ApplySci – Deep Tech Health + Neurotech

Category: Brain

  • Eye tracking data helps diagnose autism, ADHD, Parkinson’s

    http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=eye-tracking-software-may-reveal-autism-and-other-brain-disorders USC’s Laurent Itti and researchers from Queen’s University in Ontario have created a data heavy, low cost method of identifying brain disorders through eye tracking.  Subjects watch a video for 15 minutes while their eye movements are recorded. An enormous amount of data is generated as the average person makes three to five saccadic…

  • fMRI and machine learning identify emotions

    http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0066032 Carnegie Mellon researchers have developed “a new method with the potential to identify emotions without relying on people’s ability to self-report” using a combination of fMRI and machine learning. They recruited 10 actors from the university’s drama school to act out emotions including anger, happiness, pride and shame, while inside an fMRI scanner,  multiple times in…

  • Highly detailed 3-D brain image unveiled

    http://spectrum.ieee.org/tech-talk/biomedical/imaging/bigbrain-project-makes-terabyte-map-of-a-human-brain Canadian and German neuroscientists have unveiled the most detailed 3-D image of the human brain to date.  It reveals structures as tiny as 20 microns, 50 times smaller than those created using the best MRI technology.  The image, created as part of a project called the BigBrain, is part of a larger effort to…

  • Low cost GPU based neural network simulates the brain

    http://stanford.edu/~acoates/papers/CoatesHuvalWangWuNgCatanzaro_icml2013.pdf In a new paper, Stanford’s Andrew Ng describes how to use graphics microprocessors to build a $20,000 computerized brain that is similar to the cat-detector he developed with Google last year for $1M. To test his hypothesis about GPU-driven Deep Learning, he also built a larger version of the platform for $100,000.  It utilized…

  • Sports sensors warn of head injury

    http://www.nytimes.com/2013/06/16/business/a-wearable-alert-to-head-injuries-in-sports.html?_r=0 The New York Times reports on the growing trend of sensor based protection/early warning systems for athletes. The devices, packed with sensors and microprocessors, register a blow to a player’s skull and immediately signal the news by blinking brightly, or by sending a wireless alert.  Algorithms evaluate the impact and determine severity.  

  • Brain scans and depression treatment outcomes

    http://archpsyc.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleid=1696349 In an NIH funded clinical trial, researchers at Emory University have discovered that specific patterns of brain activity may indicate whether a depressed patient will or will not respond to treatment with medication or psychotherapy. Professor Helen Mayberg, MD and colleagues used PET scans to measure brain glucose metabolism, an important index of brain functioning…

  • Cornell robots anticipate human actions

    http://news.cornell.edu/stories/2013/04/think-ahead-robots-anticipate-human-actions Cornell University researchers have programmed a PR-2 robot to not only carry out everyday tasks, but to anticipate human behavior and adjust its actions. From a database of 120 3-D videos of people performing common household activities, the robot has been trained to identify human activities by tracking the movements of the body – reduced…

  • Advanced imaging modalities map neural connections

    http://spectrum.ieee.org/biomedical/imaging/a-wiring-diagram-of-the-brain Images of 68 brains from the Human Connectome Project recently became available. The process was powered by highly advanced brain scanning hardware and state of the art image processing and analysis software. To provide multiple perspectives on each brain, researchers employed several methods: 1. MRI scans provided basic structural images of the brain, providing…

  • Multitasking neurons enhance brain’s computational power

    http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2013/complex-brain-function-depends-on-flexibility-0519.html Many neurons, especially in brain regions that perform sophisticated functions such as thinking and planning, react differently to a wide variety of stimulation. “We started noticing early on that there are a whole bunch of neurons in the prefrontal cortex that can’t be classified in the traditional way of one message per neuron,” said…

  • Hyperbaric oxygen treatment for brain injuries

    http://www.assafh.org/sites/en/Pages/brain-injuries.aspx Tel Aviv University and Assaf Harofeh Medical Center researchers are treating stroke patients with hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT), high-pressure chambers where oxygen-rich air increases oxygen levels in the body by a factor of ten.  Their goal is to reinvigorate dormant neurons and improve patients’ motor function, memory and other abilities that current therapies do…

  • Wireless detection of brain trauma

    http://health.universityofcalifornia.edu/2013/05/14/wireless-signals-could-transform-brain-trauma-diagnostics/ New technology developed at UC Berkeley uses wireless signals to provide real-time, noninvasive diagnoses of brain swelling or bleeding. The device analyzes data from low-energy electromagnetic waves, similar to the kind used to transmit radio and mobile signals.  It is sensitive enough to distinguish between a normal brain and a diseased brain with one single noncontact…

  • Skin mounted electrode arrays measure neural signals

    http://coleman.ucsd.edu/lab-research/ Professor Todd Coleman of UCSD is developing foldable, stretchable electrode arrays that can non-invasively measure neural signals. They can also provide more in-depth analysis by including thermal sensors to monitor skin temperature and light detectors to analyze blood oxygen levels.  The device is powered by micro solar panels and uses antennae to wirelessly transmit or…