is no more considered so. With
the advent of bionic technology, amputees have access to limb replacements and enhancement.
Orthopedic bionics is more scientifically advanced than prosthetics because it contains specific sensors
that can sense and predict user action, based on his/her environment.
Technological innovations in the medical bionic implants industry have been witnessed in the past few
years. Newer products with better safety and efficacy contribute to the widespread adoption of medical
bionics by physicians worldwide. However, a few pivotal factors restraining the growth of this market
are high cost of devices, uncertain reimbursement scenarios in different regions, limited surgical
expertise, and high cost of development.
The penetration rate of medical bionics in emerging markets is low. However, established companies
and new entrants in the medical bionic implants market should consider the GDP growth rates of these
countries, ease of product approval, increasing procedural volumes, and low penetration rates
compared to mature markets as factors that will drive growth in these regions.
The key players in this market are Orthofix International N.V. (The Netherlands), Biomet, Inc. (U.S.),
Medtronic, Inc. (U.S.), Cochlear, Ltd. (Australia), Second Sight Medical Products, Inc. (U.S.), Ossur
(Iceland), Ekso Bionics (U.S.), and St. Jude Medical, Inc. (U.S.).
Rise of Neurostimulation, an Industry Predicted to be Worth $6.9 Billion by 2018
– October 1, 2012
Neurostimulation, the practice of stimulating nerves with a small electric current, is not a word most
people outside of academia would recognize. According to a new report however, this may be set to
change by the end of the decade. By 2018 the industry is predicted to be worth about 6.9 billion US$
(4.27 billion GBP).
Therapeutic devices such as deep brain stimulators (DBS), spinal cord stimulators (SCS), and others have
been shown to be effective in treating a wide array of health issues. DBS has been used to treat
disorders such as Parkinson’s, epilepsy, and major depression to name only a few. SCS is used for
treating otherwise intractable chronic nerve pain without the side effects of traditional medication, such
as drug dependence and tolerance.
Two of the most important factors currently driving neurostimulation market growth are increasing
popular interest and technological development. Both potential patients and physicians were often
unaware of neurostimulation treatments in the past, and are increasingly turning to them as new
medical products and procedures are approved. Major medical technology companies like Medtronic,
Boston Scientific, and St. Jude Medical are developing new neurostimulation devices to release within
the next few years.
Development of technology supporting the neurostimulation market could have much wider
consequences than better treatment options for patients, though. Procedures developed to implant DBS
electrodes in the brain could be applied to a new generation of minimally invasive brain-computer
interfaces, or eventually more advanced kinds of neuroprosthetics to repair or even enhance brain
function.
Brain Monitoring Market
Brain monitoring devices measure the activities of small waves produced by the brain. Multimodal
monitoring of brain function is a growing area in the preoperative setting. Adverse cerebral outcome is
a persistent in patients undergoing a variety of surgical procedures, which makes brain monitoring an
important aspect for such clinical events. The global brain monitoring devices market was valued at
$1.08 billion in 2012, and is poised to grow at a CAGR of 8.6% to reach $1.63 billion by 2017.
The global brain monitoring devices market is broadly segmented into three categories based on its
product, application, and end-user. It is witnessing various technological advancements leading to
high functionality, lower costs, ease of operation, and miniaturization of devices fuelling the growth of
this market. In the past, brain monitoring was not given much importance during routine checkups,
preoperative and post-operative periods, and in critical care settings. However, this scenario is
changing, with brain monitoring now being widely practiced to assess the depths of anesthesia and
sedation. It is being used in a variety of clinical settings, which include operating rooms, intensive care
units, and ambulatory units, which, in turn, will fuel demand for brain monitoring devices such as EEG,
ICP, and cerebral oximeters in the coming years.
North America dominated the global brain monitoring market, followed by Europe, Asia, and Rest of
the World (RoW) in 2012. North America will continue to lead in the years to come, owing to
technological advancements and introduction of advanced digitalized devices. European countries are
expected to grow steadily, while the Asian region's contribution to the global brain monitoring devices
market is expected to pick pace in the next few years due to increasing awareness of neurological
disorders, and development in Asian healthcare infrastructure, which has resulted in an influx of wellestablished players to the region.
Rising incidences of neurological disorders, autoimmune and cardiovascular diseases, brain disorders,
and sleep disorders, rising awareness regarding neurodegenerative diseases and technological
advancements in brain monitoring devices are major drivers slated to propel this market. However,
the shortage of skilled technicians to handle these complex devices is a factor limiting the growth of
this market.
The prominent players operating in this market include Covidien, PLC (Ireland), Compumedics,
Ltd.(Australia), Natus Medical, Inc. (U.S.), Nihon Kohden Corporation (Japan), Integra Life Sciences
Corporation (U.S.), CAS Medical Systems (U.S.), and Advanced Brain Monitoring, Inc. (U.S.), among
others.
Brain health market is expected to rapidly grow in next decade
Fifteen years ago, a patient's understanding and grasp of the importance of brain health wasn't at the
level that it is now, according to SharpBrains (San Francisco), an independent market research firm
and think tank helping organizations and individuals navigate the emerging brain fitness and applied
neuro-science field.
The market for this concept is rapidly growing – expected to jump from the current level of $1 billion
to about $6 billion in 2020 – according to the firm's newly released study, the Digital Brain Health
Market 2012-2020.
The 211-page market report tracks developments at more than fifty public and private companies
offering fully automated applications designed to assess, monitor and/or enhance cognition and brain
functioning, and provides industry data, insights and analysis to help executives, entrepreneurs,
technology/health innovators and policy makers navigate the opportunities and risks of the rapidly
growing Digital Brain Health field. The report discusses the technology and market opportunities
arising from growing neuroscience findings on healthy aging, peak performance, and a number of
disorders such as attention deficits, dyslexia, stroke and traumatic brain injury, schizophrenia, mild
cognitive impairment, and Alzheimer's disease.
"Up until now brain health has not been dealt with in a systematic way," Alvaro Fernandez,
SharpBrains CEO, told Medical Device Daily. "It hasn't been dealt with in a way that cardiovascular
health has been in the last 40 years."
He noted that there have been tremendous changes in the practice of cardiovascular treatment – but
when it comes to the "brain health" market, changes in comparison have lagged consistently. But that
is changing.
"There's not just one catalyst behind this growth," Fernandez said. "The first catalyst revolves around
the baby boomers, who care about their cognition. They're concerned about having less memory and
they're concerned about Alzheimer's disease."
Fernandez added, the other drivers are advances in neuroscience, which include the understanding of
neuroplasticity – or how the brain is flexible throughout life – and the advances in mobile technology,
such as tablets and smart phones.
"What use to be extremely expensive, can now be delivered in very cost efficient ways to millions of
people," he said.
One of the major components of the SharpBrain's report deals with 10 key predictions for the brain
health market's growth. These predictions are; more than one million adults in North America alone
taking, a self-administered annual brain health check-up via their iPad or Android tablet; more than
one million amateur athletes better managing possible concussions by taking cognitive baseline tests
via a mobile device; more than 150,000 teenage and adult AAA members accessing web-based brain
training to become safer drivers; biometrics-aided meditation becoming the next big thing in corporate
and consumer wellness; Tablet-based cognitive screenings informing more diagnoses of Alzheimer's
disease and MCI than neuroimaging; patients with Multiple Sclerosis in at least 10 countries will be
offered online cognitive training together with drug-based therapy to help address their condition;
insomnia and depression will be first-line treated with computerized Cognitive Behavioral Therapy in at
least two national health services; the industry's first brain-based biomarker to predict depression
treatment responses will be cleared by the FDA; Lumos Labs (San Francisco) and/or biometricsbased developer NeuroSky (San Jose, California) will file for an IPO; and at least one major insurer
will launch an educational campaign to help adults proactively take charge of their own "brain fitness"
navigating emerging research and digital brain health tools.
However Lumos Labs or NeuroSky filing for an IPO would do a lot in drawing attention to the market,
Fernandez pointed out.
"Already both of them have the revenues, the growth and a business model that can make for a
successful IPO if they choose to do that," he said. "I think a successful IPO would bring more venture
capitalists to this market."
But more importantly it would give both companies the opportunity to gain the resources to develop a
feature that more than 80% of the respondents of a survey SharpBrains presented have asked for –
and that's developing a brain health checkup model that could go alongside a physical.
"Who's going to develop that first annual brain health checkup?" Fernandez said. "Either of those two
companies going public would foster the resources to do that."
He said by 2020 the landscape for this market will have changed completely.
"It's going to continue to grow and become pretty much mainstream in two areas," Fernandez said.
"Now when consumers think wellness, usually they don't think of their brain, so I think by 2020 it's
going to be a completely mainstream idea that taking care of one's physical brain is as important as
taking care of one's heart. [In the other area], I think that many insurance companies will offer huge
discounts or even tools [to access and help maintain brain health] for free because they know that
over the long-term they're going to have reduced costs if these help people take better care of
themselves."
Companies
Medtronic
Medtronic is the world's leading medical technology company, pioneering device-based therapies that
restore health, extend life and alleviate pain. Primary products include those for bradycardia pacing,
tachyarrhythmia management, atrial fibrillation management, among others. Medtronic operates its
business in one reportable segment, that of manufacturing and selling device-based medical therapies.
The company does business in more than 120 countries. The company's product lines include cardiac
rhythm management, neurological and spinal, vascular and cardiac surgery.
One of your initiatives is to make patients more aware of Medtronic devices and therapies. What's the
thinking behind that?
