foc.us v2 is here!
The all new foc.us v2 tdcs controller is now available for pre-order in Developer Edition.
Focus v2 Announced
2
Category Archives: Device
Insight, a growth project driven by tDCS: Cognitive enhancement montage location: L A DLPFC, R C Supra orbital
Even though measuring from cranial landmarks is one way to find these points, I always question measuring on the head, or body, because of the size differences between people. Hence to make it easier to locate the points, below are numerous pictures.
Left Anode Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC)
The left is obviously the left side of the head, and the anode is the more positive of the two leads (green wire on the Cognitive kit); current goes from electronics to anode through the head to cathode back to the electronics. For the position of the DLPFC, check out the cranium below:And on me pointing and with a sponge electrode(see there is an advantage to having little hair, better tDCS montage location and better electrode connection).
I want to be your neuroscience experiment | Al Jazeera America
My sense is that the author’s experience is very similar to that of most tDCS DIYers – an initial flurry of interest followed by frustration at not knowing if ‘it’s working’. That’s why it’s exciting to see easily replicated protocols for self-testing emerging around the Dual N-Back game that is available for free. http://brainworkshop.sourceforge.net/download.html
A device mentioned in the article is J.D. Leadam’s ‘Brain Stimulator’ http://thebrainstimulator.net (No affiliation)
We’d decided to try the “accelerated learning” montage that had been developed and tested by DARPA. The best test of the device we could come up with was to play Nintendo Wii Mario Kart while brain zapping for 20 minutes — our performance seemed easily measurable (we would just play the same course, over and over) and a lot less violent. At first I was miserable, my green dinosaur avatar, Yoshi, falling off the track on every hairpin turn and barely finishing the course in 3:30. By the end, though, I was cracking 3:00. Of course, there was no control here, no way to tell whether I was simply learning a new skill, but I was cautiously optimistic.
In the weeks that followed, I stuck to it, undertaking 20 minutes of tDCS four to five days a week. I decided to try to teach myself interactive web design, and whenever I’d run the current through my brain, I’d accompany it with 20 minutes on Code Academy, the teach-yourself-to-code megasite. But after a few weeks, the results I was looking for seemed elusive. I was obviously getting better at coding, but there was no way for me to know what role the electricity was playing. And it was still kind of painful. So I quit, and about two months after visiting Bikson’s lab, my tDCS device is gathering dust on a shelf in my office.
via I want to be your neuroscience experiment | Al Jazeera America.
Do-It-Yourself Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation – Smart Drug Smarts
Podcast: Download (Duration: 23:15 — 32.1MB)
Jesse interviews Nathan Whitmore, creator of the open-source project OpenBrainStim, an affordable alternative to commercial transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) devices. Nathan tells us how the project got started, how the “DIY-tCDS” community has grown, and how you can experiment from the comfort of your own home.
via Do-It-Yourself Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation – Smart Drug Smarts.
The Cognitive Kit
I have no affiliation with this device. Just like to keep track of what’s out there and noticed this was recently released.
The Cognitive Kit is available for sale. The Cognitive Kit is a direct current device used for cognitive enhancement purposes. The Kit was designed for ease of use, comfort, and efficacy. Included in the purchase: Main unit which contains simple switching mechanism for power on, current level, and current out Cables hardwired into the Main unit so there is no chance of mistaking Anode from Cathode. Top quality Amrex Sponge electrodes are included for comfort of treatment and less side effects Headband to keep electrodes in place Two 9V batteries for more sessions without changing batteries, and the extra voltage allows a not so perfect electrode/head interface and still regulate 2mA included in the Main unit.Everything is included to quickly set up The Cogntive Kit for a cognitive enchancement session. The Cognitive Kit sells for $200 and is only shipping to US and Canada currently. Shipment will be $20 and sent to FEDEX within two days by FEDEX Gnd.
via Get your very own.
