Virtual reality and electroencephalography for modulation of emotional states through visual and auditory stimulus   A virtual reality application can influence a user mental activity in order to increase the relaxation or concentration. Iker López de Suso Sánchez, at Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB), developed a software application motivated by providing technological support for mental health care, combining software games with Unity and virtual reality. For this, is used an auditory stimulus known as binaural waves, configured in different ranges depending on the type of brain waves that are to be increased, and a neurofeedback is applied as a brain activity training technique. Likewise, the use of virtual reality favors both relaxation and individual attention thanks to the elimination of unwanted external stimuli, complete control of their experience, and the consequent feeling of immersion. The objective evaluation of the user's mental state after using the application is possible thanks to the integration of a non-invasive EEG device that monitors brain activity throughout the session.   Combining Virtual Reality and EEG technologies, by adding visual and auditory stimulus, Iker López has created a software application for the modulation of emotional states with binaural waves and neurofeedback techniques.   Iker worked at Escola Politècnica Superior under the supervision of Dr. Francisco José Perales and Dr. José María Buades Rubio in the academic program 2020/2021 in the city of Palma, Majorca, Spain. This work led Universitat de les Illes Balears and Naxon Labs to agree on further academic, scientific and cultural collaboration.   “Virtual reality is a technology on which many expectations have been placed in recent years. The high costs of the devices in the market and the risk that companies run by investing large amounts of money in the development of content and devices have been the main brake on an expansion that was predicted to be exponential. However, virtual reality experiences have always been well received by developers and users, and the growth of the technology has been constant. The appearance of devices with great value for money such as the Meta Quest 2 (formerly Oculus Quest 2), and the interest shown by technological giants such as Meta (formerly Facebook), Google, Playstation, Valve, Microsoft, HTC, Sony and many others, show that this technology is in full growth and still has a lot to offer. In addition, it is not only revolutionizing the entertainment sector, its application in the form of Serious Games in fields such as health, education, sports, the aeronautical industry, the media or the corporate sector, reflect the possibility of a new boom similar to that of we had with mobile apps.”   In 2014 Facebook acquired the virtual reality headset maker Oculus Rift VR. Initially sold as Oculus Quest 2, Meta Quest 2 is a virtual reality headset developed by Meta Platforms (formerly Facebook, Inc.) released in 2020.   “Mental health is another protagonist in this project. The percentages of people affected by mental disorders are higher than what is popularly believed. 25% of the population suffers from some mental disorder throughout their lives. Mental illnesses represent 12.5% of all pathologies. 22% of the population suffers episodes of anxiety and depression at some point in their lives. In addition, in the year in which this work was carried out, a global health crisis caused by the COVID-19 virus was emerging, which has collaterally affected the mental health of millions of people, as warned by the Organization World Health Organization (WHO). The seriousness of the matter is clearly evidenced in an analysis by a Canadian team, based on data from 55 international studies (with more than 190,000 participants between January and May 2021), in which they emphasize that post-traumatic stress disorders, anxiety and depression were, respectively, five, four and three times more frequent than usual, taking the data reported by the WHO as a reference. The awareness on the part of the population is growing, and the interest in taking care of mental health as well”.   “Neurofeedback and Binaural Waves are techniques by which a person's brain activity can be influenced in the long term. Some studies present them as complementary and even substitute treatments for psychoactive drugs in disorders such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), epilepsy, anxiety or depression, showing positive and permanent results in the patient. On the other hand, there is also a growing interest in people with “normal” brain activity in using technologies that help them relax or concentrate. Some examples of commercial applications of this style are Tripp and Muse. Taking this context into account, the current project proposes the development of a virtual reality application and the integration of an EEG device that allows the collection of data on the user's brain activity while neurofeedback techniques with binaural waves are applied. The use of virtual reality makes it easier to obtain favorable results because uncontrolled stimuli from the environment are limited and immersion is greater. The distinctive element of the project compared to other applications such as Tripp, is the monitoring of the user's brain activity through an EEG system, which allows an objective analysis of the changes experienced and the effectiveness of the applied techniques. For the realization of this work, the author has had at his disposal the Unity project corresponding to Miguel Sánchez's thesis work, in which a virtual reality system for the management of chronic pain in children and young people with rare diseases. It should be noted that said project consists of the binaural waves technique, so the same external library (AccelBrainBeat) has been used and the script that was developed for its configuration and reproduction has been reused. Thus, it can be seen that the Binaural Waves configuration screen offers the same possibilities and has only changed in the visual aspect. The “Space” environment and the variety of music available are also originating from the aforementioned project”.   Iker analyzed brain waves in non-invasive EEG devices like Muse Band 2, which has 4 channels plus one for reference, using Bluetooth 4.2 communication:   ● Gamma (32-100Hz) ○ High cognitive processing. ○ Learning. ○ Problem solving. ● Beta (13-32Hz) ○ Concentration. ○ Decision making. ● Alpha (8-13Hz) ○ Relaxation. ○ Well-being. ● Theta (4 - 8Hz) ○ Imagination. ○ Internal processing. ○ Dreams (REM), fears. ● Delta (0.5 - 4Hz) ○ Deep meditation. ○ Deep sleep (without dreaming).   A binaural beat is an auditory illusion perceived when two different pure-tone sine waves, both with frequencies lower than 1500 Hz, with less than a 40 Hz difference between them, are presented to a listener dichotically (one through each ear). For example, if a 100 Hz pure tone is presented to a subject's right ear, while a 104 Hz pure tone is presented to the subject's left ear, the listener will perceive the auditory illusion of a third tone, in addition to the two pure tones presented to each ear. The third sound is called a binaural beat, and in this example would have a perceived pitch correlating to a frequency of 4 Hz, that being the difference between the 104 Hz and 100 Hz pure tones presented to each ear.   Figure: Binaural Beats   Binaural-beat perception originates in the inferior colliculus of the midbrain and the superior olivary complex of the brainstem, where auditory signals from each ear are integrated and precipitate electrical impulses along neural pathways through the reticular formation up the midbrain to the thalamus, auditory cortex, and other cortical regions.   Then the neurofeedback (NFB), also called neurotherapy, is a type of biofeedback that presents real-time feedback from brain activity in order to reinforce healthy brain function through operant conditioning. In this case, electrical activity from the brain is collected via sensors placed on the scalp using electroencephalography (EEG Muse Band 2), with feedback presented using video displays or sound.   Figure: Neurofeedback     “There’s decades of innovations ahead. We’re at the very beginning, where it’s just at the stage where we can bring in consumers but there’s so much further to go from there” said Brendan Iribe, CEO of Oculus Rift, the device Iker used for the application.   