This is around emerging markets. Say we do a market study of the opportunity we have with our existing
products in a patient-pay system or a system that is patient-pay but supplemented by government
reimbursement. We find that the opportunity for us to reach the same levels of adoption we already
have in developed markets for the same products is very big. It's actually something like $5 billion a year
for us, and our total emerging-market revenue is now $1.6 billion, so it's a big opportunity. There are
people who have certain conditions, and the therapy for those conditions is well established, and they
can afford it, so it's just providing the therapies to those people. It should be obvious.
Yet the adoption rate among that population is only about 5%. So if it's so obvious, why hasn't it
happened? One of the biggest barriers is awareness among patients and physicians that a certain
condition can be treated. The patient or even the physician may think there is no cure if a person has
reached a certain age, while in fact it's well established, over decades in some instances, that a person
can be given a certain type of therapy, a device in our case, and maybe extend their life for another 20
years. That's why patient education is so important.
Leading medical device player Medtronic Inc. (MDT - Analyst Report) continues to focus on the
promising neuromodulation business. The company recently started enrollment for a Prospective,
Randomized Study of Multicolumn Implantable Lead Stimulation for Predominant Low Back Pain dubbed
PROMISE.
The study will compare the performance of Specify 5-6-5 multicolumn surgical leads in conjunction with
optimal medical management (OMM), with the administration of only OMM in patients with failed back
surgery syndrome (FBSS) and predominant low back pain. PROMISE is the first study to analyze the
efficacy of Medtronic’s neurostimulation therapy (also known as spinal cord stimulation) on a large scale
for chronic back pain. Earlier studies had focused predominantly on leg pain.
The PROMISE study is expected to support the use of Medtronic’s neurostimulation therapy in
individuals who suffer from low back pain despite back surgery as oral medications may not provide
sufficient relief to these patients. The study will enroll about 300 such individuals at 30 centers in the
U.S., the U.K., Canada, Belgium, France, Germany, Spain and The Netherlands.
Medtronic’s neurostimulation therapy is a well-regarded treatment for chronic back and/or leg pain.
According to the company, more than 250,000 individuals across the globe have benefited from the
therapy.
According to a report from the Institute of Medicine, over 100 million U.S. adults suffer from chronic
pain (as of Jun 2011) while data from European Journal of Pain suggests that one out of every five adults
in Europe suffers from chronic pain (as of 2006). Research published by Pain Medicine journal shows
that back pain, the most prevalent kind of chronic pain, affects the lives of 10% of the U.S. population.
Further, the clinical studies in the journal revealed that oral medication and/or physical rehabilitation
was not enough to improve the condition of FBSS patients.
Thus, FBSS patients need additional interventions. Medtronic’s neurostimulation therapy could just be
the right treatment option for that. Positive results from the study and the subsequent
commercialization should drive revenues for the company’s flourishing neuromodulation business.
The stock carries a short-term Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). Despite Medtonic’s effort to drive growth and
profitability, currency headwinds and competitive landscape in the presence of large players like St.
Jude Medical (STJ - Analyst Report) and Boston Scientific (BSX - Analyst Report) keeps us on the
sidelines. Currently, these stocks also carry a Zacks Rank #3. However, neuromodulation company
Cyberonics (CYBX - Analyst Report) carries a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy) and warrants a look.
OMAR ISHRAK
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Omar Ishrak has served as Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Medtronic since
June 2011. Medtronic is the world’s leading medical technology company, with more
than $16 billion in annual revenue, and operations reaching more than 120 countries
worldwide. Medtronic provides therapies that are used to treat a wide range of
conditions, including cardiac and vascular diseases, diabetes, neurological and spinal
conditions, and more. The Medtronic Mission is to alleviate pain, restore health, and
extend life for millions of people around the world.
Omar joined Medtronic from General Electric Company, where he spent 16 years, most
recently as President and CEO of GE Healthcare Systems, a $12 billion division of GE
Healthcare, with a broad portfolio of diagnostic, imaging, patient monitoring and life
support systems. Omar also served as an Officer and a Senior Vice President of GE.
Earlier in his career, Omar amassed 13 years of technology development and business
management experience, holding leadership positions at Diasonics/Vingmed, and
various product development and engineering positions at Philips Ultrasound.
He grew up in Bangladesh, earned a Bachelor of Science Degree and Ph.D. in
Electrical Engineering from the University of London, King's College.
Omar is a member of the Board of Trustees of the Asia Society and is also on the
Health Leadership Council of the Save the Children Foundation
Brain Resource
Overview
Brain Resource creates brain products for everyday life which:
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help people train for peak brain health and fitness
reduce stress simply and objectively
provide rapid assessment of brain strengths & weaknesses
enable landmark tests to predict treatment in Depression and ADHD
Brain Resource products meet the growing need for brain solutions for a wide range of users including
consumers, corporates, clinicians and research.
Listed on publicly traded markets in the United States and Australia, Brain Resource has offices in San
Francisco and Sydney and a global network of academics, scientists, researchers and leading
Universities.
Our Leadership Team brings with it decades of experience in the fields of Integrative Neuroscience,
Finance, Health Care Provision, Genetics and Product & Business Development
Management Team
Dr Evian Gordon, BSc (Hons), PhD, MBBCh – Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Dr Evian Gordon drew upon his science and medical background to establish the interdisciplinary Brain
Dynamics Center in 1986. Through the Brain Dynamics Center and its collaborative networks, Dr
Gordon established an “integrative neuroscience” approach, grounded in the use of standardized
methods across multiple types of data. By standardizing these methods, it becomes possible to
integrate the insights they yield, across clinical, behavioral, cognitive, brain imaging and genetic
information. Using this approach, Dr Gordon founded the company, that created the first international
database on the human brain, across each of these methods. He edited the first book on "Integrative
Neuroscience" and has more than 160 publications to his name.
Dan Segal, BCom, CA, BSc (Hons) MSc – Director and Chief Operating Officer.
Dan Segal has an interest in the paradigm shifts occuring in Mental Health driven by an evidence
based Personalized Medicine approach. Prior to cofounding Brain Resource in 2000, he was a Director
in the Equities Research Department at Citigroup where he was a rated analyst in the
Telecommunications sector through during the 1990’s. He started his career in accounting before
shifting to science and has qualifications in both. He holds a Bachelor of Commerce from the
University of New South Wales, worked at Arthur Andersen in the 1980’s and is member of the
Institute of Chartered Accountants. He also holds a Bachelor of Science (Hons) from the University of
Sydney and a Masters of Science from the University of New South Wales, where his research interest
was in surface and semiconductor physics. He has had a particular interest in Personalized Medicine
and has written on the topic, starting in 2004 and most recently contributing a chapter to a book titled
“Integrative Neuroscience and Personalized Medicine”. He has been actively involved in the
commercialization of Brain Resource, from fund raising to day to day operations, and of particular note
was also instrumental in developing the iSPOT study proposal and successful contract closure. He
retains an active interest in connections between physics and the brain and his ability to straddle
different disciplines exemplifies the multidisciplinary approach underpinning Brain Resource.
Dr Gregory Bayer PhD - Chief Executive Officer, Brain Resource, US operations
Gregory Bayer is a health care executive who has held senior positions in several major health
insurers as well as venture capital backed companies complementing an earlier career as a licensed
clinical psychologist. Dr. Bayer is widely recognised for his unique and comprehensive understanding
of the interplay between health care funding, demand management and clinical outcomes. His
blending of business skills and clinical insight has enabled multiple organizations to identify
opportunities and execute strategies targeting growth, market share expansion, operating efficiencies
and restructuring to take advantage of changing market dynamics.
As Chief Executive Officer of OptumHealth Behavioral Solutions, a subsidiary of United Health Group,
Dr Bayer led a team responsible for managing behavioral health, wellness and employee assistance
programs serving 43 million members. Under his leadership, the company doubled its revenues,
entered new markets and achieved a leading market position both domestically and internationally.
Prior to joining United Health Group, Dr Bayer served as Executive Vice President for Magellan Health
Services and President of the Employer Division. He also held the position of Senior Vice President of
clinical and network operations at Human Affairs International, a division of Aetna. Business under his
management ranged from one hundred million to over two billion dollars in revenue with operating
expenses in excess of several hundred million dollars.
Concurrent with these business pursuits, Dr. Bayer publishes and presents on a variety of employee
benefit and behavioral health related topics. He has been featured in Benefits and Compensation
Digest, Employee Benefit Plan Review and managed healthcare publications providing benefit
executives and brokers with strategic advice and practical insights into the value derived by workplace
wellness and employee support programs.
Dr. Bayer earned his graduate degrees from Ball State University in Indiana and Miami University in
Ohio. He has served as an Officer in the United States Navy and is engaged in community service
advising a non-profit agency providing permanent housing for homeless families in addition to various
church and community philanthropic activities.
