ImmersiveTech » Medical http://www.immersivetech.org Simulated Reality, Virtual Worlds, Interactive Devices Wed, 21 Dec 2011 00:01:13 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v= Virtual “Metacookie” to Stave Hunger http://www.immersivetech.org/academic/virtual-metacookie-to-stave-hunger/ http://www.immersivetech.org/academic/virtual-metacookie-to-stave-hunger/#comments Tue, 03 May 2011 00:07:47 +0000 Tim Wut http://www.immersivetech.org/?p=3811 An interesting application of augmented reality that could down the line be greatly useful in the Health Sciences realm. For now though, it's a bit more on the novel and interesting side than actual practicality. The multi-effect project, as implemented by researchers at the University of Tokyo presents the test participants with a special cookie. [...] ]]>

An interesting application of augmented reality that could, down the line, be greatly useful in the Health Sciences realm.  For now though, it’s a bit more on the novel and interesting side than actual practicality.  The multi-effect project, as implemented by researchers at the University of Tokyo presents the test participants with a special cookie.

Wait, special cookie?  Well, taste-wise, the cookie appears to be pretty plain looking and bland, but with an added bonus.  The crunchy baked good is actually branded with an AR marker that overlays a graphic of any other cookie over the original dull treat.  The culinary explorer sees this through a VR headset that is also connected to a mechanism that pumps scented (cocoa) air into the participant’s nose at varying rates depending on how close the cookie is to their mouth.

With sight, touch, and smell activated, it creates a strong cross-modal effect that gives the illusion of a more delicious cookie than the one actually delivered.  As we know, since scent and taste are so closely related, we’re extremely curious to see just how this Metacookie would taste.

]]> http://www.immersivetech.org/academic/virtual-metacookie-to-stave-hunger/feed/ 0 UCF Treats Our Soldiers, One Scent at a Time http://www.immersivetech.org/academic/ucf-treats-our-soldiers-one-smell-at-a-time/ http://www.immersivetech.org/academic/ucf-treats-our-soldiers-one-smell-at-a-time/#comments Mon, 18 Apr 2011 17:07:29 +0000 Tim Wut http://www.immersivetech.org/?p=3772 We recently stumbled across a student article from the University of Central Florida about virtual reality being used to treat post traumatic stress disorder victims.  Nothing that we haven't seen before, but this time, with an added dimension.  Smell. [...]]]>

266 PTSD UCF Treats Our Soldiers, One Scent at a Time

We recently stumbled across a student article from the University of Central Florida about virtual reality being used to treat post traumatic stress disorder victims.  Nothing that we haven’t seen before, but this time, with an added dimension.  Smell.

The program is operated by the UCF Anxiety Disorders Clinic in the Department of Psychology and called the Trauma Management Therapy Program.  Led by director and clinical psych professor Dr. Deborah Beidel, the program is 17 weeks long and of no charge to vets returning from Afghanistan and Iraq.

The article begins by referencing freshly cut grass and food cooking on the grill.  The smells used in the program (and directly controlled while synced to images and audio) include:

  • weapon fire
  • body odor
  • burning rubber
  • diesel fuel
  • Moroccan spices
  • garbage
  • cordite, a type of gunpowder

Smell is an extremely powerful sense, capable of triggering a memory or an experience immediately.  Think about your childhood, remember the smell of that grass as you played, the smoke coming from your dad’s accidental grill bonfire, you can probably recall by now a time when you might have scraped your knee on that grass, or burnt your tongue on chicken that was too hot.  Overall, more sensory pathways tapped, and overall a more immersive experience.

With direct funding from the Department of Defense, it is the first large-scale clinical research program that incorporates smell into already existing Virtual Reality PTSD treatments (such as USC ICT’s Virtual Iraq).

To read more from the University’s publication, just click here!

