New wearable harnesses brain power
Royal Philips and Accenture have developed proof of concept software connecting a wearable display to Emotiv Insight Brainware that could ultimately give more independence to patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and other neurodegenerative diseases.
ALS affects more than 400,000 people a year and causes diminishing voluntary muscle action. But, when a wearable display and the Emotiv Insight Brainware, which scans EEG brainwaves, are connected to a tablet, users can issue brain commands to control Philips products including Philips Lifeline Medical Alert Service, Philips SmartTV (with TP Vision), and Philips Hue personal wireless lighting. The tablet also allows control of these products using eye and voice commands. In both cases, a person could communicate preconfigured messages, request medical assistance and control TVs and lights. Accenture and Philips developed the software that enables the integration and interaction between these multiple technologies.
“This proof of concept exemplifies how people, devices, data and technology could be brought together quickly to connect beyond the hospital walls in a way that can potentially help improve the quality of life for patients, wherever they are in their journey,” said Jeroen Tas, CEO, Healthcare Informatics Solutions and Services for Philips.
When ALS patients lose muscle control and eye tracking ability, they can still potentially operate connected products in their home through brain commands. The Emotiv technology uses sensors to tune in to electric signals produced by the wearer’s brain to detect, in real-time, their thoughts, feelings and expressions. The wearable display provides visual feedback that allows the wearer to navigate through the application menu.
The Accenture Technology Labs in San Jose, Calif., collaborated with the Philips Digital Accelerator Lab in the Netherlands to create the software to interact with the Emotiv Insight Brainware and the wearable display. Fjord, a design consultancy owned by Accenture Interactive, designed the display’s user interface.
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Editor Beth earned a bachelor’s degree in journalism and master’s in health communication. She has worked in hospital, academic and publishing settings over the past 20 years. Beth joined TriMed in 2005, as editor of CMIO and Clinical Innovation + Technology. When not covering all things related to health IT, she spends time with her husband and three children.