Dr Steve Koslow
Dr. Koslow provides consultant science advisory services on personalized medicine to Brain Resource
Limited. He is Research Director for the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. In 1982 he was
appointed as the first Director of the Neuroscience Research Branch at the NIMH where he was
responsible for initiating new research programs including Human Brain Imaging using non-invasive
methods. During the “Decade of the Brain” (1990 -2000), Dr. Koslow created the NIMH report to
Congress on Research Opportunities for Neuroscience which clearly articulated research opportunities
and fifty important questions to be answered. In 1993, Dr. Koslow initiated the multi-Agency initiative
on the Human Brain Project (HBP) to establish an enabling electronic communication computer based
distributed database and knowledge management system for the neuroscience community. In 1999
Dr. Koslow was appointed as the first Director of the Office on Neuroinformatics and an Associate
Director of the NIMH. He continues to serve as the chair of the Federal Interagency Coordinating
Committee on the HBP (FICC-HBP) having worked to extend the HBP globally using the term
'Neuroinformatics'. Following work with OECD committees he established an International
Neuroinformatics Coordinating Facility at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. He has also served as the
Director of External Relations at the Allen Institute for Brain Science. Dr. Koslow has 72 publications in
referred journals, 20 invited chapters in books and has edited 13 books, including “Databasing the
Brain”. He serves on the editorial board of numerous Neuroscience journals and consults to a number
of private organizations, businesses and foreign governments.
Brain Resource Focus and Goals
Brain Resource's 3 goals in 2012
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1,000,000 users of Brain Resource products
5x increase in revenues from our web products
Submit 1 Depression and 1 ADHD Test for FDA regulatory approval
Momentum towards achieving these goals is already evident. The timely and impactful $14m of funding from Och-Ziff,
one of the largest global hedge funds, accelerates our ability to capitalise on 30 years of innovative science and
$35m spent on product and Brain Database development to date.
Brain Resource brings new insights and new efficiencies to managing brain health.
Brain Resource has established the first and largest international human brain database to make sense
of the brain's complexities and provide a coherent model for measuring brain health. Healthcare
stakeholders need timely, evidence-based data and reliable benchmarks in order to improve the way
decisions are made in brain health. We empower clinicians, employers, researchers, pharmaceutical
companies, health plans and individuals with access to personalized, validated and actionable data.
Our cross-disciplinary and multi-dimensional approach has produced a standard for testing and
analyzing how the brain works across the lifespan and under varying conditions, influences and
compounds. Users tap into this resource by completing assessments which capture the brain basis of
an individual's emotion, thinking and feeling processes, and how they regulate them compared to their
peers.
What are the interrelationships between genetics, brain structure, brain function, lifestyle and
emotions that affect the way we think and behave? How do you determine who is at risk or whether a
treatment is working, or when someone is well? The Brain Resource International Database (BRID) is
unique in its breadth of measures, it's power and scope. Evidence-based reports from Brain Resource,
underpinned by this great database, can help you find meaningful answers to those questions faster,
safer and more cost-effectively than ever before.
Brain Resource also undertakes large scale personalized medicine trials including the largest treatment
marker study in Depression and ADHD - iSPOT. The findings from these studies have the potential to
set a new standard for drug discovery in brain disorders.
Business Summary
“To transform brain health by providing evidence based, personalized and objective brain information
that informs users and provides new “brain products for everyday life”
Brain Resource Ltd listed on the Australian Stock Exchange in 2001 (ASX code: BRC, OTC: BRRZY)
and has the world’s largest brain database based on our proprietary methodology.
What is unique is that all sites use identical software and hardware to collect a subject’s brain
performance data using multiple acquisition technologies.
Standardization also allows all data to be processed centrally by one processing engine and the data
databased. This database serves as a reference for comparing individual user performance against
their relevant peer group data.
Insights from this database are used to develop products, such as our industry leading work on the
world’s first brain based biomarker diagnostic.
Brain Resource has two distinct businesses that have emerged from insights derived from this
database, each a leader in its respective market:
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Brain Health and Fitness Solutions; and
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Personalized Medicine Solutions.
Brain Health & Fitness Solutions:
MyBrainSolutions (launched in 2009) is the first brain health product to penetrate mainstream US
corporations and is in use by marquee companies as part of their Wellness programs on a Per
Employee Per Month basis. Employer Wellness is a $2 billion market p.a., with the brain health
segment estimated to be worth around $250 million.
We continue to grow the number of key distribution partners including Aetna with 34 million members,
upsell new products to the existing clients – including MyCalmBeat and extend into the consumer
market, including the soon to be launched ADHD portal.
Personalized Medicine Solutions:
This consists of three components: Biomarker Platform, Personalized Assessment and Treatment
Predictive Diagnostics.
Biomarker Platform – Soon after listing Brain Resource offered its standardized brain data aquisition
and analysis services to many of the major pharmaceutical companies, including Lilly, J&J,
AstraZeneca, Merck and derived revenues based on a price per trial patient.
Personalized Assessment - Brain Resource currently generates revenues on a per report basis for
providing assessments of cognitive strengths and weaknesses (not a diagnostic). The strategy is to
enhance these reports using the iSPOT study outcomes (see following) and if FDA approval is granted,
convert these reports into diagnostics. The development of this product will allow us to target a
market which sees 85 million visits a year for depression alone.
Treatment predictive diagnostics – iSPOT-A and iSPOT-D, the largest studies in the world in
Depression and ADHD, are seeking to develop treatment prediction diagnostics to help better match
the right patient to the right treatment. The medication selection decision in both Depression and
ADHD currently relies on trial and error. Brain Resource expects to be the first company to lodge a
brain biomarker based diagnostic with the FDA for Personalized Treatment prediction, based on the
iSPOT studies with discussions currently underway.
The strategy involves mining these studies for a range of diagnostics, filing FDA submissions (and
patents), and to extend these studies into other psychiatric disorders such as (eg: Anxiety).
Science credibility: Brain Resource offers access to its database to academics for scientific research
through www.BRAINnet.net and there are currently more than 200 projects currently underway and
publications occuring at the rate of one per week.
Overarching business strategy
The Brain Resource International Database resource can be mined for many insights and new product
ideas developed and our focus is to prioritize and productize these insights and transition each from a
research to a sales focus with demonstrated initial market acceptance and establishment of a strong
team.
Once this milestone has been achieved, as has occurred with Brain Health & Fitness, it is then to
ensure that each is properly resourced and/or structured to fully capitalize on the opportunity. This
may include funding internally, spinning off or joint venturing as appropriate in the best interests of
shareholders. The longterm goal is to have a range of business holdings that have been spawned from
the Database.
Database Drives Product Ideation…
Dr. Evian Gordon, Chairman and CEO of Brain Resource, as well as a founder of company, was the
visionary behind building a large, robust and dynamic database of studies on the human brain. Dr.
Gordon has over 25 years of experience in brain research which includes the establishment of the
Brain Dynamics Center at Westmead Hospital (Sydney, Australia) in 1986. He pioneered the field of
"integrative neuroscience" which uses standardized methods to collect and aggregate information
about the brain, body and patient cognition. This information, including demographics, brain function
(measured by EEG/ERP), cognition, brain structure (measured by MRI), and genomics (measured by
lab testing of cheek swab) is housed in the company's "Brain Resource International Database" (BRID)
and is the basis behind the algorithms powering the company's brain products.
The uniqueness of the company's database has not only to do with it being the largest human brain
standardized data repository in the world, but also that it is a perpetual work in progress and is openaccess to scientists throughout the world. In 2003 Brain Resource helped to set up an indpendent
501c3 non-profit foundation called "BRAINnet" (Brain Research And Integrative Neuroscience
Network) affording access (for non-commercial purposes) to researchers which often use the datasets
in studies and in compiling manuscripts for independent publication. BRAINnet (www.brainnet.net)
currently has 317 participating researchers from 23 countries with over 250 outcomes published on
various topics including major depressive disorder (MDD), ADHD, schizophrenia, and Alzheimer's,
among others. The list of publications continues to grow, at a rate of approximately one per week and
includes some of the most well-respected journals in brain research including The Journal of
Neuroscience, Neuropsychopharmacology, Molecular Psychiatry, The American Journal of Psychiatry,
and Biological Psychiatry.
The open-access nature of the database has had desired effect of facilitating more and more
publications related to the data - and, as publications are typically viewed as the litmus test for
credibility in medical science, additional publications should continue to garner further support for the
company's research methodology and, ultimately, the effectiveness and utility of their products.
However, development and commercialization of products for mainstream consumer and clinical use
was not at the forefront of Brain Resource's strategy initially following the company's IPO in 2001.
Instead, at that time the company was focused on building its fledgling database through clinical data
gathered at its own and third-party laboratories and leveraging the related findings to help
pharmaceutical companies design better and more efficient clinical trials of CNS drugs. The company's
pharmaceutical client list included some of the majors, namely Pfizer (PFE), Eli Lilly (LLY), Glaxo (GSK)
and Merck (MRK), among others. It was during this period that Brain Resource's initial product,
IntegNeuro, was developed to help drug companies determine whether development-stage drug
candidates were showing the desired effect and to aid in the go/no-go (i.e. - continue development?)
decision. Use included a large multi-center study by AstraZeneca for schizophrenia (see
http://www.astrazeneca-us.com/about-astrazeneca-us/newsroom/4372268?itemId=4372268).
Brain Resource then shifted focus to the commercial marketplace, expanding their product offerings
and their target markets. This included further optimization of IntegNeuro and involved developing a
web-based version called WebNeuro which is sold into the clinical practice market and, most recently,
the launch of MyBrainSolutions for the corporate brain-health market. Further commercialization of
these two offerings, along with development of products for companion diagnostics of CNS drugs
(initially depression and ADHD) using the iSPOT study data, is Brain Resource's current focus.
New Joint Venture opportunities
The Brain Resource methodology and content is creating spin-off opportunities. The ADHD joint
venture has created a precedent for the model, including structure, valuation parameters and funding.
Under the current terms, Brain Resource granted the ADHD joint venture a perpetual license allowing
it to access to relevant BRC platform content for developing and launching the ADHD portal for the
parent market.
