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Neurable Raises $6 Million Series A To Build An ‘Everyday’ Brain-Computer Interface (Forbes):
“Neurable has announced a $6 million Series A round of funding to move beyond VR applications and develop the everyday brain-computer interface. These will take a headphones form factor and will target consumers. This marks an exciting advancement for brain-computer interfaces (BCI) [Read more…] about The birth of “everyday” brain-computer interfaces
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According to the advertising hype, you too can enjoy incredible neural and psychological benefits in the comfort of your own home by using a simple electrical device that offers transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). For instance, three different models of tDCS devices sold online claim to improve mood, increase creativity, enhance memory, accelerate learning, and combat pain and depression. For the low, low price of between $99 and $189.95, you get a compact handheld device with easy-to-use controls and two electrical leads that end in small sponges. These sponges are dipped into saline solution to make them current-carrying electrodes, then placed against your head. The websites typically show the sponges located on either side of the forehead, but point out that they need to be placed elsewhere on the skull to activate different parts of the brain, depending on the desired outcome.
Wherever you place the sponges, when you switch on the unit, you’re pumping electric current into your brain, although not very much.
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For Banner Health, one of the largest non-profit health system in the United States, finding ways to make health care easier and better for our patients is at the root of everything we do. That’s why we are making significant investments into the digital health and neurotech space, trying to answer some common pain points.
Let me give you an example. [Read more…] about Harnessing innovative neurotechnologies to provide better urgent care at Banner Health
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The flight that brings space weightlessness to Earth (BBC Future):
“Five, four, three, two, one…”
Not many aircraft captains give their passengers a rocket launch-style countdown before take-off, but this is no ordinary plane. For starters, everyone on board, apart from the crew, is a scientist and has passed a full medical check – including a heart assessment. This is not a trip for nervous fliers [Read more…] about Next: Measuring the impact of space flight on cognitive performance and brain fitness
Researchers grapple with the ethics of testing brain implants (Science):
“In 2003, neurologist Helen Mayberg of Emory University in Atlanta began to test a bold, experimental treatment for people with severe depression, which involved implanting metal electrodes deep in the brain in a region called area 25. The initial data were promising; eventually, they convinced a device company, St. Jude Medical in Saint Paul, to sponsor a 200-person clinical trial dubbed BROADEN.
This month, however, [Read more…] about Ethical issues raised around deep brain stimulation (DBS) research
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Electrical Stimulation To Boost Memory: Maybe It’s All In The Timing (NPR):
“People with a brain injury or dementia often struggle to remember simple things, like names or places. In research published Thursday in the journal Current Biology, scientists have shown it may be possible to improve this sort of memory using tiny pulses of electricity — if they’re properly timed [Read more…] about Study: Brain stimulation can work–if properly timed