The Cognitive Kit – a direct current device
The Cognitive Kit is a hand held Cognitive Enhancement Device. Simple to use, with safe, effective, sponge electrodes, the Cognitive Kit includes everything that is necessary for a cognitive enhancement session. We will be releasing the first production run in Mid July.
FOC.US – transcranial direct current stimulation for gamers
-
The Foc.us Has Landed!
Is foc.us FDA approved? No. The focus gamer headset offers no medical benefits, is not a medical device, and is not regulated by the FDA.
- When will my headset ship? If ordered today your headset should ship by the end of July 2013. Subsequent production orders are scheduled from October 2013.
- Will Android be supported? Yes, we are fully committed to providing Android support as soon as Android contains the required bluetooth 4.0 apis. We ♥ Android.
- Is the headset safe? The focus headset has been tested to all required regulatory standards including CE Safety standard EN60601-2-10: 2001 and EN60601-1: 2006.
- What does the headset do? The headset passes a small electric current <2.05mA through the prefrontal cortex of the wearer.
- Who should not use foc.us? The headset is not a toy, is not recommended for under 18s, epilepsy suffers or people with implants. It should not be used in the treatment of any medical conditions.
via FOC.US – transcranial direct current stimulation for gamers.
Insight, a growth project driven by tDCS: The Biocurrent kit is currently available!
The Biocurrent kit is a safe, easy-to-use, apparatus that supplies regulated current through sponge electrodes. By using a unique method of regulation (CRDs), the Biocurrent kit provides regulated current at 1.0mA, 1.5mA, and 2.0mA in a simple to use plug in kit. No soldering is required, all the items necessary to produce biological current are included in the kit (Battery pack, Regulator boxes, cables, sponge electrodes, and elastic band to fix to the body).
For increased safety the cable connectors are specifically chosen to only fit one way and because of inline resistor, current is limited in case of short or failure.
Go to The Biocurrent kit site to find out more and to purchase your device.
via Insight, a growth project driven by tDCS: The Biocurrent kit is currently available!.
Just for Fun: tDCS in a Bottle | SpeakWisdom
I decided to borrow Keith’s design one more time and build a simple tDCS device into an old pill bottle, just to show how easy it is to build a current regulated tDCS device – and to show how small they can be. My latest creation could easily be carried in a pocket or tucked in a hat. I call it “tDCS in a Bottle” and yes – I decided to copyright the name – hey why not?
My simple circuit consists of a type 25A 12v volt battery, a 2.2 k Ohm resistor, a current regulating diode (CRD), a pill bottle, and some lead wires. You could build one yourself in 15 minutes or less!
Enter the Biocurrent Kit | Speak Wisdom
www.biocurrentkit.com has just started offering a battery operated 1 to 2 mA kit that is offered not as a tDCS device (tDCS doesn’t even appear in their instruction sheet and barely on the web site), but as a regulated very low current DC supply. What you do with it is up to you. Biocurrent sent me an evaluation unit to dig into and I have to say, I’m impressed with the simplicity of the kit – and that it does exactly what Biocurrent says it will do – supply 1, 1.5, or 2 mA current.
tDCS – Building a Resistor Based tDCS Device
Brent Williams of SpeakWisdom (we met him earlier on the blog) has started a YouTube tDCS series. This is his second in the series. This is an excellent overview of the basic components of tDCS, however, Brent does not recommend you actually build
and use a resistor-based device. Brent mentions that upcoming videos will demonstrate how to build a current-regulated device.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d9iId0Aen2g
Brain-zapping Kinect game boosts mathematical skills – New Scientist
This is the Neuroelectrics ‘Starstim‘ device in action in Roi Cohen Kadosh’s Oxford lab.
Source: NewScientist
Behind Valkee: The Profitable Startup That Shines Lights Into Your Ears To Cure The Winter Blues | TechCrunch
We had a look at the Valkee earlier on the blog. I just bring it up again because it’s interesting that TechCrunch is covering it and pointing out its ‘successful startup’ aspect. I can’t imagine a DIY version of this could cost more than a few dollars.