There are analogous further opportunities that are best exploited with partners. This includes several
under current review including: (i) a portal like that for ADHD but specifically catering to the needs of
the Aging market; (ii) a biometrics joint venture exploiting hardware (with associated software) that
has been developed by Brain Resource; and (iii) a drug+companion diagnostic discussed further in the
following section.
The common feature is that all lever our existing content to create a new source of value.
Monetization opportunities
We have begun to pursue initiatives with the goal of monetizing iSPOT. The following opportunities are
being discussed with Pharmaceutical Companies and Insurance/Payer Groups:
Co-marketing the iSPOT 'Companion Diagnostics' with the three drugs used in iSPOT (40% market
share of antidepressants in the U.S);
Using the Brain Resource Platform for new drug discovery;
Insurance Companies to use the Biomarkers as a mechanism to ensure better patient outcomes and
lower medication costs;
Using Brain Resource platforms and Biomarkers for Phase I-IV studies and also for new drug
development.
CogState
CogState is a global cognitive science, services, and technology company that supports the use of
cognitive measures in clinical trials, academic research, sports, and the workplace. Established in 1999
and becoming a publicly listed company on the ASX in 2004, CogState is one of the fastest growing
technology companies in Australia. In 2006, CogState was ranked no. 12 on the Deloitte Technology Fast
50 in recognition of its progress.
CogState provides products and services to 4 distinct but complementary markets:
CogState ClinicalTrials
CogState ClinicalTrials is a total service provider of cognitive testing services. Our services include:
Consulting:
The CogState Science team will support the design and execution of the protocol with a broad and deep
knowledge of cognitive science and neuropsychological testing in pharmaceutical development.
Contributions can include, but are not limited to:
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Optimizing the experimental design and selection of tests most suitable to detect putative
change
Practical advice and implementation in the preparation of easy-to-use source documents to
minimize data collection errors
Design of an optimal training and certification program for the cognitive battery
Central monitoring of rater administration and scoring
Support for post hoc analysis and interpretation of results with Sponsors, key opinion leaders
and regulators
Computerized Cognitive Tests:
The CogState computerized cognitive tasks were designed to be culturally neutral with minimal
language requirements, making them particularly well suited for multinational studies. The CogState
computerized tasks have been validated across a wide range of pathophysiological conditions and
demonstrate construct validity. The combination of: a) increased rates of sampling; b) optimized data
distributional properties of outcome measures; c) minimal effects of practice or fatigue, and d) the
ability to re-test at short intervals, mean that the sensitivity of the CogState cognitive tests to true
change is unsurpassed in the industry. Of equal importance, these characteristics also minimize the
potential for Type I errors and are ideally suited for detecting change.
Rater Training and Related Services:
These services include scientific consultation, scales management, rater
selection/training/certification/recalibration and quality control. These services are provided for all
scales and tests, including traditional paper and pencil, used in clinical trials measuring cognition.
CogState’s legacy of cognitive science and technology, the size and depth of its science team of
neuropsychologists, and its systematic integration of science, operations and technology make it unique
as a vendor of these services, delivering exemplary service and innovation.
CogState Research
CogState Research is an academically oriented version of the CogState ClinicalTrials software. With the
same proven rapidity, sensitivity and validity, this software provides academic researchers with a
powerful method of testing cognition at a competitive price. It has been used by institutions such as Yale
University, the University of Melbourne and the Australian Government's National Health & Medical
Research Council.
CogState tests use simple but effective technology to detect cognitive change in subjects. The tests
begin by taking a baseline measurement from a subject who is then periodically retested in order to
detect cognitive change. CogState testing utilizes culture-neutral stimuli, which ensures that a wide
range of subjects can be tested regardless of their ethnicity, socio-economic background or education.
CogState tests are extremely sensitive and their validity has been demonstrated in over 100 peerreviewed articles.
Axon Sports
Axon Sports is an invaluable computerized tool for the management of concussed professional and
amateur athletes. After a player is concussed, Axon Sports allows team management and physicians to
monitor the athlete's cognitive abilities against a baseline reading that was taken prior to injury. Due to
its sensitivity, this software can detect even the mildest of cognitive impairments that other methods of
concussion management are unable to identify. Customers include: FIFA, UK Rugby Football League,
teams in The Australian Football League and South African Rugby.
CogState Dementia Screening
CogState recently entered into an agreement with Merck Canada Inc., providing Merck with the
exclusive right to market and promote the CogState dementia screening test in Canada. The first
commercial sale is expected to occur before the end of 2012.
The partnership between CogState and Merck will provide Canadian physicians with a tool to help them
with early detection of cognitive decline in their patients. “We believe that with CogState and Merck
working together, Canadian patients can benefit from expanded cognitive assessment capability in the
marketplace," said Christian Sauvageau, Vice President of Customer Innovation Solutions for Merck
Canada. “This partnership is part of Merck`s ongoing commitment to finding treatments for diseases
involving the central nervous system.”
Lumos Labs
Discovery Communications is leading a $31.5 million Series D round for Lumos Labs, a maker of games
and training exercises aimed at improving the brain’s cognitive functions. A relationship with Discovery
could dramatically expand the reach of Lumos, known informally as Lumosity, Chief Executive Kunal
Sarkar said. The Series D was joined by returning investors FirstMark Capital, Harrison Metal Capital,
Menlo Ventures and Norwest Venture Partners.
Lumos Labs, Inc. operates Lumosity.com, an online tool for cognitive enhancement. The company offers
various Web-based brain training programs targeting brain areas, such as memory, attention, and
processing speed to produce cognitive benefits. It offers brain games and exercises, and personalized
training programs; and mobile training solutions for iPhones, iPod touch devices, palm pre devices, and
android phones. The company was founded in 2005 and is based in San Francisco, California.
www.luminosity.com
As a neuroscience PhD candidate at Stanford, Michael Scanlon explored the effects of cognitive training
through small-scale experiments on fish and rats. Now, seven years after dropping out to start a
company that makes brain games, he can base his research on anonymized data from 25 million people.
Lumosity, the company Scanlon cofounded, makes games that promise to sharpen memory, focus
attention, enhance creativity and improve attention. At least by Silicon-Valley terms, it’s been
successful. The startup announced a $31.5 million investment led by Discovery Communications last
week, bringing its total amount of funding to $70 million. Its mobile app has reached the coveted No. 1
spot in the App Store, and its user base has swelled to 25 million.
Studies about whether playing games like Lumosity's can indeed make people smarter have produced
conflicting results. One study, for instance, found that subjects who trained in cognitive tasks improved
only at those specific tasks. Others, meanwhile, have showed improvement in fluid intelligence among
those who played a brain game.
Lumosity's research branch, Lumos Labs, runs its own studies about how the games impact intelligence.
But it also lends assessment tools and, in a few cases, its massive data set to independent researchers
who are studying cognitive training. It's running an experiment and a company at the same time and has
thus become a small but significant force in the science surrounding its products.
As new understandings emerge about how cognitive training works, it's a good bet that Lumosity will be
the first to arrive with updated games. According to a paper the company published in the MENSA
Research Journal, after 10 hours of training, subjects improved 10% in memory and 20% in divided
attention. At the Society for Neuroscience’s annual meeting in October, it will present further research
on the transfer of cognitive training to core underlying cognitive capacities and whether older adults
need to train more frequently than younger adults to receive equivalent benefits.
With the exception of the research published in MENSA Research, however, none of its findings have
been submitted for publication in a peer-reviewed journal.
“We know it’s possible,” Scanlon says. “We haven’t submitted enough times to know if we we have a
high rate of success or a low rate of success.”
Regardless of whether Lumos Labs successfully publishes more studies, Scanlon acknowledges that
research produced by organizations without revenue at stake are more likely to be trusted. Which is one
reason Lumosity has helped supply about 100 independent researchers with brain games their subjects
can play at home instead of at the lab.
Researchers from Stanford, the University of New South Wales and other schools have used Lumosisty
brain games in published studies, many of which support Lumosity's findings, and scientists at Harvard
and UC Berkeley are among the 25 researchers that are currently incorporating the games into
experiments. By default, testing their subjects on Lumosity games also helps cement the company’s
position as the most data-equipped researcher in the space.
That's the business genius in Lumosity's research programs: As new understandings emerge about how
cognitive training works and in what ways it is or is not effective, it's a good bet that Lumosity will be the
first to arrive with updated games.
“The product is informing the science, which then turns back into the product,” Scanlon says. “Not all
companies have the option of having their R&D and business models in such alignment.”
hich creates brain-training exercises and games, has raised $31.5 million in additional funding to help
enhance cognitive studies and performance around the world.
The San Francisco-based company has gained significant new funding from Discovery Communications,
which is leading Lumosity’s fourth round. This should help Lumosity expand its Open Science research
platform, which allows for transparency and access and uses web-based tools to facilitate scientific
communication. Overall, Lumosity has now raised $70 million in funding.
“As Discovery focuses its digital strategy around strengthening its position as the No. 1 nonfiction media
company across all screens, we also see strategic growth opportunities in select investments in the next
generation knowledge space,” said JB Perrette, Discovery Communications’ chief digital officer.
“Discovery’s commitment to igniting people’s curiosity and passion for learning is a natural fit with
Lumosity’s success in brain training. We are proud to take the leadership position in this round of
financing and look forward to supporting Lumosity’s expansion around the world.”
Existing investors Menlo Ventures, FirstMark Capital, Harrison Metal, and Norwest Venture Partners are
also participating in the round.