Also in his work, Iker cited Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook, now rebranded as Meta, to enter with these applications in the so called Metaverse: “The incredible thing about the technology is that you feel like you’re actually present in another place with other people. People who try it say it’s different from anything they’ve ever experienced in their lives.”   Iker considered different reality technologies: Augmented reality (AR), Virtual reality (VR) and Mixed Reality (MR).   Augmented reality (AR) adds digital elements to a live view often by using the camera on a smartphone. Examples of augmented reality experiences include Snapchat lenses and the game Pokemon Go.   Virtual reality (VR) implies a complete immersion experience that shuts out the physical world. Using virtual reality devices such as HTC Vive, Oculus Rift or Google Cardboard, users can be transported into a number of real-world and imagined environments such as the middle of a squawking penguin colony or even the back of a dragon.   In a Mixed Reality (MR) experience, which combines elements of both augmented reality and virtual reality, real-world and digital objects interact. Mixed reality technology is just now starting to take off with Microsoft’s HoloLens one of the most notable early mixed reality apparatuses.     The Meta Quest 2 device has a resolution per eye of 1920 x 1832 pixels, a refresh rate of 90Hz, and a FOV (Field of View) of 90°.   Figure: Meta Quest 2   Unity is a cross-platform game engine developed by Unity Technologies, first announced and released in June 2005. The engine has since been gradually extended to support a variety of desktop, mobile, console and virtual reality platforms. The engine can be used to create three-dimensional (3D) and two-dimensional (2D) games, as well as interactive simulations and other experiences.   Meta Quest and Quest 2 deliver the freedom of wireless, standalone virtual reality with the industry leading power and performance to drive your next immersive app. Both of these devices include spatially tracked controllers, integrated open-ear audio, and support for Oculus Link which enables users to access their Oculus Rift library of apps from their gaming compatible PC.   For this application Meta Quest 2 has been integrated with Unity to create the virtual reality environment, scene, game objects, the components defining the game object behavior and the materials that add texture and colors to objects.   The behavior and characteristics of the elements that interact in a Unity scene, known as GameObjects, are defined by the components they have attached. In Unity there are a multitude of components that provide very versatile characteristics to GameObjects, however, as we approach the particularities of a specific project, functions appear that require script programming, code units that control the behavior of the objects to which they are associated.   For the integration of the EEG device with the software application it was used the Naxon Explorer API to get the data at the right moment. With Naxon Labs platform and an EEG device like Interaxon’s Muse, you can create a mark derived from an external event in a sequence of brain activity expressed in waves. Naxon Explorer is a useful tool and neurofeedback system for researchers in Neuroscience, Psychology and Medicine. You can record brain data, get measurements and sessions data that will let you use machine learning and automatic pattern analysis. With the API, you can analyze brain behavior and its response to an external activity.In this application, Iker exposes the brain to visual and auditory stimulus at the same time informs Naxon Explorer through an API to register the moment accurately. With this, you can analyze the continuous brain waves and check what was the impact of the external event in the brain activity.   With the session started, you can now see the data that the EEG device is sending. The figure shows the micro volts per millisecond that each of the Muse Band 2 channels detects. The bar graph on the right shows the average values of each type of wave in real time, data obtained thanks to the application of the Fourier transform on the “raw” data. In the figure you can see the intensities of each type of wave for each sensor.   Figure: Visualization of raw data and the average intensity of each type of wave in real time.   There are a series of configurable parameters to calibrate the treatment of the data before displaying it on the screen, which transforms the values and changes their appearance. During the development of this work, the following parameters have been used:   • High pass filter: it is a filter that passes signals with a frequency higher than a certain cutoff frequency and attenuates signals with frequencies lower than said cutoff frequency.   • Low pass filter: This is a filter that passes signals with a frequency lower than the selected cutoff frequency and attenuates signals with frequencies higher than the cutoff frequency.   • Window (s): refers to how many seconds are displayed on the screen.   • uV amplitude: refers to how many microvolts the Y axis includes.   Figure: Data flow   In the application you can work with the session, the configuration, course of session, summary of results (graphics and information). You can also configure the environment, the binaural waves and the music.   In the lobby, the user is in a virtual environment where they can listen to music and binaural waves through headphones. The default settings of these elements are “Moon Night” in terms of environment, “Buddhist” in terms of music, and relaxation binaural waves, with the purpose of increasing the user's Alpha waves. In addition, there are 2 rays that correspond to the virtual reality controllers, with which the user can point and interact with the GUI elements.   Before starting the session, you must configure its duration and the type of activity that you want to measure. The different session durations range from a minimum of 5 minutes to a maximum of 45 minutes.   Regarding the type of session, each one has the following particularities:   • Relaxation: in this type of session the summary graph shown at the end symbolizes the relationship between the intensity of Alpha(α) and Beta(β). The value on the Y axis is directly proportional to the intensity of Alpha waves and inversely proportional to Beta waves. The formula used to calculate the relaxation index from these waves is α/β   During this session, the user must close their eyes and meditate, with the aim of increasing said index.   • Concentration: in the concentration type session, the relationship between the Alpha(α), Beta(β) and Theta(θ) waves is measured, which corresponds to the user's concentration index. This relationship is used in studies such as J. Park, H. Kwon, S. Kang, and Y. Lee, “The effect of binaural beat-based audiovisual stimulation on brain waves and concentration,” in 2018 International Conference on Information and Communication Technology Convergence (ICTC).   Alpha and Beta waves (especially Beta) appear when a person is concentrating on something, on the contrary, Theta waves appear when they are immersed in their imagination, distracted or sleeping. Said relationship is (α+β)/θ   When selecting this type of session, a sphere that levitates based on the concentration index appears on the screen. Therefore, the goal of the user during this type of session is to concentrate solely on the sphere. The greater the concentration of the user, the greater the height the ball will acquire. In this way, the Visual Neurofeedback technique is put into practice, allowing the user to train their mental activity with feedback in real time.   Once the duration and type of session have been selected, click "Start Session" to start it. Instantly, the WebSocketManager script sends the “start recording” command to the Naxon Explorer platform, after which the data that the Muse Band 2 monitors begins to arrive. As future directions of this work, Iker Lopez indicated the statistical study to validate the effectiveness of the techniques used, increase the stimulus perceived by the user (shaders, particles), the expansion of neurofeedback techniques, the development of a backend project including communication with a server and a data base, the Inclusion of alternative input systems (head movement, voice control) and design and develop an in-game tutorial.

