B-REACTABLE

B-reactable: multimodal tabletop system for collaborative physiology monitoring and training

 Partecipanti

Mappa

 Word cloud

Esplora la "nuvola delle parole (Word Cloud) per avere un'idea di massima del progetto.

 Obiettivo del progetto (Objective)

'Rapid development within the biomedical engineering field, especially Brain-Neural-Computer Interaction (BNCI) area, provides a solid technological base for new applications aimed at improving health and quality of life. In this project, aimed at combining research and training components, Dr. Valjamae will design, validate and optimize a novel multimodal system - B-Reactable - linking a tangible musical tabletop interface with BNCI technology for collaborative physiology monitoring and training in future health and professional applications. This interdisciplinary research project is based on the joint pilot work with Prof. Jorda, University of Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona in 2010-11. The project is designed to be a vehicle for the training and consolidation of the research outcomes for further exploitation in the EU. In the envisioned B-Reactable applications, users will explicitly or implicitly learn to monitor and control their physiological signals using tangible objects, and hence, understand and influence their cognitive or emotional states. The project will reinforce the international dimension of applicant’s scientific career by giving him the opportunity to be trained and acquire new knowledge in the Russian Federation, under direct guidance of Prof. Kropotov at the “Institute of Human Brain”, Russian Academy of Science (IHB-RAS) and Dr. Ossadtchi at St. Petersburg’s State University (SPSU). Prof. Kropotov is one of the leading neurofeedback scientists, with over 30 year research in computational models, normative databases, new paradigms and analysis methods, and extensive work on healthy adults, children and various patient groups. After training at IHB-RAS, Dr. Valjamae will bring his new experience and tangible outcomes to the renowned Swedish Institute for Disability Research at Linköping University, where together with Prof. Vastfjall he will test and further refine B-Reactable, targeting cognitive aging for improving users quality of life and wellbeing'

Introduzione (Teaser)

Brain-Neural-Computer Interaction (BNCI) is a growing area of research and development. Its application is helping scientists utilise auditory transformations of user brain signals to help patients control their physiological states.

Descrizione progetto (Article)

Imagine receiving feedback from a device on how your emotions and cognitive state are affecting your physiological signs and adapting responses to improve your well-being. Scientists are developing such a system by integrating BNCI technology into a novel electronic musical instrument. EU funding of the project 'B-reactable: multimodal tabletop system for collaborative physiology monitoring and training' (B-REACTABLE) is making it possible.

The Reactable, previously developed at the University of Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona has a musical tabletop tangible user interface and a backlit display covering the table surface. This system enables music creation without text lists or endless configuration menus. The tangibles are different modules of an analogue synthesiser that can be put together to create music or sounds. Researchers set out to enable users to monitor and modify their physiological states using the tangibles based on feedback about their cognitive and emotional states.

Effective sonification of the electroencephalogram (EEG) or transformation of the EEG signal into an auditory one is the key to success. This is no simple task as the point is to translate relationships in the EEG into sounds that make the relationships comprehensible to people. The team conducted a thorough literature review of real-time EEG sonifications as well as additional experiments, leading to selection of a model-based approach to EEG sonification. A 21-channel EEG device has been selected and tested.

During the final project year, the scientists will focus on two-person (collective) neurofeedback targeting cognitive aging and well-being. The B-REACTABLE system is expected to be a tool for training health professionals and improving the quality of life of EU citizens. The ability to control and monitor one's own physiological signals using feedback about cognitive and emotional states puts 'treatment' in the hands of patients.