Scientist-led conferences at Harvard, Stanford and MIT
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Crowdfunded insole monitors fitness
SmartMove is an insole that tracks sitting time, standing, walking, running, and cycling. It is based research that analyzed the gait of stroke patients at University of Colorado Denver, Colorado State University, and Clarkson University. Sensors track one’s movement and wirelessly send activity and calorie burn information to a smartphone. The accompanying app provides real-time feedback and…
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Sensors in phones, canes, assist blind with mobility
Sensor based products can assist the visually impaired with mobility, and continue to be released in various forms and at different price points. Samsung’s ultrasonic cover for the Galaxy smartphone sends alerts through a vibration or TTS feedback. The user holds the cover in front of him/herself, and it senses the presence of a person…
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Epidural stimulation enables paraplegic voluntary movement
University of Louisville researcher Claudia Angeli‘s recent paper details the process of electrical stimulation of the spinal cord enabling paralyzed patients to intentionally move their knees, ankles, and toes. The stimulation therapy involves implanting a 16-electrode array in the epidural space next to the outermost protective layer of the spinal cord. The array is connected to a pulse generator resembling…
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Neurofeedback app for Google Glass
Personal Neuro, creators of a guided meditation app, are testing Introspect: the PND Wearable. It is a head-mounted, voice-activated neuroimaging app designed to work with Google Glass. We anticipate similar Glass apps in the near future, and are encouraged by its potential. The developers claim that Introspect can be applied in the following ways: Passively monitor…
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Brain blueprint links autism to early brain development
As part of their BrainSpan project, the Allen Institute for Brain Science has published a paper in Nature detailing a high-resolution blueprint for how to build a human brain, with a map of where different genes are turned on and off during mid-pregnancy at unprecedented anatomical resolution. The data provides insight into diseases like autism that are…
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Flight simulation system prepares brain surgeons
Surgical Theater is a surgery rehearsal program which allows physicians to prepare for and practice complicated brain surgery. Its co-founders previously developed flight simulation systems for the Israeli Air Force, and are using similar technology. MRI and CT scans create 3D models of patients’ brains, which are explored on a computer screen. Using two joysticks that…
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Patch monitors muscle activity, dispenses medicine
Kim Dae-Hyeong and colleagues at Seoul National University have created a dermal patch that measures and records muscle activity, dispenses medicine continuously, and stops drug delivery when appropriate. The study was published in Nature Nanotechnology today. The system is ideal for Parkinson’s patients, as tremors that accompany the movement disorder are not constant. The patch senses tremors early…
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BCI and robotic prosthetic paralympic competition
Switzerland will host the world’s first Cybathlon, an Olympic-style competition for parathletes using robotic assistive devices and brain computer interfaces. It will include six events: a bike race, leg race, wheelchair race, exoskeleton race, arm prosthetic race (including electrical muscle stimulation), and a Brain Computer Interface race for competitors with full paralysis. Unlike the Olympics, where athletes…
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Brain based machine learning software
Vicarious FPC claims to be “building software that thinks and learns like a human.” Their goal is to replicate the neocortex, the part of the brain that sees, controls the body, understands language and does math. Its first project is a visual perception system that interprets contents of photographs and videos. The next milestone is to…
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Smart pacifier monitors baby’s health and location
BlueMaestro’s Pacifi monitors a baby’s temperature and transmits the data to a parent’s phone or tablet. Its app plots the data in a graph. Parents can record when medication was administered, set-up alerts, and share the information with nannies and doctors. Pacifi features a built in proximity sensor that allows parents to monitor the pacifier’s location…
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Sensor shoe detects balance, attempts to improve gait
B-Shoe utilizes sensors and an embedded motion device to detect when a wearer loses balance. Using algorithms and a microprocessor, the motion device gently rolls the shoe backward until the person regains balance. The sensors ensure that the corrective action is taken only when needed. The projected was crowdfunded on Indiegogo. It is based on the…
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Facebook’s DeepFace achieves near human-level face verification
Following its acquisition of Tel Aviv University Professor Lior Wolf‘s face.com, Facebook is developing DeepFace, with near-human level face recognition capabilities. The technology processes images of faces in two steps. First it corrects the angle of a face so that the person in the picture faces forward, using a 3-D model of an “average” forward-looking…
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