Tim Chang, who previously invested in Lumosity, told GamesBeat, “Lumosity is absolutely crushing it as
the pioneer and premier company in mental fitness, healthy gaming, and quantified self. They’re
probably also the Valley’s most under-hyped company in terms of retained and paying subscriber base.
[This is] especially noteworthy as these are spaces that have gained a lot of hype but are mostly
populated by early stage concept companies that are still very far away from large-scale monetization.”
Lumosity’s programs help 25 million members in 180 countries. Its more than 40 games hone cognitive
abilities such as memory, attention, flexibility, speed of processing, and problem solving — easy to do
when you hold the world’s largest database of human cognitive performance, which it’s amassed over
the last five years.
“[Our] database has more than 400 million data points to date,” the company told GamesBeat.
“Lumosity’s research and development team continually analyze this data and work with a network of
scientists from top neuroscience programs all across the world to study cognitive training. This effort,
called the Human Cognition Project, puts Lumosity in the center of innovation and discovery of human
cognition and the real-world application of cognitive training.”
The Human Cognition Project is key to helping researchers study the effects of computerized cognitive
training as well as conduct experiments over the web, making it easier to recruit participants and
obviate the need for laboratory visits.
Lumosity will be presenting findings from three new studies at the Society for Neuroscience conference
in New Orleans in October. In addition, Lumosity told us it has analyzed over 750,000 survey results
from its database to better understand how sleep, exercise, and alcohol consumption correlate to
cognitive abilities.
The company also offers free memberships to private and public schools through the Lumosity
Education Access Program (LEAP), which enrolls students in third through 12th grade. LEAP applications
have nearly tripled from semester to semester, and the program has been used in over 500 schools to
date.
“Our goal has always been to use technology to create cutting-edge neuroscience-based programs that
help people reach their full potential,” said Kunal Sarkar, the cofounder and chief executive officer of
Lumosity. “We’re motivated by the millions of consumers who use Lumosity every day to enhance their
lives, and we’re excited that Discovery Communications has decided to support our growth into a global
learning brand.”
“We see an opportunity to build Lumosity into a household name,” the company told us. “We are in a
continual process of R&D, and this round of funding allows us to continue our research into human
cognitive performance, ramp up our development of new products faster, and reach hundreds of
millions of people around the world.”
The company’s mobile app is one of the top free apps in the Education category.
Key Executives for Lumos Labs, Inc.
Mr. Kunal Sarkar, Co-Founder and Chief Executive officer, Age: 34
Mr. David Drescher, Co-Founder and Chief Technology officer
Mr. Michael Scanlon, Co-Founder and Chief Scientific officer
The Human Cognition Project (HCP) is a groundbreaking collaboration between researchers worldwide.
Neuroscientists, clinicians, teachers, and academics are coming together to advance the field of
neuroscience.
Lumosity now has the world's largest and fastest growing database on human cognition—which
currently includes over 35,000,000 research subjects and over 600,000,000 cognitive gameplays. Our
scientists mine this data to uncover insights that help them improve the efficacy of the Lumosity
cognitive training program.
Ongoing Research Topics
1. ADHD and Lumosity: can cognitive training help with ADHD?
2. Correlating lifestyle and health choices with cognitive performance and learning ability
3. Understanding the effect of sports, exercise, and Lumosity
4. How brain injured populations (TBI/ABI/mTBI) are affected by Lumosity training
5. Assessing Lumosity's effect on stroke patients
6. Looking at mood disorders and Lumosity
7. Assessing how multiple sclerosis patients could be helped with the use of Lumosity
8. Modeling learning curves on Lumosity games
9. Behavioral economics and Lumosity
10. How Lumosity can help soldiers recover from traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress
disorder
11. How Lumosity can change the cognition of young adults at risk for schizophrenia
What types of projects are part of the HCP?
Visit our Research section to learn more about published and ongoing HCP projects.
What tools and data will I receive to assist my research?
◦Researcher-customized brain training is available from Lumosity's suite of 35+ cognitive exercises. To
explore the exercises on a limited basis, try out Lumosity.
◦Assessments and Surveys are combinations of neuropsychological batteries to supplement Lumosity
games. You can customize these assessments and access them online.
◦Data comes from the HCP database of 500 million game plays from over 30 million unique users on
Lumosity.com. These anonymized data reveal mass performance on neuropsychiatric assessments and
enable correlations with user demographics. You'll also receive reports that include performance and
compliance information on the participants in your studies.
What do you look for in an HCP research collaborator?
Note that the following list is not required, but it is preferred.
◦Industry-Based Researchers
■Employment by the research and development arm of a company
◦Project Considerations that make for a more attractive candidacy to the HCP
■Introduces a new technology or innovation
■Possesses rare personnel expertise
■Provides access to scientifically compelling subject population
◦University-Based Researchers:
■University affiliation (faculty member, postdoc, graduate student, undergraduate)
◦Project Considerations that make for a more attractive candidacy to the HCP
■Includes a testable hypothesis that is novel and builds on previous work (done by the collaborator or
others in the field)
■Includes hypothesized mechanism for training improvements
■Includes pre- and post-test
■Includes outcome measures of cognitive and/or real world transfer
■Sufficient sample size for the expected statistical power of the study
■Thoughtfully designed control group
Why does Lumosity provide all these tools and services to the Human Cognition Project for free?
The Human Cognition Project's mission is to advance neuroscience through open, collaborative
research. These collaborations enable Lumosity to receive third-party validation and studies to be
performed on its products. These third-party collaborations provide deep scientific insights that can
drive a better understanding of human mental performance as well as paths for Lumosity to improve it.
How are data and authorship handled in these collaborations?
As a researcher, you gain direct access to Lumosity tools, assessments, and data generated from your
study. For studies investigating the efficacy of Lumosity, Lumosity asks only for an acknowledgment but
does not expect co-authorship. If the study is of a more general nature investigating mechanisms of
cognition, authorship will likely be shared more evenly. For more information, please see the Lumosity
terms of service.
Advanced Brain Monitoring
For over a decade we have been designing and validating novel diagnostic devices and targeted
treatment solutions. We specialize in the development of interfaces that can be easily applied by the
user without assistance to obtain neuro, cardio, and respiratory signals equivalent to those obtained in a
laboratory. Our algorithms automate the analysis of these signals to provide unique metrics to
characterize the user’s state or modify the state through real-time feedback. Our core competence is in
the establishment of scientific validity for and commercial adoption of our innovative technologies. Our
team has developed nine products and been issued 16 patents with 10 patents pending with the
assistance of over $26 million in non-dilutive government R&D funding. We are an ISO 13485 medical
device manufacturer.
The Neurotechnology group develops and commercializes advanced wireless EEG head sets,
physiological monitoring systems, and bioelectric signal acquisition & processing software designed to
address the needs of both researchers and clinicians. Here you can learn about the latest news and
achievements led by our customers, partners, and ABM in-house researchers. The team is actively
involved in the neuroscience research community with in-house projects funded by NIH, DARPA, ONR &
OSD, and through partnerships with university & government research labs in the U.S. and abroad. In all
cases their work has been enabled by B-Alert physiological assessment systems--the premiere solutions
for developing new real-world applications. B-Alert hardware and software configurations are highly
modular and flexible for optimizing across a wide range of research and clinical needs.
B-Alert XSeries Wireless EEG Headsets
All the B-Alert wireless EEG headsets deliver medical-grade, dependable signals in portable, easy-to-use
and comfortable-for-hours designs. They allow subjects to maintain complete mobility during recordings
while also eliminating the artifacts and noise typically exacerbated by the wires of traditional EEG
systems. Researchers are provided Power Spectral Density (PSDs) analyses in real-time or for offline
analyses and high quality, low noise signals for single-trial or averaged ERP analyses.
B-Alert LAB Software
Home/Neurotechnology/B-Alert LAB Software
Each B-Alert wireless-EEG headset will pair with the B-Alert Lab Software Suite best suited to meet your
needs. All software suites emphasize high quality, medical grade EEG by providing user-friendly tools for
checking the connection at each sensor site, and real-time visualization of raw data streams.
Researchers can benefit from our optional analysis tools like Automatic-Decontamination, the B-Alert
Cognitive State Metrics, and the Cognitive Workload Metric which were developed and validated across
hundreds of participants and published in peer-reviewed journals. The complete Software Developers'
Kit (SDK) comes standard with every headset purchase.
Sleep Devices for Diagnosis & Treatment of Sleep Disorders
Freer Logic
BodyWave is a brain wave monitor that attaches to the body much like an MP3 player. There’s no need
to wear a silly looking headset. Wearing BodyWave, you can discreetly increase your mental capacity,
physical performance, or control objects in your surroundings without anyone ever knowing. And better
yet, it’s all by mind alone!
In the near future, BodyWave will speak directly to you without the need for a cell phone or computer.
Standing over your golf ball ready to putt? BodyWave will tell you when you’ve reached a peak
performance state and are ready. Want to make that online trade, BodyWave will say, “It’s now time.”
Three dry sensors on the back of the unit contact the skin and begin searching for brainwave activity.
The brain wave patterns are transmitted via Bluetooth or WiFi to a computer or hand held device.
Brainwave activity can control computer activities, 3D training scenarios, or live field equipment.
Currently we have algorithms that monitor drowsiness, attention, mediation, stress/anxiety, and peak
performance.
This is just the beginning! We’re developing apps to turn your cell phone on or off by mind alone.
External control of home electronics is just around the corner as well — all from your brain and off the
wrist!