The University of the Balearic Islands and Naxon Labs agree to collaborate to develop programs, exchange and cooperation in teaching and research, particularly in the development of applied neurotechnology products.   The Rector of the University of the Balearic Islands Jaume Carot Giner and the CEO of Naxon Labs Leandro Castelluccio, have formalized a collaboration agreement to develop joint study, exchange and cooperation programs in the field of teaching, student training and research, in particular, the development of applied neurotechnology products, software integration, testing and proof of concept, communication of results, dissemination and promotion activities.   The agreement was approved by the Board of Directors on June 8, 2022 and ratified by the Governing Council on June 15, 2022, in accordance with the provisions of articles 24.2.24 and 147.2 of the University Statutes of the Balearic Islands, approved by Decree 64/2010, of May 14 (BOIB no. 76, of May 22).   Through this agreement, research and transfer collaborations will be deepened, such as those that began in 2020 with professors and students of the Escola Politècnica Superior. Dr. Francisco José Perales and Dr. Jose Maria Buades lead a DMI innovation (UJVIA) and research (UGIVIA) team at the Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB) with many initiatives in brain-computer interfaces and virtual and augmented reality and artificial intelligence. Several projects have been developed where technology is normally applied to therapeutic cases. They have used these technologies with children with cerebral palsy, autism, ADHD, among others, and in two national projects to help older people through social robots (Pergamex) and Explainable Artificial Intelligence (Explaining).   The team of researchers and students created a software application for the modulation of emotional states with binaural waves and neurofeedback techniques, combining Virtual Reality and EEG (electroencephalography) technologies, adding visual and binaural auditory stimuli. In this initiative, the Naxon Explorer product was used and integrations were made through the Naxon Explorer API.   One of the virtual reality applications was intended to assess the emotional state of the person and modulate it, for example, to control chronic pain. To do this, the team uses physiological parameters (such as heart rate, skin conductivity, and EEG frequency band variations). The team used EEG to address the challenges of wearing a virtual reality binaural beats headset with an EEG headset with the Naxon Explorer API.   These developments are based on group research such as the work: "Evaluation of a virtual reality system for pain management through binaural acoustic stimulation" developed by Francisco J. Perales, Laia Riera, Silvia Ramis and Alejandro Guerrero.  

Neurotechnology had its space in the Test & Invest Uruguay Business Summit in Punta del Este, organized by the Interamerican Development Bank. The Uruguay Minister of Industry, Omar Paganini, pointed out that work is being done on the Uruguay Innovation Hub initiative, whose objective is to strengthen the country as a regional innovation hub. “We want the country to become a place to test new products, invest and develop projects,” he said. Naxon Labs showcased Naxon Emotions in its booth with the support of ANII (National Agency for Research and Innovation). In a booth that was in front of Naxon Labs, the Technology University UTEC, among other initiatives, showcased students' works to control toy cars with the mind using Open BCI technology.   Test & Invest was held on November 3rd and 4th, 2022 in Punta del Este, Uruguay. It brought lectures by international experts on the main trends and opportunities in technology, biotech, film industry, renewable energy and sustainable finance in Uruguay and the Latin American Region. B2B and B2G business rounds were held between investors, startups and larger companies from Uruguay, Latin America, USA, Ireland, Israel and South Korea, among others. There were presented exhibitions on the technologies that are developed in Uruguay and the Latin America Region (metaverse, internet of things, artificial intelligence, virtual and augmented reality and neurotechnology) and their respective applications. Naxon Labs had a booth in the ANII area showcasing neurotechnology products and in particular Naxon Emotions. This is a platform consisting of an emotion monitoring system that translates brain information into objective visual markers of states such as anxiety, relaxation, concentration, joy or sadness, among others. It can enhance objective patient records for diagnosis and treatment in mental health, allowing tracking patient evolution, remote monitoring and therapy, improving the implementation of techniques for the regulation of mental disorders and also allowing applications in various specific disorders. In general anyone interested in learning about emotions and how one responds to events or stimuli can benefit from using our platform.   Naxon Labs booth at Test & Invest The conference visitors could learn how Naxon Labs uses Muse EEG technology for the products Naxon Explorer and Naxon Emotions. The visitors could also learn about Naxon BrainGym which helps to enhance mental faculties and improve people's quality of life.   Naxon Labs using Muse EEG technology for the products Naxon Explorer, Naxon Emotions and Naxon BrainGym.   Test & Invest had a neurotechnology sector since in front of Naxon Labs booth was UTEC, the Technology University, showcasing among other things, the students' developments using Open BCI. UTEC showcased the work of the Fray Bentos Campus, where they did a Race of robotic vehicles controlled by Brain Computer Interface in December 2021. They had organized the first race of robotic vehicles controlled by Brain Computer Interface in Uruguay. UTEC students managed to carry out the design, development and implementation of a Brain Computer Interface for the control of a robotic vehicle which will move through a track with obstacles. The Biomedical Engineering team has been working on this project since April 2021 and finally tested the vehicles they developed in a race. Students of Biomedical Engineering and Mechatronics Engineering participated in the teams. UTEC booth in Test & Invest   Naxon Labs shared the ANII booth space with ELdS to put together at Test & Invest two finalists of SantanderX  Accelerate Uruguay.    