Brain Tech

This year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES2020) featured a number of new devices that rely on brain waves to improve sleep, reduce anxiety, enhance concentration and even control prosthetics.

For example, Urgonight consists of a headband and app that teaches the user how to control their brain waves. The system displays a real-time EEG and uses neurofeedback to identify exercises and tasks to produce identifiable changes in behaviors. It’s designed to be worn for 20 minutes per session three times per week, and can be done at any time during the day. In clinical trials, Urgonight helped users fall asleep up to 40 percent faster and reduced sleep interruptions by half. The device and app will be available in June for iOS and Android at a cost of about $500.

A device called NIRSIT Lite was developed in collaboration with a large Korean education system and is designed to monitor a student’s concentration and engagement during aptitude testing. When used in conjunction with test scores, the system offers important information on student thought patterns.

Another headband device known as Muse S monitors brain activity, heart rate, respiration rate and body movement to provide real-time feedback that can help users meditate more effectively.

FocusFit optimizes the wearer’s focus during a workout or athletic activity, then uses guided meditation to speed recovery times to reduce inflammation and cortisol levels. The same company is also working on an AI-powered prosthetic hand that uses brain waves to guide movements. A software platform allows the user to train the device to perform a virtually unlimited number of gestures from playing piano to writing calligraphy. The prosthetic hand is currently awaiting FDA approval and is expected to be available by the end of the year and will be priced well below other robotic prosthetics.