Virtually any 3D training scenario can be governed by brain wave activity. BodyWave makes learning to
relax, to pay attention, to reduce stress, or to reduce anxiety easy and simple.
◦Peak performance state for athletes
◦Reduce stress for flight controllers
◦Optimize attention in students, done.
◦Optimize performance for law enforcement, medical,
or other high stress jobs
Peter Freer
Mr. Freer has presented at NASA and the United Nations. He is co-author of an International Atomic
Energy Agency white paper on Human Performance Management. He holds 5 patents with others
pending. All patents are related to human cognition and thought technology training. Freer is not only
an innovator, but leader in this field.
InteraXon
was formed in 2007 when Ariel Garten decided to commercialize the thought controlled computing
technology initially developed by world-renowned cyberneticist Dr. Steve Mann and his colleague, Dr.
James Fung.
Garten, Mann and Fung, along with multifaceted engineer Chris Aimone, had been working on various
brainwave-controlled art installations and technology demonstrations around Toronto since 2003. Four
years later, Ariel realized that brainwave-controlled computing was a technology whose time had
come.
To achieve her vision, she enrolled long-time friend Chris Aimone and Trevor Coleman, a rising star in
Toronto’s entertainment industry. Together the three went about building a company to support their
vision of a thought-controlled world.
The company was officially registered as a business in 2007 and later incorporated in 2009. Since
joining forces, InteraXon has presented work at academic conferences, featured in local and national
media, and given a featured musical performance at the Ontario Premier’s Innovation Awards. They
continue to explore innovative applications for the technology and work to make thought-controlled
computing an integral and natural part of everyday life.
THINK
Your brain generates electrical patterns that resonate outside your head, which accumulate into
brainwaves detectable by an Electroencephalograph (EEG). The EEG can't read your thoughts, just
your brain's overall pattern of activity, like how relaxed or alert you are. With practice you can learn to
manipulate your brainwave pattern, like flexing a muscle you've never used before.
As the neurons in the brain fire, they generate magnetic fields that can be easily read from the head
using an Electroencephalograph, or EEG. The InteraXon system analyses these readings and separates
the waves by frequency into alpha, beta, gamma, and theta waves, each of which is associated with a
particular conscious state.
TRANSLATE
InteraXon's interface works by turning brainwaves into binary (ones and zeros). We're like interpreters
fluent in the language of the mind: our system analyses the frequency of your brainwaves and then
translates them into a control signal for the computer to understand. After analyzing and sorting the
waves by type, our software compares the amount of energy in each band and generates a control
signal that correlates to the strength of a particular brain state. The system we are currently working
with is designed to respond to alpha waves, which are associated with relaxation and creativity, and
beta waves, associated with attention and visual focus. Participants quickly learn to induce what is
known as an alpha state (a brain state with a high percentage of alpha waves). By easily entering or
leaving this state they can manipulate the world around them just by relaxing.
ACTIVATE
Just like a button or switch can activate whatever it's connected to, your translated brainwaves can
now control anything electric. InteraXon designers and engineers make the experience so seamless,
the connected technology seems like an extension of your own body.
In the second of this 2-part interview commentary on the research project Bicameral Music, Vaughan
Macefield talks with InteraXon about his interest in performance, dance, and studying the nervous
system.
In October 2012, Erin Gee announced a collaboration with neurophysiologist Vaughan Macefield
(Australia) and roboticist Dr. Damith Herath (MARCS Institute) called ‘Bicameral Music’. Bicameral
Music is a performance that Gee describes as combining robotics, technology and raw emotion. The
team has been researching and mapping raw emotion, translating electric currents in the brain into a
decipherable auditory experience. The end goal of their research is a symphony, performed live in
Montreal, in 2013
BCInet
delivers an innovative approach to capture and process brain and body signals to:

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Control electronic devices alone or in combination with other technologies without requiring
traditional manual inputs.
Monitor and respond directly to intentions, emotions and thoughts.
This ability to control devices and/or monitor brain activity enables the creation of solutions of all types
in xxx including:
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Entertainment
Disabilities
Education
Entertainment
Health
Medical Research
Sports
Founded in 2009, in San Jose, California, BCInet redefines how people interact with the world, by
enabling the development of products and applications using its patented brain-body–computer
interface technology.
The name Neural Impulse Actuator is still justifiable since also the secondary signals are under neuronal
control. The biopotentials are decompiled into different frequency spectra to allow the separation into
different groups of electrical signals. Individual signals that are isolated comprise alpha and beta brain
waves, electromyograms and electro oculograms. The current version of the NIA uses carbon-fibers
injected into soft plastic as substrate for the headband and for the sensors and achieves sensitivity much
greater than the original silver chloride-based sensors using a clip-on interface to the wire harness.
NeuroSky, Inc. is a manufacturer of Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technologies for consumer
product applications.[1][2][3][4] It was founded in 2004 and is a Silicon Valley based company.[1][2][4]
The company states that their mission is to make BCI technology available to any industry. NeuroSky
adapts electroencephalography (EEG) and (since the release of blink in 2010) electromyography (EMG)
technology to fit a consumer market within a number of fields such as entertainment (toys and games),
education, automotive, and health.
Through the development of inexpensive dry sensors (older EEGs require the application of a conductive
gel between the sensors and the head), built in electrical “noise” reduction
software/hardware,[2][6][11] and a focus on providing an embedded (chip level) solution for signal
processing and output, NeuroSky technology allows for research and products that would have been
impossible with older EEGs.
While NeuroSky develops some products independently, such as the MindSet and the MindWave, it
primarily works with industry partners, developers, and research institutions to assist them in taking
advantage of the NeuroSky chip and incorporate it into their own technology/products.[1][2] The
company compares its style of business to Intel Inside’s which “sells the ingredients for a cool
technology but doesn’t sell the final product to consumers. When NeuroSky has released direct to
consumer products they tend to be designed for maximum flexibility of use through third party and
open source content".
The Chief Executive of NeuroSky, Stanley Yang, said that he saw the significance of the company as being
“a transition in everyday life from humans conforming to machines, to machines conforming to
humans”. Leading brain-computer interface technology company, NeuroSky has made it their mission to
utilize university neuroscience research and create products to benefit the general public. The current
consumer markets for BCI technology are rapidly growing and strong, with the brain fitness market
expected to grow from $265 million in 2008, to an astounding $5 billion in 2015, and the neurostimulation, or drug-free alternatives market, growing from $1.3 billion in 2009 to $2.7 billion in 2015.
"Through research and commercialization partnerships with Carnegie Mellon, Stanford, Trinity College,
University of Wollongong, University of Washington and many others, NeuroSky is helping unlock
decades of brainwave research for mass market applications," said Stanley Yang, NeuroSky CEO. "We
look forward to product announcements with these and more partners in the coming years."
Technological innovations include significant advancements in noise reduction, dry-sensor development
(rather than requiring a conductive gel), substantial cost-engineering (reducing the price), and enabling
the wearer to use it outside of a lab (without the assistance of a doctor). With such universal innovation,
NeuroSky's games and other applications are sure to have an impact in a variety of arenas in the coming
years.
It is NeuroSky’s duty to bridge the gap between technology and the human body. Our research-grade
instruments measure brainwave EEG and heartbeat ECG signals to entertain, relax, detect, heal, and
exercise the most vital of our organs. With our partners, we make the intangible, tangible. That’s why, at
NeuroSky, we make Bio-Sensors for Every Body.
NeuroSky is the world leader in bringing BCI capabilities out of the laboratory and to the general public.
Because of NeuroSky’s advances, anyone can now influence the functions of an electronic device by
thought alone, in the privacy of their own home. Research institutions can collect previously
unprecedented levels of field data on brain functions. And businesses can add BCI capabilities to their
products.
NeuroSky devices are affordable, portable, and wireless. Most EEG based consumer devises on the
market are essentially stripped down versions of medical EEGs. The core technology behind NeuroSky
devices has been built from the ground up. This has allowed NeuroSky to inexpensively produce a chip
that that filters out the ambient waves present in most uncontrolled conditions and effectively
measures neural activity in virtually any condition with 96% the accuracy of similarly configured research
grade EEGs.
A number of companies claim to have been the first to release a consumer based EEG. The first was
actually produced by Interactive Product line. Though NeuroSky developed the first BCI device available
to the general public under a thousand dollars, NeuroSky’s primary product is chips. These have been
the basis for every commercially successful consumer BCI product every created. NeuroSky allows for
companies with no experience in EEG based technology to effectively incorporate it into their products.
All NeuroSky technology is unidirectional; where information travels from the brain to the device but
not the other way around. It would be physically impossible to use a NeuroSky product to control
someone’s thoughts. That said, using a NeuroSky device on a regular basis might make it easier to reach
certain mental states but only in the way doing math problems can make one better at math.
NeuroSky devices only receive data the brain is always emitting. Moreover, the wireless signals are
purposely kept to a minimum because they would interfere with the brainwave recording itself. Thus
the strength of wireless signals produced by NeuroSky devices make those produced by cell phones look
like a jet engine.
Galvanic skin response is a technology that has been available to the general public for decades; best
known for its use in the classic “lie detector”. Often confused with EEG, galvanic skin response can be
used to approximate a narrow range of mental states through measuring the electrical resistance of
skin. Skin conductivity changes based on hormones the brain produces when in a state of emotional
arousal. Galvanic skin response cannot distinguish between different forms of arousal ie. anger, fear,
startle response, and sexual arousal.