 

]]> http://www.immersivetech.org/academic/ucf-treats-our-soldiers-one-smell-at-a-time/feed/ 0 BrainGate neural interface system reaches 1,000-day performance milestone http://www.immersivetech.org/academic/braingate-neural-interface-system-reaches-1000-day-performance-milestone/ http://www.immersivetech.org/academic/braingate-neural-interface-system-reaches-1000-day-performance-milestone/#comments Sat, 26 Mar 2011 15:00:09 +0000 Albert C. Lai http://www.immersivetech.org/?p=3713 An investigational implanted system being developed to translate brain signals toward control of assistive devices has allowed a woman with paralysis to accurately control a computer cursor at 2.7 years after implantation, providing a key demonstration that neural activity can be read out and converted into action for an unprecedented length of time. [...]]]>
BrainGate1 2 BrainGate neural interface system reaches 1,000 day performance milestone 

Expanding the power of thought The implantable BrainGate neural interface can detect and record brain signals, allowing persons who have lost the use of arms and legs to have point-and-click control of a computer. A BrainGate device has remained functional for 2.7 years (1,000 days). Credit: BrainGate Collaboration
An investigational implanted system being developed to translate brain signals toward control of assistive devices has allowed a woman with paralysis to accurately control a computer cursor at 2.7 years after implantation, providing a key demonstration that neural activity can be read out and converted into action for an unprecedented length of time.

PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — Demonstrating an important milestone for the longevity and utility of implanted brain-computer interfaces, a woman with tetraplegia using the investigational BrainGate* system continued to control a computer cursor accurately through neural activity alone more than 1,000 days after receiving the BrainGate implant, according to a team of physicians, scientists, and engineers developing and testing the technology at Brown University, the Providence VA Medical Center, and Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH). Results from five consecutive days of device use surrounding her 1,000th day in the device trial appeared online March 24 in the Journal of Neural Engineering.

“This proof of concept — that after 1,000 days a woman who has no functional use of her limbs and is unable to speak can reliably control a cursor on a computer screen using only the intended movement of her hand — is an important step for the field,” said Dr. Leigh Hochberg, a Brown engineering associate professor, VA rehabilitation researcher, visiting associate professor of neurology at Harvard Medical School, and director of the BrainGate pilot clinical trial at MGH.

The woman, identified in the paper as S3, performed two “point-and-click” tasks each day by thinking about moving the cursor with her hand. In both tasks she averaged greater than 90 percent accuracy. Some on-screen targets were as small as the effective area of a Microsoft Word menu icon.

BrainGate2.img assist custom 500x288 BrainGate neural interface system reaches 1,000 day performance milestone
A brain-computer interface
A woman with paralysis controls a computer cursor on a screen by the neural activity of intending to move it with her arm and hand. The woman, identified as S3, used the investigational BrainGate system more than 1,000 days after the device was implanted.“Our objective with the neural interface is to reach the level of performance of a person without a disability using a mouse,” said report lead author John Simeral, a VA researcher and assistant professor of engineering at Brown. “These results highlight the potential for an intracortical neural interface system to provide a person that has locked-in syndrome with reliable, continuous point-and-click control of a standard computer application.”

In each of S3’s two tasks, performed in 2008, she controlled the cursor movement and click selections continuously for 10 minutes. The first task was to move the cursor to targets arranged in a circle and in the center of the screen, clicking to select each one in turn. The second required her to follow and click on a target as it sequentially popped up with varying size at random points on the screen.

From fundamental neuroscience to clinical utility

Under development since 2002, the investigational BrainGate system is a combination of hardware and software that directly senses electrical signals produced by neurons in the brain that control movement. By decoding those signals and translating them into digital instructions, the system is being evaluated for its ability to give people with paralysis control of external devices such as computers, robotic assistive devices, or wheelchairs. The BrainGate team is also engaged in research toward control of advanced prosthetic limbs and toward direct intracortical control of functional electrical stimulation devices for people with spinal cord injury, in collaboration with researchers at the Cleveland FES Center.

The system is currently in pilot clinical trials, directed by Hochberg at MGH.

BrainGate uses a tiny (4×4 mm, about the size of a baby aspirin) silicon electrode array to read neural signals directly within brain tissue. Although external sensors placed on the brain or skull surface can also read neural activity, they are believed to be far less precise. In addition, many prototype brain implants have eventually failed because of moisture or other perils of the internal environment.

“Neuroengineers have often wondered whether useful signals could be recorded from inside the brain for an extended period of time,” Hochberg said. “This is the first demonstration that this microelectrode array technology can provide useful neuroprosthetic signals allowing a person with tetraplegia to control an external device for an extended period of time.”

Moving forward

Device performance was not the same at 2.7 years as it was earlier on, Hochberg added. At 33 months fewer electrodes were recording useful neural signals than after only six months. But John Donoghue — VA senior research career scientist, Henry Merritt Wriston Professor of Neuroscience, director of the Brown Institute for Brain Science, and original developer of the BrainGate system — said no evidence has emerged of any fundamental incompatibility between the sensor and the brain. Instead, it appears that decreased signal quality over time can largely be attributed to engineering, mechanical or procedural issues. Since S3’s sensor was built and implanted in 2005, the sensor’s manufacturer has reported continual quality improvements. The data from this study will be used to further understand and modify the procedures or device to further increase durability.