Naxon Labs and ELdS in Test & Invest.   The Minister of Industry, Energy and Mining, Omar Paganini, welcomed Uruguay, the land of opportunities. In his presentation, Paganini explained that the government intends to take advantage of "the key moment in which Uruguay finds itself" so that the country "goes to the next level". "Today Uruguay stands out regionally and internationally for its management of the pandemic, its economic growth, its institutional stability and its commitment to environmental sustainability," said the chief. The minister pointed out that work is being done on the Uruguay Innovation Hub initiative, whose objective is to strengthen the country as a regional innovation pole. “We want the country to become a place to test new products, invest and develop projects”, Paganini explained. "We are already a business pole that attracts leading international companies," added the chief and announced that a plan is being worked on to leverage and generate startups. Paganini announced that this program articulates public and private resources, and will have the support of the National Agency for Research and Innovation (ANII), the Ministry of Economy and Finance (MED), the MIEM and the IDB.   Paganini at the Test and Invest summit.   The minister explained that Uruguay is at a favorable stage to add more public policies that accelerate the creation of local startups and, also, promote the arrival of startups from other parts of the world, so that they merge and develop in the country. through public-private funds. Another of the points of this program is to "attract investment funds for the pre-series A and series A stage —that is, the phase that allows the startup to scale—, with calls that the government will encourage," Paganini asserted. The third point of the initiative consists of encouraging the creation of laboratories that develop knowledge in industries such as the Internet of Things and 5G. For this, the minister said that Uruguayan scientists will try to get out of the strict world of science and take their knowledge to the area of ​​entrepreneurship.  Paganini also expressed that the creation of a campus as a physical place is being studied, where innovative projects that generate value are generated. To conclude, the minister reiterated the idea that Uruguay should become a business hub and become one of innovation with regional weight and explained that this program intends to go in that direction, since it seeks to generate "distributive solutions to promote the international insertion" of the country.   Many thanks to ANII (National Agency for Research and Innovation) for inviting Naxon Labs to participate in the Test & Invest Uruguay Business Summit.

Naxon Labs and Neuphony will collaborate in the integration of their products. By developing an integration with Neuphony's devices, Naxon Labs will add technical features not included in currently compatible devices which have a reduced number of electrodes.     Naxon Labs works with portable EEG technology to obtain neuronal information based on brain waves and brings value through its products Naxon Explorer, Naxon Emotions and software tools for advanced functionalities. Naxon Explorer is a useful tool and neurofeedback system for professionals in the fields of Neuroscience, Psychology, Medicine, Engineering and Information Technology.   Integrating Neuphony’s EEG sessions data with Naxon Explorer you can visualize and analyze brain activity, with the incorporated features to organize projects, clients or participants, at the same time you can attach notes.    Naxon Emotions platform will bring Neuphony users  an emotion monitoring system that translates brain information into objective visual markers of states such as anxiety, relaxation, concentration, joy or sadness, among others. It can enhance objective patient records for diagnosis and treatment in mental health, allowing tracking patient evolution, remote monitoring and therapy, improve the implementation of techniques for the regulation of mental disorders and also allowing applications in various specific disorders.    The software tools for advanced functionalities developed by Naxon Labs will enable the use of the higher fidelity data provided by the eight electrodes included in Neuphony’s headband.   Neuphony EEG device brings an USB C Charging Port, 8 Dry EEG Sensors, is adjustable for different head sizes and has a power LED. It incorporates an accelerometer to find your right posture, has up to 8 hours of battery life (LiPo battery), the easily Detachable sensors that can also be purchased separately, and connects wirelessly to the application via BLE 4.2   "We want to continue opening to the world the possibilities of researching the brain while betting on innovation on what the major current technology leaders agree is the 21st century next frontier: neurotechnology, an area that combines applied neuroscience, wearable technology, BCI, Cybernetics, biosensor development, AI and machine learning" said the cognitive neuroscientist Leandro Castelluccio, MSc, Naxon Labs' CEO and Co-Founder.   Neuphony is helping many people with neurofeedback and Ria Rustagi, Neuphony’s CEO and Co-Founder, envisions a great future for the product and neurotechnology. "First of all, people should be aware and educated about this technology, because we don't know what we can do with this. And people should be using this like we use our smartwatch in daily life because we want to track our sleep and we want to track our steps. I want neurofeedback to be that technology at first. Secondly, I want to create a platform where people can come together and create something for neurofeedback. I feel that the people who are working in this domain are very less spread all across the world. I want everybody out there to be connected to help this growth, for the betterment of the people that are living because the brain is everything" said Ria Rustagi.   