It is important to note that galvanic skin response does not directly measure states of mind directly, but
rather their effects on the body. Neurosky devices measure local field potentials, aka brain waves, which
are directly caused by neural activity - No NeuroSky device has ever used galvanic skin response.
In the future, galvanic skin response (GSR), muscle electromyography (EMG), heartbeat
electrocardiography (ECG or EKG), retinal electrooculography (EOG), blood oximetry and other
biosensor areas will be logical areas of innovation for NeuroSky. For information concerning our next
generation sensor, which will measure EMG, EOG and EKG, please speak with a NeuroSky sales rep.
UK government-funded BCI app brings self hypnosis to everyone: an interview with
NeuroCoach
By
– February 7, 2013
NeuroCoach
We at Neurogadget have another interview for you this week, this time with Jon Clare, one of the
creators of the upcoming BCI app NeuroCoach. This new app is designed to monitor an individual’s state
(based on their body’s feedback data) and determine the most appropriate time to deliver hypnotic
suggestions. Focusing on the brain fitness market, this ‘interactive hypnosis’ app combines the BCI
technology with hypnosis and runs on iOS devices using NeuroSky headset hardware. We spoke to Jon
about hypnosis, neurofeedback, and NeuroCoach itself.
Neurogadget: First of all, what is the NeuroCoach app?
Jon Clare: Well, its interactive self hypnosis. (The app) drives a hypnotic induction using the bodies
output, which is initially brainwaves; over time we’ll also incorporate heart-rate information. That data
comes in and is collected , monitored and analysed by a content management system, which is used to
optimally time the delivery of a hypnotic suggestion to the user when they are deemed to be most
receptive.
NG: How is the hypnotic suggestion delivered?
JC: Our sessions (and hypnosis generally) are broken down into four stages. Stage one is the
introduction, often where a hypnotherapist is setting (the patient’s) expectations, building trust, and so
on.
Stage two is called ‘induction,’ where you are given clips of verbal content delivering hypnotic
techniques and methods designed to try and move you into a state of ‘heightened and focused’
attention (aka hypnosis). During this stage your eyes are open and the user’s attention is displayed on
screen in the form of an interactive visualizer - which responds as you focus your attention. This acts as
an instant visual feedback for the user on how narrow and focused you are at any moment in time. At
the start of this stage we take a unique baseline for each user and the plot a threshold on the screen for
the user to try and ‘beat’. If they meet and sustain the threshold they are instructed to close their eyes
and they move the next stage.
Intervention is the third stage, where we deliver instructive type content “You will improve your..XYZ”.
This monitoring of a user, processing of data against logic and timing the content delivery of the
intervention phase is essentially the key feature of NeuroCoach. Hopefully we deliver hypnotic
instruction at a more optimal time than standard practice.
Finally the fourth stage is ‘wake-up’, where we re-orientate the user back to a normal state.
NG: what hardware are you using?
JC: We use the Neurosky Mindwave Mobile EEG sensors, but our intention is to eventually become
agnostic from any particular sensor by building a sensor interface layer – that recognises which sensor is
currently in use. We also produce our own proprietary ‘NeuroCoach index’ which processes all the data
that comes in from (app user’s) sensors and drives the content selection. (that said) At the moment
NeuroSky is the only commercial scale headset that’s available anyway and it is useful as it provides predefined attention and meditation levels – which align perfectly to what is needed to monitor an
indication of the hypnotic state.
NG: What about the Emotiv, or the Muse?
JC: Well the muse hasn’t launched yet, they’ve got the funding and now they’re trying to work out how
to make it scalable. Certainly the Emotiv is out there, but to us it just seems a little too expensive for the
person on the street.
We’re primarily interested in measuring information from the prefrontal cortex right at the front of the
brain [ed. note: this is where the NeuroSky sensor sits on the head]. Focused attention levels have a high
correlation to hypnotic state. If we ever were to need a sensor placed, it would be over Pz, right in the
middle, because that’s a good place to measure theta from.
NG: Are there any particular brainwave states are correlated with hypnosis?
JC: Taking one step back, Neuroscience hasn’t found a unique EEG signature for hypnosis yet. Right now
you can’t look at an EEG trace and say “at this point they were not in hypnosis, and at this point they
became hypnotized”, that’s not available currently.
However there quite a lot of good ‘indicators’ which are highly correlated with hypnosis. (For example)
an increase in Theta waves has quite a high correlation with hypnosis. Over time we want to build more
and more of these indicators into the NeuroCoach app. Heart Rate variability is another great indicator
for hypnosis. there are some studies that show you can start to evaluate hypnotic depth by heart rate
variability. Eventually, the NeuroCoach index will incorporate a collection of these brain and body
indicators to become more accurate in assessing the user’s state and the timing of the induction /
intervention content switch.
NG: What kinds of hypnotic sessions are you going to offer?
JC: We’ll be launching with three sessions; the app will arrive with those three sessions already preloaded. The first is a demo session, which shows you how to use the device and talks you through (how
it works). The second is ‘reduce stress’, and the last one is ‘get into the zone’ or focusing your attention.
The app contains an in-app store so you can purchase the other ‘aspires’ series of sessions such as
‘attention control’, ‘positive attitude’, ‘self discipline’, et cetera.
NG: How have you been funding your development?
JC: Mostly it’s been privately funded, by the company directors and our angel funders. We also got
awarded two rounds of UK government funding to build prior prototypes to get where we are now. We
received two grants from the London Development Agency a few years ago, one original grant for
£10,000 pounds and another for £70,000. The LDA was a UK Government body set up to encourage
London based businesses with innovative technology concepts, and they got very excited about the
potential (of the app). We spent a good chunk of that working with Professor Anthony Steed, a brain
computer interface expert at UCL University, to help us crack some of the harder BCI problems that we
had.
NG: Is there enough public interest for the app to be successful?
JC: I think hypnosis is really starting to come out of the shadows, and there are a few points that
underline that. A few years ago the UK instituted a smoking ban, no smoking in restaurants or public
places, that kind of stuff. The online yellow pages had a massive spike in hypnotherapist searches.
People who were forced to quit smoking (after the ban) a lot of the time turned to hypnosis.
Hypnosis has been tested and proven in a huge number of topics including pain management, immune
system boosting, stress reduction and many others. The public are starting to get warmed up to it, and
now there are all sorts of hypnosis downloads you can get online, things like that.
NG: Do you think the recent emergence of neuroscience has anything to do with it?
JC: Hypnosis (in modern research) has been kicking around for about 25 years, and in the 80’s everyone
got really excited (about it) and a lot of research money got poured into trying to understand hypnosis
better. essentially they didn’t find any definite hypnotic signature, and over time interest waned. In the
last five years, probably aligned with the recent neuroscience boom, because of MRI scanners and other
new techniques that is changing.
What excites me, is that if hypnosis was a drug everyone would be taking it. What fascinates me is that
it’s not a pill, not a drug, it’s just a technique. It’s got no side effects or anything like that, just a bit of a
bad reputation that’s stuck over the years. What we’re hoping to say is ‘look we’re going to make it
more professional, we’re going to make it more scientific, and put some computerized intelligence
behind it, but (hypnosis) is essentially a naturally occurring (neural) phenomena… We’re bringing
hypnosis into the modern world.
Emotiv Lifesciences is a bioinformatics company offering a unique platform for crowd-sourced
brain research. Our platform lies at the intersection that leverages cloud computing, huge data sets,
mobile brain imaging technology and highly contextualized, personal data.
With a fast growing install base of brain imaging systems across more than 90 countries, Emotiv
Lifesciences delivers the ability for organizations to rapidly collect brain data on the precise
characteristics of a target demographic. We make it possible for your organization to leverage the
talent of multi-disciplinary researchers across mathematics, statistics, signal processing, artificial
intelligence, data mining, image processing, biology, medicine to analyze the data and provide
meaningful analysis and discoveries.
The BrainGate™ Co. is a privately-held firm focused on the advancement of the BrainGate™
Neural Interface System. The Company owns the Intellectual property of the BrainGate™ system as well
as new technology being developed by the BrainGate company. In addition, the Company also owns
the intellectual property of Cyberkinetics which it purchased in April 2009.
The goals of the BrainGate™ Company is to create technology that will allow severely disabled
individuals—including those with traumatic spinal cord injury and loss of limbs—to communicate and
control common every-day functions literally through thought.
The BrainGate™ Company was founded by Chairman, Jeffrey M. Stibel and is led by a seasoned team of
entrepreneurs whose goal is to advance movement through thought alone. This is achieved through
partnership with leading academic institutions, corporations, and various non-profit and government
organizations working on the research, science, and development of applied commercial technology.
Our mission is to improve of the quality of life for all disabled humans. We additionally seek to increase
the usage of BrainGate related technology in both medical and non-medical applications and facilitate
innovation in invasive and non-invasive brain research.
The Transparent Corporation (associated with NeuroSky) is an international collective of
researchers, analysts, engineers and enthusiasts who have been brought together by their common
interest in brainwave entrainment, biofeedback, psychology and hypnosis. Pooling our knowledge and
talents, we have endeavored to create the most effective brain stimulation products on the market
today, based on solid research and thorough testing.
The people at Transparent are avid users of mind technology. We are dedicated to science and the
further exploration of human potential.
We at Transparent have made it our common goal to become the group most known for development
of software to solve human problems innovatively, improve life and advance human capability. We are
also committed to improving brain stimulation methods and to bringing the benefits of brain stimulation
to the public in an affordable, accessible way.