“None of us will be fully satisfied with an intracortical recording device until it provides decades of useful signals,” Hochberg said. “Nevertheless, I’m hopeful that the progress made in neural interface systems will someday be able to provide improved communication, mobility, and independence for people with locked-in syndrome or other forms of paralysis and eventually better control over prosthetic, robotic, or functional electrical stimulation systems [stimulating electrodes that have already returned limb function to people with cervical spinal cord injury], even while engineers continue to develop ever-better implantable sensors.”

In addition to demonstrating the very encouraging longevity of the BrainGate sensor, the paper also presents an advance in how the performance of a brain-computer interface can be measured, Simeral said. “As the field continues to evolve, we’ll eventually be able to compare and contrast technologies effectively.”

As for S3, who had a brainstem stroke in the mid-1990s and is now in her late 50s, she continues to participate in trials with the BrainGate system, which continues to record useful signals, Hochberg said. However, data beyond the 1000th day in 2008 has thus far only been presented at scientific meetings, and Hochberg can only comment on data that has already completed the scientific peer review process and appeared in publication.

In addition to Simeral, Hochberg, and Donoghue, other authors are Brown computer scientist Michael Black and former Brown computer scientist Sung-Phil Kim.

About the BrainGate collaboration

This advance is the result of the ongoing collaborative BrainGate research at Brown University, Massachusetts General Hospital, and Providence VA Medical Center. The BrainGate research team is focused on developing and testing neuroscientifically inspired technologies to improve the communication, mobility, and independence of people with neurologic disorders, injury, or limb loss.

For more information, visit www.braingate2.org.

]]> http://www.immersivetech.org/academic/braingate-neural-interface-system-reaches-1000-day-performance-milestone/feed/ 0 Kinect to help the blind ‘see’ in augmented reality http://www.immersivetech.org/academic/kinect-to-help-the-blind-see-in-augmented-reality/ http://www.immersivetech.org/academic/kinect-to-help-the-blind-see-in-augmented-reality/#comments Sat, 19 Mar 2011 15:00:03 +0000 Albert C. Lai http://www.immersivetech.org/?p=3698 The system in question, which was designed by graduate students at the Universität Konstanz in Germany, has been dubbed the NAVI, or Navigational Aids for the Visually Impaired. NAVI works something like this. The infrared camera from a Kinect system is [...]]]>

The system in question, which was designed by graduate students at the Universität Konstanz in Germany, has been dubbed the NAVI, or Navigational Aids for the Visually Impaired.

NAVI works something like this. The infrared camera from a Kinect system is mounted to a helmet that can be worn by a bilnd person. The visual data from that camera is turned into a set of audio instructions that are then transmitted to the wearer via a wireless headset. The system also features a standard camera added as well, allowing for a kind of three-camera stereoscopic vision. Certain items, such as door, will trigger events, such as a countdown, to prevent users from walking into the aforementioned door, in a kind of augmented reality.

The goal is to be able to give a blind person warnings about potential obstructions and directions to navigate in set spaces, at a longer distance than the current systems in place. Though this Kinect will be much more of a supplement to seeing eye dogs than a replacement for them.

The system is also paired with a vibro-tactile arduino system in the belt, that will most likely act as a warning system, should an obstacle come perilously close to the user. No plans for commercial release of the system have been mentioned at this time.

Follow us on Twitter: @immersivetechla
This video is copyrighted by University of Konstanz: hci.uni-konstanz.de

]]> http://www.immersivetech.org/academic/kinect-to-help-the-blind-see-in-augmented-reality/feed/ 1 Humanity+ @ CalTech: December 4-5, 2010 http://www.immersivetech.org/academic/humanity-caltech-december-4-5-2010/ http://www.immersivetech.org/academic/humanity-caltech-december-4-5-2010/#comments Mon, 29 Nov 2010 22:31:18 +0000 Albert C. Lai http://www.immersivetech.org/?p=3132 Humanity+ @ Caltech: Redefining Humanity in the Era of Radical Technological Change, is scheduled for December 4-5th at the Beckman Institute at Caltech Los Angeles, California. Get a $50 discount when you use discount code: imtech Tickets | More info]]>