Through this partnership, Neuphony and Naxon Labs will collaborate beyond technical integrations, and will bring the products to the global market through their business development, marketing and sales activities.   About Neuphony by PankhTech   Neuphony was founded by Bhavya Madan(CTO) and Ria Rustagi (CEO) with a mission to revolutionize the field of brain health through neurofeedback and BCI technology. The brain behind Neuphony, the one who has kept our team well-knitted from the back of the stage, our co-founder Bhavya Madan, with his knowledge in neuroscience and embedded systems has joined the dots between neurofeedback and meditation. He has done his Msc. in Embedded Systems from Germany. Ria Rustagi is the CEO and the powerhouse of Neuphony. She pursued MSc. in Integrated Circuit Design from Singapore and Germany. With her entrepreneurship skills and larger-than-life ideology to bring a change in the society, she stands tall as a strong pillar and backbone of the company. 123, Block B, i-Thum, Sector 62, Noida, Uttar Pradesh – 201301 – India https://neuphony.com/   About Naxon Labs   Under the framework of Brain-Computer Interfaces, Naxon Labs is a company that works with portable EEG technology for the development of practical tools and innovative applications for Medicine, Clinical Psychology (Neurofeedback), Educational Psychology, Sleep and Well-being, Brain Research, as well as mind-controlled hardware and software technology. Naxon’s team of professionals in the areas of cognitive neuroscience, psychology, neurophysiology, medicine, computer engineering and information technology, are realistic and committed to down to earth products that solve current real issues, always betting on novelty and generating differential proposals. Through Chevening Scholarships, Leandro Castelluccio (CEO) got his master in Cognitive Neuroscience in the University of Sussex, a leading research-intensive university located in Brighton, United Kingdom, where he got a lot of interest in leveraging information technology tools to have a better understanding of brain activity in patients. Currently Leandro also develops research activities at the Psychology School at Universidad Catolica del Uruguay where he got his bachelor's degree in psychology. https://www.naxonlabs.com

Looking for the most promising startups, Santander Universidades Uruguay selected Naxon Labs as one of the 3 finalists among the 10 bests in Uruguay in its category, qualifying to participate in the international instance.   Between 30% and 50% of the population in developed countries have experienced acute episodes of anxiety and stress in the last year. And this has been aggravated during the pandemic period where anxiety and depression disorders are estimated to have increased by 25% globally. Along with this, labor absenteeism is reaching record figures close to 20%. Worse still, suicide attempts have grown 20 times over previous years. Naxon Labs offers new tool for emotion analysis. Santander Universities Uruguay started the 2022 process of looking for the most promising startups. The objective is to help in their growth, offering them visibility, international exposure and mentoring by professionals related to the business. In the Accelerate Category, Santander was looking for startups with a product or service on the market ready for acceleration.  In an extremely competitive process, only the 10 best startups were selected to participate in the final with a jury made up of executives from Banco Santander and leaders of the entrepreneurial ecosystem. Naxon Labs was selected as one of the finalist startups and Santander helped to prepare the presentation to impress the jury. Naxon Labs received mentoring on innovation management, technology commercialization and entrepreneurship, by the Oxentia Foundation. The foundation belongs to the Global Innovation Consultant born as a division of Oxford University Innovation, transfer office of the University of Oxford. Through this process, Naxon Labs presented the product Naxon Emotions and was selected in the 3 winners startups of Uruguay and qualified to join the international instance (Santander X Global Award).   Leandro Castelluccio, Naxon Labs CEO introducing Naxon Emotions to Santander X jury.   Naxon Emotions main screen.   Naxon Emotions is a new system that offers the possibility of objectively visualizing, measuring and registering states such as anxiety, sadness, happiness, relaxation or concentration. And this is done in real time and wirelessly. It only requires using a simple headband that takes brain data connected to the computer, a tablet or a cell phone. Emotions is being used by mental health professionals, clinics, private hospitals and consultants to diagnose, measure and intervene more efficiently and accurately in problems such as anxiety and depression. Naxon Labs enables the use of the tool through low-cost equipment focused on mental health like the Muse devices from Interaxon Inc. “Our technology has a potential that goes beyond mental health, as it is being used by human resources areas and companies that manage talent, as well as for product testing in the marketing area” said Leandro Castelluccio, CEO of Naxon Labs. “The brain-computer interface represents one of the cutting-edge areas for innovation in the coming decades. Our work and vision for this field is based on democratizing, innovating and advancing the possibility of connecting the brain with the digital world” added Castelluccio.   Naxon Labs team.   Among the many applications of the platform, it can be used in neuromarketing and measurements of concentration and alertness. Naxon Labs has been supported by ANII (National Agency for Research and Innovation), and Initium, the leadership, entrepreneurship and innovation center of the Universidad de Montevideo. Also, Naxon Labs is part of Fibras, an ecosystem where people, companies and organizations come together to support and accelerate projects and ideas using technology as a platform to generate social impact.   Naxon Labs and Initium team.    

