Emotiv Lifesciences, the company Le co-founded, produces portable, high-resolution EEG (electroencephalogram) brain-scanning headsets that Le hopes will open new windows on the complex functioning of our brain. On August 1, Emotiv unveiled Emotiv Insight, a faster, next-generation wireless brain scanner that collects real-time data on the wearer's thoughts and feelings and delivers it directly to a computer, phone, or other device through Android, iOS, OSX, Linux, and Windows platforms.
Le hopes the product, which costs $199, can further democratize brain research and help scientists gather more data. Using the EEG headsets, she says, people around the world can study brains under conditions and stimuli as varied as those we encounter in everyday life—because subjects can wear the headset while doing everyday tasks.
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Here are four applications of the portable brain scanners that Le says are already beginning to take shape:
1. Moving Things With the Mind
The EEG headset has helped paralyzed patients control an electric wheelchair and make music via computer using only the power of their minds, said Le.
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2. Diagnosing Disease
Le stresses that because we lack a large, easily accessible database of "normal" brain data, we're likely missing opportunities to identify and track the causes of brain ailments from their earliest stages—when intervention might be less dramatic and more successful.
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3. Making Learning Easier
With EEG technology becoming more affordable, scientists and citizens alike can get a more complete picture of how each individual brain operates in real-world situations, ranging from social interactions to studying to intense physical activity, said Le.
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4. Organizing Data by Thoughts and Emotions
Le suggests that brain-scan information could one day be used to help people organize the avalanche of data, videos, images, audio, and other media that is steadily mounting.
My bet. Computers will be something like this attached to Google Glass (or a competitor) and something the size of a cell phone which you will wear. This will be tied into the cloud where your data will be stored and there will be a wireless graphics channel for when you want to talk to large screens, something like Bluetooth but on steroids and have a wireless connection to your cell phone company of choice.
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