Humanity+ @ Caltech: Redefining Humanity in the Era of Radical Technological Change, is scheduled for December 4-5th at the Beckman Institute at Caltech Los Angeles, California. Get a $50 discount when you use discount code: imtech

Tickets | More info


]]> http://www.immersivetech.org/academic/humanity-caltech-december-4-5-2010/feed/ 0 Brain Controlled Wheelchair http://www.immersivetech.org/applications/medical/brain-controlled-wheelchair/ http://www.immersivetech.org/applications/medical/brain-controlled-wheelchair/#comments Thu, 16 Sep 2010 19:24:49 +0000 Albert C. Lai http://www.immersivetech.org/?p=2258 A team of researchers led by Professor José del R. Millán at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland has developed a wheelchair that can be controlled via a Brain-Computer Interface. The focus of their research is on the direct use of human brain signals to control devices and interact with the environment. [...]]]>

A team of researchers led by Professor José del R. Millán at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (EPFL), Lausanne, Switzerland has developed a wheelchair that can be controlled via a Brain-Computer Interface. The focus of their research is on the direct use of human brain signals to control devices and interact with the environment. They are involved in a large set of complementary projects, which balance the development of prototypes —where robust real-time operation is critical— and the exploration of new principles.

Here we see a subject testing out navigating the environment in a wheelchair by thought alone. The subject thinks of either moving their right or left arm to generate left or right movement. What is interesting is that in order to perform a particular task one doesn’t have to think about that task, instead they can think about whatever is associated with that task. Essentially the computer can be trained to interpret whatever thought a subject wants to correlate with a desired outcome. Nifty!

The world’s first ever Immersive Technology Summit will be held at the Los Angeles Center Studios (LACS) on October 21st, 2010.

For more news and videos on immersive technologies visit : www.immersivetech.org
Follow us on Twitter: @immersivetechla

This video is copyrighted by Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne: cnbi.epfl.ch

]]> http://www.immersivetech.org/applications/medical/brain-controlled-wheelchair/feed/ 1 Cornell Medical School – 3D CAVE http://www.immersivetech.org/applications/education/cornell-medical-school-3d-cave/ http://www.immersivetech.org/applications/education/cornell-medical-school-3d-cave/#comments Thu, 12 Aug 2010 17:40:37 +0000 Albert C. Lai http://www.immersivetech.org/?p=1942 Imaging science is playing an increasingly important role in all areas of education, in this case it is in the field of medicine. The Cornell Visualization Facility is the world’s first high definition 3D virtual reality environment projected in a 3D CAVE environment. It uses the highest resolution blended images possible, projected on three walls [...]]]>

Imaging science is playing an increasingly important role in all areas of education, in this case it is in the field of medicine. The Cornell Visualization Facility is the world’s first high definition 3D virtual reality environment projected in a 3D CAVE environment. It uses the highest resolution blended images possible, projected on three walls and a walk-on floor. An interactive tracking device, worn by the primary user, coupled with a hand-held electronic wand to manipulate the images, allows multiple researchers to “move around” simultaneously within a three-dimensional data set or structure.

3D immersive technology at Cornell Medical enables visionary breakthroughs in biomedical research — Vanessa Borcherding, System Administrator, Institute for Computational Biomedicine (ICB) at Weill Cornell provides an in-depth look at how Christie’s 3D technology is utilized.

This method of research and learning certainly would make comprehension easier. Instead of trying to visualize mentally the molecule or compound you’re working with you can see and handle it directly. How much easier is it ~see~ a driving route than it is to conceptualize or listen to someone discribe a route. In this instance, if pictures are worth a 1,000 words, this 3D CAVE system is worth a 1,000,000 words!

The world’s first ever Immersive Technology Summit will be held at the Los Angeles Center Studios (LACS) on October 21st, 2010.

Follow us on Twitter: @immersivetechla
This video is copyrighted by Christie Digital w/ Weill Cornell Medical: www.christiedigital.com

]]> http://www.immersivetech.org/applications/education/cornell-medical-school-3d-cave/feed/ 4 ImmersiveTech Explains – Haptic Devices http://www.immersivetech.org/applications/art-entertainment/immersivetech-explains-haptic-devices/ http://www.immersivetech.org/applications/art-entertainment/immersivetech-explains-haptic-devices/#comments Fri, 23 Jul 2010 17:44:34 +0000 Albert C. Lai http://www.immersivetech.org/?p=1803 What are haptic devices? Haptics is commonly referred to as the ability to interact with a virtual environment through physical contact, such as receiving sensations associated with what is going on in the virtual world through touch. There are two types of feedback. Tactile and kinesthetic. The first major breakthrough in Haptics technology came in [...]]]>

What are haptic devices? Haptics is commonly referred to as the ability to interact with a virtual environment through physical contact, such as receiving sensations associated with what is going on in the virtual world through touch. There are two types of feedback. Tactile and kinesthetic. The first major breakthrough in Haptics technology came in 1993 when MIT’s AI laboratory created a device that made it possible for a person to feel a virtual object.