Neurotechnology is here, for everyone, and the ecosystems is growing. We aim to explore the frontiers of the brain, measuring emotions and simplifying brain-computer applications. As a team of professionals in the areas of cognitive neuroscience, psychology, neurophysiology, medicine, computer engineering and information technology, we have been connecting with many stakeholders in the world, looking to promote the use of neurotechnology making it easy and in an affordable way. This brings a growing ecosystem where Naxon Labs is involved and aims to grow significantly. We bring some examples in this note.   After several brainstorming sessions about how neuroscience and artificial intelligence could converge, in 2019 Naxon Labs thought in starting with the creation of Naxon Explorer, an affordable and useful tool and neurofeedback system for researchers in neuroscience, psychology, medicine, engineering and information technology. It was conceived with Naxon Labs' purpose of opening to the world the possibilities of researching the brain.   One recent development in BCI has been the creation of portable EEG devices that connect to a computer, tablet or smartphone through Bluetooth, that can really expand the development of applications given this connectivity, and the low cost and non-invasiveness qualities of the device. The new portable devices typically have fewer electrodes, but have the advantage of rapid setting, without the need to use gels and be in a lab, are much cheaper, they can be used in different settings and connect wirelessly to a computer device for example. Naxon Labs had tested several devices and found the best fit in the Muse devices manufactured by Interaxon Inc. in Canada. After some time, Naxon Labs would become Muse Ambassadors and exchanged ideas with several Interaxon’s employees.   With the help of ANII, the National Agency for Research and Innovation in Uruguay, Naxon Labs started to create Naxon Explorer. Ximena Camaño, Manager of Innovation and Entrepreneurship at ANII, said that currently, the agency's role is that of a strategic ally with respect to a company that wishes to innovate and, therefore, must "assume a risk" when doing so. "ANII is the ideal partner because it shares financing risk" with the company, so that the organization innovates and gains momentum, she said. “By granting subsidies that are not reimbursable, we are minimizing the risk of wanting to innovate, of doing something different and of trying”.   EagerWorks become a key partner of Naxon Labs neuroscientists. Together analyzed the flow of the raw data coming from Muse devices and assembled all data equalized in nice dashboards that enable professionals to record sessions, play them as they need and make annotations. This included the integration of the device through Bluetooth, showing it in real time, working with the cloud platform and backend applications, and doing the analysis of the raw data and its conversion.   By May 2020 Naxon Labs launched the Brain to Computer Interface solution to explore the mind: Naxon Explorer. With Naxon Explorer you can visualize, record and analyze brain activity with wireless EEG technology. It incorporates features to organize projects, clients or participants, at the same time you can attach notes, synchronize events and change parameters during recordings. Using this technology, you can save time with automatic blink and artifact detection and display in real time brain wave frequencies per channel or by average. The data captured can be downloaded for further analysis with tools like MATLAB, Brainstorm or EEG Lab. The device can be connected from a PC, a MAC or a tablet with Bluetooth.   Naxon Labs started to participate in many global events and created a lot of global connections. Since 2020 Naxon Labs has been participating in the Singapore Slingshot one of Asia’s most exciting deep tech startup encounters. In 2020 Naxon Labs was selected as one of the TOP 500 Global Startups to pitch in Agorize's Slingshot competition. Thanks to this experience, Naxon Labs became part of the Agorize startup community and had access to global startup challenges held by Fortune 500 companies around the world. Astellas Rx+™ Healthcare Innovation Challenge was looking for a technological solution to improve the quality of life of sensory-disabled individuals and people with restricted access to medical care. In the HealthTech, BioTech and MedTech track, Naxon Labs proposed a solution to improve patient outcomes in hospitals’ intensive care units by enhancing patient monitoring capabilities and predicting patient deterioration for early intervention. Many could think that this is something that requires substantial equipment and technology, but only with the use of a Muse device and Naxon Explorer, the brain states of patients can be monitored in real time.   In December 2020 Naxon Labs confirmed additional support from ANII, the National Agency for Research and Innovation in Uruguay to develop Naxon Emotions, a platform aiming to monitor, classify, and provide feedback for mental and emotional states.  Using Explorer as a basis and by wearing the EEG portable device like Interaxon’s Muse, Emotion would be able to read people’s emotions and cognitive states and translate brain information into objective visual markers of these states. This instrument would allow psychologists and cognitive scientists to measure behavioral responses, providing real time feedback and speeding diagnosis.   In this case, Naxon Labs participated in ANII’s program with the help of Initium, an organization in Universidad de Montevideo led by Josefina Maisonnave Aishemberg. Initium promotes the development of leadership, innovation, through courses, programs, and direct services to support entrepreneurs. This organization seeks to promote the entrepreneurial culture as a way of life that people can apply at work, sports, personal activities and develop it within the family and friendship. It also promotes innovation in the Universidad de Montevideo and other institutions through methodologies, aiming to add continuous value and make them different to survive over time.   Naxon Labs also received internships from Universidad de Montevideo to extend the use of EEG devices. The assignments included the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to understand and map neural activity. Bulk data coming from the EEG devices is being processed and used for training under different scenarios that help to detect emotional states. At the same time, with a trained neural network, a real time data interface will show these emotions - coming from a person - recorded in the EEG data. This would result in a very helpful outcome for Naxon Emotions product development.   In another row, Naxon Labs made an enormous headway by its integration with NeurotechX and the Latam Chapter. The first one is a non-profit organization, leader in local and worldwide technological initiatives. Its mission is to facilitate the advancement of neurotechnology by providing key resources and learning opportunities, and they stand on three pillars: “Community”, “Education”, and “Professional Development”. The association of NeurotechX and Naxon Labs brought to light the interest of many people in Latin America that are now helping and supporting the conception of the Latam Chapter. Mohit Patil, who did his Master's degree, Electrical and Computer Engineering (Signals and Systems) in  the University of Florida, contributed significantly to the expansion of NeurotechX and promoted the Latam Chapter across several countries. Bruno Bustos and Andrés Rodríguez Lejsek were among the founders of the Latam Chapter of NeurotechX.   In the Faculty of Psychology of the University of the Republic of Uruguay. Federico Romano, Naxon Labs Co-Founder, actively worked with potential users of Naxon Explorer intending to test and validate the use of the platform for different applications.     