NeuroFocus Announces World's First Wireless Full-Brain EEG Measurement Headset: Mynd™

NEW YORK, March 21, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- NeuroFocus unveiled the first dry, wireless headset designed to capture brainwave activity across the full brain today at the 75th Annual Advertising Research Foundation conference being held at the Marriott Marquis in New York.  Developed over the last three years, Mynd™ combines medical-grade technology with mobility, leapfrogging current neurological testing methods.  For the first time, market researchers will be able to capture the highest quality data on consumers' deep subconscious responses in real time wirelessly, revolutionizing mobile in-store market research and media consumption at home.  NeuroFocus has also commenced building the world's first full-brain home panels in addition to its labs. The European Tools for Brain-Computer Interaction consortium (TOBI) will utilize Mynd as their core platform to develop practical, medical-grade technology that will improve the quality of life for people with neurological disabilities.  NeuroFocus is offering the opportunity to demo Mynd at Booth #514 at the conference.

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"While developing Mynd, we focused on achieving medical-grade scientific precision along with extraordinary ease of use and aesthetics.  This neuromarketing breakthrough provides new opportunities for our clients to gain critical knowledge and insights into how consumers perceive their brands, products, packaging, in-store marketing, and advertising at the deep subconscious level in real time," said Dr. A. K. Pradeep, Chief Executive Officer of NeuroFocus.  "We are also delighted that TOBI has embraced our approach by adopting our wireless headset for their research in patients with devastating neurological disorders such as spinal cord damage and stroke," continued Dr. Pradeep.

By gaining mobility without sacrificing medical-grade technology, the lightweight, sleekly-designed Mynd opens up new testing environments to consumers beyond the lab, such as the home, outdoor venues, movie theaters, shopping malls, and auditoriums with data being streamed to platforms, including the iPad, iPhone and other smart devices.

Product Highlights

Mynd has undergone rigorous development and testing procedures for three years. The standards set for the device to meet included performance levels as accurate and reliable as gel-based, wired EEG systems used in clinical settings for a host of neurological disorders, as well as high durability and serviceability.  

Key highlights of Mynd include:

• Full-brain coverage with dense-array EEG (electroencephalographic) sensors.  Full-brain measurement is the universal neuroscientific standard applied in the world's premier laboratories and educational institutions.
• Within seconds of slipping the user-friendly headset on, a consumer's brainwave activity is captured across the full cortex.
• Wireless transmission of brainwave signals; capable of interfacing with any Bluetooth-enabled mobile communications device.
• Dry "smart" electrodes (sensors), eliminating the use of gels and enhancing signal quality by introducing novel technological breakthroughs.
• Enables first full-brain coverage home panels for market research.
• Comfortable, lightweight, aesthetically pleasing modular design with easily-replaceable sensors.

"Mynd represents an authentic breakthrough in brainwave measurement technology and I am especially pleased that it will also be used to help people with neurological disabilities such as paralysis overcome some of their most difficult barriers. This is a truly compelling example where a technology developed for business-to-business applications like neuromarketing can add enormous value to other avenues of life," said Dr. Robert T. Knight, Director of the Helen Wills Neuroscience Institute at the University of California, Berkeley, and NeuroFocus' Chief Science Advisor, said.

NeuroFocus will be rolling out the Mynd headset throughout its neurological testing laboratories in the U.S., the UK/Europe, the Asia/Pacific region, Latin America, and the Middle East.  The headset will also be deployed in the company's NeuroLabs, dedicated neurological testing facilities which NeuroFocus designs, builds, staffs, and operates for individual client companies.

Dr. Gerwin Schalk, Research Scientist, Wadsworth Center, Neural Injury & Repair, and developer of BCI 2000, the main technological platform used for brain-computer interaction worldwide for treatment of paralysis, cited the landmark aspect of Mynd: "This wireless dry electrode headset substantially reduces the cost and expertise necessary to access signals from the brain, which has profound implications for clinical and commercial applications of EEG technology."  

NeuroFocus Methodology

NeuroFocus employs high-density arrays of medical grade EEG sensors to measure across the full brain. Each sensor captures brainwave activity at 2,000 times a second. The company also applies eye-tracking technology to identify the location of visual focus at the pixel level.

About NeuroFocus

The world's leading neuromarketing firm, NeuroFocus (http://neurofocus.com) brings advanced neuroscience knowledge and expertise to the worlds of branding, product development and packaging, in-store marketing, advertising, and entertainment. NeuroFocus clients include Fortune 100 companies across dozens of categories.

Headquartered in the U.S. and operating globally through offices and NeuroLabs in the UK and Europe, the Asia/Pacific region, Latin America, and the Middle East, the company leverages Nobel Prize caliber and Doctorate-level credentials in neuroscience and marketing from the University of California at Berkeley, MIT, Hebrew University, Harvard, Oxford, Columbia University, and other leading institutions, combined with executive business management and consulting expertise.

About TOBI

TOBI www.tobi-project.org is a major European initiative which will develop practical technology for brain-computer interface (BCI) that will improve the quality of life of disabled people and the effectiveness of rehabilitation.  

SOURCE NeuroFocus