Since then Haptics technology has been making their appearance in everyday products such as smart phones that vibrate when touched. Haptic devices are even being merged with other fields of immersive technology. Researchers at the University of Tokyo have managed to combine Haptics with augmented reality with the creation of a hologram that can be paired with a tactile feedback system to give the user a physical feeling of the holographic object What’s more amazing is that it requires no special equipment, just your bare hands. Check out our video and see for yourself!

The world’s first ever Immersive Technology Summit will be held at the Los Angeles Center Studios (LACS) on October 21st, 2010.

For more news and videos on immersive technologies visit : www.immersivetech.org

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This video is copyrighted by ImmersiveTech: www.immersivetech.org

]]> http://www.immersivetech.org/applications/art-entertainment/immersivetech-explains-haptic-devices/feed/ 0 Ben Gurion University – Hand Gesturing Surgery http://www.immersivetech.org/applications/medical/ben-gurion-university-hand-gesturing-surgery/ http://www.immersivetech.org/applications/medical/ben-gurion-university-hand-gesturing-surgery/#comments Thu, 15 Jul 2010 04:44:18 +0000 Albert C. Lai http://www.immersivetech.org/?p=1745 The Gestix system was developed by researchers from Ben Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), and is designed to enable doctors in the operating room to change digital images with a hand movement, rather than by touching a screen, keyboard or mouse – all of which compromise sterility and could spread infection. There is actually [...]]]>

The Gestix system was developed by researchers from Ben Gurion University of the Negev (BGU), and is designed to enable doctors in the operating room to change digital images with a hand movement, rather than by touching a screen, keyboard or mouse – all of which compromise sterility and could spread infection.

There is actually a more detailed posting about this in an earlier posting but a video was not found. Here is the video to compliment the article and to demonstrate that gesture control has practical application beyond just basic computing and gaming.

http://www.immersivetech.org/interaction/gesture-tech/doctors-test-new-gestural-interface-during-brain-surgery

The world’s first ever Immersive Technology Summit will be held at the Los Angeles Center Studios (LACS) on October 21st, 2010.

For more news and videos on immersive technologies visit : www.immersivetech.org

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This video is copyrighted by BGU: www.bgu.ac.il

]]> http://www.immersivetech.org/applications/medical/ben-gurion-university-hand-gesturing-surgery/feed/ 0 ImmersiveTech Explains – Virtual Reality http://www.immersivetech.org/applications/art-entertainment/immersivetech-explains-virtual-reality/ http://www.immersivetech.org/applications/art-entertainment/immersivetech-explains-virtual-reality/#comments Fri, 02 Jul 2010 23:30:24 +0000 Albert C. Lai http://www.immersivetech.org/?p=1670 What is Virtual Reality (VR)? The Meddling Geniuses at ImmersiveTech break it down and explain it in plain simple English. There is more virutal reality around than you think. Granted we still have quite a way to go but every journey begins with a first step. Virtual reality is a term that applies to computer-simulated [...]]]>

What is Virtual Reality (VR)? The Meddling Geniuses at ImmersiveTech break it down and explain it in plain simple English. There is more virutal reality around than you think. Granted we still have quite a way to go but every journey begins with a first step.

Virtual reality is a term that applies to computer-simulated environments that simulate places in the real world as well as imaginary ones. It takes your ~current~ reality and ~replaces~ it with a virtual one. The first widely accepted ~digital~ virtual reality was created by the US Air Force in 1966 as part of their flight simulation training, however traces of attempts to ~replace~ reality predating digital computing can be found as far back as the 1860′s when 360 art through panoramic murals began to appear.

The world’s first ever Immersive Technology Summit will be held at the Los Angeles Center Studios (LACS) on October 21st, 2010.

For more news and videos on immersive technologies visit : www.immersivetech.org

Follow us on
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This video is copyrighted by ImmersiveTech: www.immersivetech.org

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