Using the portable EEG headband Muse and Naxon Explorer, Regina Miraldo, a graduate researcher in ORT University in Uruguay, worked with Emotions classification of participants who watched a standard ad aimed at women versus a novel ad under the framework of “femvertising” (advertising that is carried out in favor of women, with messages and images that empower women and girls). Using statistical data analysis, Regina was able to distinguish different brain responses in the participants according to which type of ad they were looking for. This provided Naxon Labs with valuable insights into developing our product Naxon Emotions (How can neurotechnology help in marketing?)   On a separate track, investigations were held on how to identify different EEG data patterns that could trigger commands for applications, like manipulating devices or generating instructions. EEG devices can also provide data from an oscilloscope or detect artifact data like muscle movement in the face. Naxon is also working to find different levels of thinking and mind states that could be produced intentionally, which once detected as a pattern can be mapped as a command. These initiatives led to a collaboration with a group of students from the ORT University in Montevideo, Uruguay. For this project, the students started to ideate an innovative way of processing EEG data for new applications by getting the combination of voltages that allows to distinguish ocular activity – like detecting the blink of the eyes and differentiate one from another- and distinguishing the mandibular activity – like detecting the opening of the mouth or the moves of the jaw to both sides. This effort concluded in a first version of Naxon Fabulari, a new initiative for developing forms of communication or control through brain-computer interface technology for people with disabilities. With the help of a low-cost EEG device, which in addition to capturing brain waves can detect facial movements, a person can associate a pattern with a message or action. In this way a person can communicate a phrase or control connected external devices through a gesture (Communication through brain-computer interface technology for people with disabilities).   Another feature for Naxon Explorer came in 2021, marking brain reaction to external stimulus through new Naxon Explorer API. With Naxon Labs platform and an EEG device like Interaxon’s Muse, you can create a mark derived from an external event in a sequence of brain activity expressed in waves. Naxon Explorer is a useful tool and neurofeedback system for researchers in Neuroscience, Psychology and Medicine. You can record brain data, get measurements and sessions data that will let you use machine learning and automatic pattern analysis. With the new API, you can analyze brain behavior and its response to an external activity. For example you can expose the brain to certain activity at the same time you inform Naxon Explorer through an API to register the moment accurately. With this, you can analyze the continuous brain waves and check what was the impact of the external event in the brain activity.   Among the pioneers using this functionality we highlight a Spanish team from the UIB (Universitat de les Illes Balears), which is working a lot in BCI and RV / AR. They had several projects, and one of the Virtual Reality applications is to evaluate the emotional state of the person and modulate it, for example to control chronic pain in diseases. To do this, they use physiological parameters (heart rate, EDA, etc.). The UIB research team has been working a lot in BCI and VR / AR. They have several projects where they normally apply technology to therapeutic subjects. They have used these technologies with children with CP, Autism, ADHD, etc. Recently they were involved in a national project for the Elderly and social robots. One of the applications of VR was intended to assess the emotional state of the person and modulate it, for example to control chronic pain in diseases. For this, they use physiological parameters (heart rate, EDA, etc). The team also used EEG addressing the challenges of using a VR headset with an EEG headband. The Naxon Explorer API led to strengthen the collaboration with the UIB (Universitat de les Illes Balears ), collaborating with the research team that worked with virtual reality and electroencephalography for modulation of emotional states through visual and auditory stimulus. Combining Virtual Reality and EEG technologies, by adding visual and auditory stimulus, Iker López has created a software application for the modulation of emotional states with binaural waves and neurofeedback techniques. As part of his graduation work as Computer Science Engineer in the Escola Politècnica Superior of Universitat de les Illes Balears (UIB), Iker López de Suso Sánchez developed a software application motivated by providing technological support for mental health care, combining software games with Unity and Virtual Reality. Iker worked under the supervision of Dr. Francisco José Perales López and Dr. José María Buades Rubio in the program 2020/2021 in the city of Palma, Majorca, Spain.   2021 ended with FIBRAS in Uruguay, to promote projects of social impact and technology. Naxon Labs became part of Fibras as a founding member, an ecosystem made up of several organizations in Uruguay joining forces to create social impact through different disciplines. On November 29th, 2021, Fibras became an official Civil Association: an ecosystem where people, companies and organizations come together to support and accelerate projects and ideas using technology as a platform to generate social impact in the following dimensions:     The projects that are being promoted by Fibras and their members can be explored at https://fibras.org/proyectos/     During April 2022, Naxon Labs attended the Campus Party  in Punta del Este, as a featured tool in the booth of Presenza. This is the largest technology event in the world, bringing together 83 editions in 15 countries, where youngsters, companies, communities, and various institutions come together to live an incredible experience of innovation and creativity. The event took place from March 31st to April 2nd, 2022, at the Convention Center in Punta del Este, Uruguay, and gathered about 9,000 people. Presenza is an ecosystem that aims to democratize access to psychotherapy. This space provides tools to psychologists and patients to grow according to their needs and preferences, that is why they offer services such as psychotherapy, psychodiagnosis, vocational guidance, or neuropsychological evaluation.              In this Campus Party’s edition, Presenza’s representatives received countless visits at the stand, where those interested were able to perform a one-minute guided meditation -individually-, reaching high deep relaxation levels. In addition, thanks to the use of the Muse  headbands and the Naxon Explorer platform, they were able to analyze the levels of dispersion and relaxed attention of the participants. Federica Ferrari and Lucia Mateu, Co-Founders of Presenza said: “We truly feel that marrying psychology and technology ultimately benefits greatly all the people getting treatment. Tools like Naxon Labs’ empower people by giving them factual information about their integral health status and providing treatment suggestions and mindfulness tips”. They also talked about mental health and neuroscience, and informed on the application of technology in these areas. They explained how biofeedback is obtained, what are its benefits, and how it impacts in terms of rights and accessibility. Federica and Lucia added that “Naxon Labs shares our love for wellness and democratizing mental health accessibility, so working with them was a no brainer and we were fascinated by people's response to Muse’s headbands and Naxon’s user friendly interpretative software. It was amazing to see people connect over mental health and we hope to keep doing it over and over”.   Another interesting research in Europe has been started at the University of Aveiro in Portugal. Under the direction of Rui Raposo in the Department of Communication and Art, a team has been researching with the application of Virtual Reality in Reminiscence therapy combining Naxon Labs products.   In future notes we will talk more about these and new initiatives, Brain Gyms, internships in the Middle East, universities and featured users in North America, Europe and Asia, and more EEG devices integrated with Naxon Labs tools.