“I told him you don’t need to your light your house. You need to light your brain,” Nissila said. The ear canal was the most natural and obvious way to shine light onto the surface of the brain. Within weeks, they had a prototype.
Called The Valkee, the device looks like an MP3 player with a set of fancy headphones attached to it. The earbuds actually have a pair of lights attached to them that run for 12-minute sessions at a time. The idea is that by shining light into sensitive areas of the brain, it will stimulate a special OPN3 protein in parts of the brain that help regulate serotonin, melatonin and dopamine production.
They’re initially marketing it to people with Seasonal Affective Disorder, but they’re planning to expand their consumer base to people who need to fight off jet lag.
“If I stop using it for one week, I start eating more and it becomes very difficult to wake up in the morning,” said Timo Ahopelto, who was CEO of the company before leaving to join early-stage Finnish VC fund Lifeline Ventures, which also holds a stake in Valkee. I’ve used it, and I can’t tell if there is any effect yet beyond making my ears feel warm in the morning. But I’m also Californian, so I’m not even really sure I suffer from seasonal affective disorder because we don’t really have seasons.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BA2VeFByqc
Dave Siever – Mind Alive Revisited
We met Dave earlier on the blog. His company, Mind Alive Inc. operates out of Edmonton, Canada and sells a wide variety of ‘mind machines‘, including the Oasis Pro, which can be used for tDCS. Medical devices are controlled differently in Canada, the EU, and the U.S. About tDCS devices…
In Canada, it is not considered a medical device when used in a cognitiveneuroscience application.
I need to do a deep dive with an expert at some point, but for now, let’s operate under the assumption that it’s much easier to get a tDCS device in Canada or Europe. According to the Mind Alive ordering page, there does not seem to be anything special or awkward about ordering one of their devices. (I have no affiliation with Mind Alive).
Here Dave gives an overview of tDCS, how it’s theorized to work, and includes a set of tDCS montages for various purposes. Excellent!
Is tDCS Safe? – Neuroelectrics.com
This comes to us via the Neuroelectrics.com blog. I’m very excited to see Neuroelectrics on the scene. I first noticed their device Starstim (pictured), popping up in news around Roi Cohen Kadish’s ongoing tDCS trials at his Oxford lab (see). I believe Neuroelectrics is a Spanish company. What’s especially exciting to me is that they also make an EEG device called Enobio and are working on the ability to map brain activity with EEG while undergoing tDCS. Think about that! Live, in-the-moment feedback on exactly what effect your tDCS is having.
More than 100 studies have been performed using tDCS in healthy controls and in patient populations, and no serious side effects have occurred for a review, see Nitsche and others 2008. Slight itching under the electrode, headache, fatigue, and nausea have been described in a minority of cases in a series of more than 550 subjects Poreisz and others 2007. Detailed studies have been performed to assess the safety of tDCS. These have shown that there was no evidence of neuronal damage as assessed by serum neuron-specific enolase after application of a 1 mA anodal current for 13 minutes Nitsche and Paulus 2001; Nitsche, Nitsche, and others 2003 or MRI measures of edema using contrast-enhanced and diffusion-weighted MRI measures after application of a 1 mA current for 13 minutes anodal or 9 minutes cathodal; Nitsche, Niehaus, and others 2004 […] In addition, a recent study was performed in rats using an epicranial electrode montage designed to be similar to that used in tDCS Liebetanz and others 2009. This demonstrated that brain lesions occurred only at current densities greater than 1429 mA/cm2 applied for durations longer than 10 minutes. In standard tDCS protocols in humans, a current density of approximately 0.05 mA/cm2 is produced.
More about the Neuroelectrics Enobio EEG device.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg_w6wPehss
via Is tDCS Safe?.