1) Our desire is for each person to reach their full potential.
2) Our profits should only come from work that benefits humanity.
3) Our products will be offered at the lowest possible cost to ensure affordable solutions for everyone.
Transparent products are based on nearly 60 years of accumulated brainwave entrainment research.
We have scoured the scientific journals, consulted with experts in every applicable field and worked
with engineers to develop the most effective possible products. All of our products include full
documentation on our research and methods.
Transparent products provide an inexpensive and effective means to:
1) Use the power of brain stimulation for personal growth, enhancement or entertainment.
2) Induce desirable change in people and their environments; to help them get what they want and
need out of life or help them rid themselves of their internal struggles so they have more energy and
time to focus on whatever they feel is important.
3) Provide people with a better understanding of their own thought patterns, subconscious and
personality.
Office of Naval Research (ONR) basic research programs in autonomy address critical multidisciplinary fundamental challenges that cut across different scientific and engineering disciplines
and system domains (air, sea, undersea, and ground systems) with a focus on problems with
particular naval relevance. Five new basic research focus areas have been identified and are
“Understanding Satisficing in Human, Animal, and Engineered Autonomous Systems for Fast
Decision-making with Limited Data,” “Cognitively Compatible Semantic and Visual Representation
of Autonomous System Perceptual Data for Effective Human/Machine Collaboration,” “Mental
Simulation as a Unifying Framework for Perception, Cognition and Control in Autonomous Systems
and Dexterous Robots,” “Structured Machine Learning for Scene Understanding,” and “Integrated
Autonomy for Long Duration Operations.” ONR seeks to initiate 6.1 Basic Research efforts in these
five thrusts beginning Government Fiscal Year 2013.
This topic is expected to motivate new collaborations between fields such as control theory,
nonlinear dynamics, computational intelligence/robotics, machine learning, human factors,
mathematics, cognitive/social/affective neuroscience, cognitive science, psychology, and biology.
This topic is open to different sized teams with appropriate expertise across multiple of these
disciplines, but does not require a single team to incorporate researchers from all of these areas.
Cognitive Science can offer conceptual tools, such as computational cognitive models to provide
principled frameworks. Cognitive Neuroscience can provide novel brain imaging techniques that can
be used in conjunction with behavioral analysis to help identify both conscious and unconscious
cues, decisions and decision points. Experimental Psychology can provide research methodologies
and analytic techniques that combine the constraints of multiple behavioral and neuroscientific
methodologies to infer and validate unconscious determinants of performance. Human factors can
provide insight into the crucial experiential factors and conditions that promote the transition from
conscious, controlled processing to unconscious, automated processing. Autonomous systems,
control computational intelligence, and machine learning can provide modeling, testbeds, new
automated methods for data collection in experiments, and rigorous mathematical methods and
models as well as raising new research questions that support an engineering agenda.
Special Notice 13-SN-0005 - Special Program Announcement for 2013 Office of
Naval Research - Research Opportunity: Basic Research Challenges in the
Science of Autonomy
The research opportunity described in this announcement specifically falls under numbered
paragraph 1 of the “Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and
Reconnaissance (Code 31)” sub-section, numbered paragraph 1 of the “Ocean Battlespace Sensing
(Code 32)” sub-section, numbered paragraph 1 of the “Warfighter Performance (Code 34)”
subsection, and numbered paragraph 1 of the “Naval Air Warfare and Weapons (Code 35)” subsection. The submission of proposals, their evaluation and the placement of research grants will be
carried out as described in that Broad Agency Announcement.
The purpose of this announcement is to focus attention of the scientific and engineering community
on (1) the areas to be studied, and (2) the planned timetable for the submission of white papers and
proposals.
II. TOPIC DESCRIPTION: BASIC RESEARCH CHALLENGES IN THE SCIENCE OF
AUTONOMY
Background:
ONR basic research programs in autonomy address critical multi-disciplinary fundamental
challenges that cut across different scientific and engineering disciplines and system domains (air,
sea, undersea, and ground systems) with a focus on problems with particular naval relevance. Five
new basic research focus areas have been identified and are “Understanding Satisficing in Human,
Animal, and Engineered Autonomous Systems for Fast Decision-making with Limited Data,”
“Cognitively Compatible Semantic and Visual Representation of Autonomous System Perceptual
Data for Effective Human/Machine Collaboration,” “Mental Simulation as a Unifying Framework
for Perception, Cognition and Control in Autonomous Systems and Dexterous Robots,” “Structured
Machine Learning for Scene Understanding,” and “Integrated Autonomy for Long Duration
Operations.” ONR seeks to initiate 6.1 Basic Research efforts in these five thrusts beginning
Government Fiscal Year 2013.
Objective:
The Office of Naval Research (ONR) is interested in receiving initially white papers and
eventually proposals from selected Offerors for five new thrusts for Basic Research Challenges in the
Science of Autonomy. Each individual white paper and proposal should address only a
single one of the five research thrusts listed below. This program supports basic science and/or
engineering research within academia and industry. The program focuses on stimulating new, highrisk basic research projects. ONR will consider awards to single investigators, but the preference is
for collaborative groups that have a history of innovative research across multiple scientific and
engineering disciplines.
The five research thrust areas are:
Thrust 1: Understanding Satisficing in Human, Animal, and Engineered Autonomous Systems for Fast
Decision-making with Limited Data
Thrust 2: Semantic and Visual Representation of Autonomous System Perceptual Data for Effective
Human/Machine Collaboration
Thrust 3: Mental Simulation as a Unifying Framework for Perception, Cognition and Control in
Autonomous Systems and Dexterous Robots
Thrust 4: Structured Machine Learning for Scene Understanding
Thrust 5: Integrated Autonomy for Long Duration Operations
2045 Strategic Social Initiative
The "2045" Initiative was founded by Dmitry Itskov in February 2011 in partnership with leading
Russian scientists.
The main objectives of the Initiative are: the creation of a new vision of human development that
meets global challenges humanity faces today, realization of the possibility of a radical extension of
human life by means of cybernetic technology, as well as the formation of a new culture associated
with these technologies.
The "2045" team is working towards creating an international research center where leading
scientists will be engaged in research and development in the fields of anthropomorphic robotics,
living systems modeling and brain and consciousness modeling with the goal of transferring one’s
individual consciousness to an artificial carrier and achieving cybernetic immortality.
An annual congress "The Global Future 2045" is organized by the Initiative to give platform for
discussing mankind's evolutionary strategy based on technologies of cybernetic immortality as well
as the possible impact of such technologies on global society, politics and economies of the future.
Future prospects of "2045" Initiative for society
2015-2020
The emergence and widespread use of affordable android "avatars" controlled by a "braincomputer" interface. Coupled with related technologies “avatars’ will give people a number of new
features: ability to work in dangerous environments, perform rescue operations, travel in extreme
situations etc.
Avatar components will be used in medicine for the rehabilitation of fully or partially disabled
patients giving them prosthetic limbs or recover lost senses.
2020-2025
Creation of an autonomous life-support system for the human brain linked to a robot, ‘avatar’, will
save people whose body is completely worn out or irreversibly damaged. Any patient with an intact
brain will be able to return to a fully functioning bodily life. Such technologies will greatly enlarge
the possibility of hybrid bio-electronic devices, thus creating a new IT revolution and will make all
kinds of superimpositions of electronic and biological systems possible.
2030-2035
Creation of a computer model of the brain and human consciousness with the subsequent
development of means to transfer individual consciousness onto an artificial carrier. This
development will profoundly change the world, it will not only give everyone the possibility of
cybernetic immortality but will also create a friendly artificial intelligence, expand human
capabilities and provide opportunities for ordinary people to restore or modify their own brain
multiple times. The final result at this stage can be a real revolution in the understanding of human
nature that will completely change the human and technical prospects for humanity.
2045
This is the time when substance-independent minds will receive new bodies with capacities far
exceeding those of ordinary humans. A new era for humanity will arrive! Changes will occur in all
spheres of human activity – energy generation, transportation, politics, medicine, psychology,
sciences, and so on.
Today it is hard to imagine a future when bodies consisting of nanorobots will become affordable
and capable of taking any form. It is also hard to imagine body holograms featuring controlled
matter. One thing is clear however: humanity, for the first time in its history, will make a fully
managed evolutionary transition and eventually become a new species. Moreover, prerequisites
for a large-scale expansion into outer space will be created as well.
Yearly plan
- creation of the first version of a human-like robot with a remote control and a telepresence effect
- launch of a laboratory for research and development of Micro-Neuro-Interfaces
- completion of the preliminary stage of designing the human brain life support system
- the preliminary stage of the human brain reverse engineering (Rebrain)
- create infrastructure for a charitable foundation in Russia and the United States
- creation of a social online network Immortal.me
- organize and carry out Congress' Global Future 2045 "-2013 in New York City
- organize and carry out ‘2045’ master classes, workshops and courses on neuroscience, robotics,
artificial intelligence theory, etc.
- competition for student theses in the context of ‘Avatar’ project at the leading universities in
Russia
- creation of an analytical center for monitoring and analysis of advanced projects in the areas of
NBIC convergence
- creation of an international ranking of countries and projects, either directly or indirectly related
to the the development of cybernetic immortality technologies
- filming a documentary about "2045" strategy.
Key elements of the project in the future
• International social movement
• social network immortal.me
• charitable foundation "Global Future 2045" (Foundation 2045)
• scientific research centre "Immortality"
• business incubator
• University of "Immortality"
• annual award for contribution to the realization of the project of "Immortality”.