We have thought Naxon BrainGym as a physical place, an environment designed to enhance mental faculties in every way and improve people's quality of life. The site consists of 3 "stations" each with a screen and a portable EEG headband. The persons choose the station, put on the headband and begin to exercise their brain by interacting with the personal computer or Tablet, choosing the exercise they want to do. There is a Neurotechnology consultant on site who is in charge of ensuring that the stations work correctly and advising clients if necessary.   Station 1: Exercise your concentration with Neurosky Station 2: Lower your anxiety and relax with MuseBand Station 3: Brain waves reading with Explorer     Why go to BrainGym? By 2030, the main cause of disability according to the WHO will be mental health disorders, such as those caused by anxiety and high levels of stress. In addition, the lack of concentration and therefore of learning increase day by day, often being a consequence of the first mentioned. These problems are increasing and have a direct impact on people's quality of life. Increasing sleep problems, low self-esteem, heart disease, eating disorders, obesity, low immunity, hypertension and chronic pain among many others. A tool that has already been studied and validated to help improve people's brain/mental health is to perform various mental training exercises with objective feedback on their mental states such as their level of attention, relaxation and anxiety, among others. This objective feedback is provided through portable EEG technology, allowing the client to obtain reliable results from their brain training.   How is the place ? The place consists of 3 stations, each station has a portable EEG device, headphones, a PC / Tablet and a chair to sit comfortably to exercise.   Can anyone go to exercise? Yes, in addition to the innocuousness of the devices, being non-invasive and extremely comfortable, they can be used by anyone regardless of their physical and mental abilities, as long as they can remain seated and respond to simple exercises   How long is each exercise session? The ideal is to take a break every 20 minutes and not exceed 60 minutes in total.   How do I know if I am using the equipment correctly and performing the exercises well? For this, a Neurotechnology advisor will always be available, trained to answer questions about the technology, the exercises, the devices or any other doubt.   How do I know if I am improving my results? The main objective is to maintain a healthy mind, for this it is simply necessary to exercise constantly. In any case, the exercises show your level of mental state in real time, being able to compare from one session to another.   Who needs mental gymnastics? Although it can help people with stress, anxiety or attention deficit disorders improve, it is essential for all people to have a good quality of life.   Are the results the same as doing exercises without the wearable EEG straps? No, the headbands provide the assurance that the exercise performed is leveling the mental state in question, without this objective feedback there is less chance of good results.   If you are interested in exploring Naxon BrainGym, just connect with us and we will help you: contact@naxonlabs.com

Naxon Emotions platform consists of an emotion monitoring system that translates brain information into objective visual markers of states such as anxiety, relaxation, concentration, joy or sadness, among others.   We exposed several participants to different videos to measure concentration levels using Naxon Emotions. In this video we show a real-time monitoring of a participant's brain waves and her exact level of concentration, while watching a video of Elon Musk in the Tesla Armor Glass Demo. The device we use at Naxon Labs uses wearable EEG technology, it sends brain data via Bluetooth to our cloud platform where it is processed. The results of the concentration levels are accentuated when Elon breaks the window, the conclusions are evident.   In the left hand side, at the bottom, are shown the raw data of the brain waves. In the right hand side, at the bottom, you can see the concentration level coming from Naxon Emotions.   In the left hand side, at the top, the test participant shows a concentration level not exceeding the dotted line in the Naxon Emotions screen.   When Elon Musk breaks the window the concentration level rises sharply.   Two moments of high variation of brain data were found.   This test was performed using the Muse II EEG device from Interaxon Inc.   Naxon Emotions can enhance objective patient records for diagnosis and treatment in mental health, allowing tracking patient evolution, remote monitoring and therapy, improve the implementation of techniques for the regulation of mental disorders and also allowing applications in various specific disorders.   You can start a free trial of Naxon Emotions in this link: https://emotions.naxonlabs.com/   Naxon: A portable EEG technology company. https://naxonlabs.com/

Naxon Emotions is a tool to objectively measure and record a person's emotions and cognitive states in real time and at low cost using portable electroencephalography (EEG) headbands. This real-time emotion recognition system is based on neurophysiological data from EEG, cloud computing and AI.   Measuring concentration and alertness Naxon Emotions can be used to measure and record in real time the state of concentration and alertness of a person. This record can be viewed on the platform or downloaded in an Excel format for further analysis with other tools. The possibilities of using these records are multiple, such as providing support and brain correlates to psychometric measures, evaluating clinical interventions, conducting field research in the area of neuromarketing, among others.   How to use the Platform? Get your EEG headband first Emotions uses portable EEG, in particular the Muse headset by Interaxon Inc: Muse 1, 2 and S. If you already own a Muse device, you are set to go. If you don’t have a headband yet, you can get one following this link: Get headband. Under the section “Products”, choose the Muse 2 or Muse S headset which are the ones currently available and compatible with our platforms. To learn how to set your headband properly, follow this link: How to fit Muse S.   Next steps The platform is accessed through the website: https://emotions.naxonlabs.com/ Remember that to access Emotions and for the best experience you will need a wide screen device with Bluetooth connection such as a PC, MAC or tablet. You will also need to use Google’s Chrome Browser. Once you enter the platform, you can register or log in with your username and password. Select the “Start Free Trial” option to register or just log in by clicking the option in the upper right-hand corner. Next you will see your project folders and within them, recorded sessions, to which you can enter, analyze and modify as desired. To record a new session, just press the “New Session” button. There you can put a name, description and predetermine events. Next, by clicking “New Session” you can connect the device via Bluetooth. Make sure you have your laptop or tablet Bluetooth connection enable and the Muse device powered on. Next, the central part of the platform is displayed, where you can visualize data in real time on a graph across time and segmented by emotion or state. While taking data you can post notes using the tools on the right-hand side, adding comments that will be subject to the time of the graph where they were made. Events: this tool allows to predetermine events, that is, for example, if a person is receiving a certain visual stimulus every 5 seconds, you can predetermine that every 5 seconds the name of that event is automatically marked on the graph so that the event is correlated with the states. You can do so using the options on the right-hand side. Also, there is an option of displaying a graph based on and overlapped view that allows us to see in real time and on the same screen as the central graph the emotions or states selected. During the recording of a session, there is the possibility of visualizing changes in any selected emotion or state as a circle, the larger the circle the more of that state is detected. Once the session is recorded, data can be accessed through the project and session folders and also downloaded in XLS format to cross with other analysis and visualization tools. You can filter the data bars according to the events marked.   With all these procedures, you can use Naxon Emotions to measure and record in real time the state of concentration and alertness of a person and then analyze the data.