A Neuroscience Startup Uses Helmets to Measure Brain Activity
May 5th, 2020Via: Bloomberg:
Kernel had initially planned to develop implants, since they provide direct access to neurons, aka brain cells, and deliver the clearest signals. But Johnson has doubts as to how many people want to surgically add a computer chip in their head. This led Kernel to focus on developing a removable helmet.
The team built a system dubbed Flux, which measures electromagnetic activity, and another called Flow that pulses the brain with light to gauge blood movement. Engineers spent years perfecting hardware that blocks outside interference, as well as custom microchips for processing signals and software algorithms that analyze brain activity. Bit by bit, Kernel took things that started out as room-size contraptions and shrank them to the size of bicycle helmets covered in sensors. It also found ways to let people move and act more naturally while they’re being monitored, instead of being strapped to a machine and forced to sit still. “What is revolutionary here is not the fact that you can do it, but how quickly and inexpensively it can be done—and with so few constraints,” says Koch. “It lets people do experiments vastly easier and gets you much more direct access to the brain.”
