Scientist-led conferences at Harvard, Stanford and MIT

  • EEG “password” uses stimulus response to confirm identity

    EEG “password” uses stimulus response to confirm identity

    Binghamton researchers have developed an EEG “brainprint” system that can identify people with 100 per cent accuracy, according to a recent study. A brain-password is recorded when a user’s stimulus response activity is recorded via EEG. Identity is then confirmed by exposing the user to the same stimulus,  recording their response, and using a pattern…

  • Ultraflexible OLED “skin” can monitor pulse, blood oxygen

    Ultraflexible OLED “skin” can monitor pulse, blood oxygen

    Takao Someya  has developed OLED-embedded electronic “skin” for health monitoring applications –particularly pulse monitoring and blood oxygen sensing — at the University of Tokyo. It is thin, and can move with the skin and body, eliminating the need for rigid glass or plastic substrates, and potentially replacing health monitoring devices. Previous attempts at skin-display tech could only…

  • Avatar and robot based games to treat social anxiety

    Avatar and robot based games to treat social anxiety

    AlterEgo is  an interdisciplinary collaboration that is investigating  a “new robotic-based clinical method” to help people suffering from social anxiety.  The scientists believe that lookalike avatars and robots can be a more comfortable interaction for patients, facilitating a more effective therapeutic experience. According to project lead Krasimira Tsaneve-Atanasova: “This resemblance can be morphological (form of a…

  • Implanted chip enables quadriplegic to move arm with thoughts

    Implanted chip enables quadriplegic to move arm with thoughts

    Battelle’s NeuroLife system has allowed a quadriplegic man to to make complex movements with his hand and fingers, using signals from his brain. The breakthrough invasive device uses an artificial neural bypass that reroutes signals from the brain to the affected muscles. A tiny, 96 channel microelectrode array was implanted in the patient’s motor cortex. A cable port was…

  • Voice, image,language identifying robot responds to human dialogue

    Voice, image,language identifying robot responds to human dialogue

    Hitachi’s EMIEW3 robot, designed to provide customer service in commercial environments, could be an ideal companion for the elderly or disabled. Its “remote brain” allows it to identify voices, images and language in its surroundings (which it can process with background street noise).  AI enables it to  respond to human dialogue and avoid collisions.  It is light enough to…

  • “Socially assistive” robot helps children learn

    “Socially assistive” robot helps children learn

    Tega is a “socially assistive” robot  that senses the emotional state of a learner, and based on those cues, creates a personalized motivational strategy.  It was developed by Cynthia Breazeal at MIT to enable long-term educational interactions with children. It uses an AFFDEX Android device with emotion/facial expression recognition software by Rosalind Picard‘s Affectiva, to process movement,…

  • VR + sound to control pain

    VR + sound to control pain

    In a recent study, York St. John University researchers have demonstrated the use of virtual reality headsets to control pain.  Discomfort was further reduced when sound was incorporated into the process. In the experiment, a small group of adults submerged one hand in ice water while playing an Oculus VR  based game, with and with…

  • Optical sensor could detect cancer, other diseases, earlier

    Optical sensor could detect cancer, other diseases, earlier

    Guiseppe Strangi and Case Western colleagues have developed a highly sensitive optical sensor, based on nanostructured metamaterials.  The researchers claim that is is 1 million times more sensitive than current sensors, and capable of identifying a single lightweight molecule in a highly dilute solution.  This could dramatically improve the detection of cancer and other diseases.…

  • Study: Graphene patch monitors glucose, delivers insulin

    Study: Graphene patch monitors glucose, delivers insulin

    MC10 and Seoul National University researchers, led by Dae-Hyeong Kim, have created a prototype skin patch that could both monitor blood glucose levels and administer insulin to diabetics.  This is the first time that monitoring and drug deivery have been combined. The graphene and gold mesh patch measures humidity, glucose, pH, and temperature in sweat. While the technology…

  • Peripheral nerve stimulation to enhance learning processes

    Peripheral nerve stimulation to enhance learning processes

    DARPA is using peripheral nerve stimulation to enhance learning processes — challenging the idea that the brain tells the peripheral nervous system what to do. Targeted Neuroplasticity Training seeks to advance cognitive skills training through the precise activation of peripheral nerves that can strengthen neuronal connections. Unlike many of DARPA’s previous  neurotech projects, it not only restore…

  • Self-regulating heart patch combines electronics, living tissue

    Self-regulating heart patch combines electronics, living tissue

    Tal Dvir and Tel Aviv University colleagues are in the early stages of developing a “bionic” heart patch, made of of electronically-regulated living tissue, that they believe can help the heart beat, and react when malfunction occurs. The  patch is made of heart muscle cells, biomaterial, and nano-composite fibers that enable the engineered-tissue function to be…

  • Wrist-worn wearable detects Atrial Fibrillation, sends alerts

    Wrist-worn wearable detects Atrial Fibrillation, sends alerts

    AliveCor is known for its FDA approved mobile EKG, which attaches to a phone or tablet.  The company has just announced  Kardia – an Apple Watch band that, when a sensor is pressed and paired with an app, can provide and accurate EKG, incorporate a user’s spoken symptoms into its analysis, and share data.  AliveCor said that…

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