I-Corps: Electroencephalography based assessment of cognitive function

这个i-Corps项目的更广泛的影响/商业潜力来自于借助脑电(EEG)技术进行的客观认知评估。压力、焦虑、易怒、注意力不集中、情绪反应以及同事之间的关系问题都会影响工作效率。在美国，压力本身就是导致医疗成本大幅上升的原因。同样，良好的心理健康与创造力、灵感和思维清晰度的提高、人际关系的改善和焦虑的减少、合作的改善和员工忠诚度的提高有关。该项目旨在探索将客观认知评估作为医疗保健和健康计划的一部分的商业潜力。将监测使用者是否有心理困扰的迹象，如果发现，将建议进行干预，如治疗、辅导或培训，以便在早期阶段将痛苦的影响降至最低。目标认知评估可以影响员工的整体生产力，并可能增加组织的精神资本。这个i-Corps项目基于脑电(EEG)辅助的认知功能评估，建立在数十年的认知评估研究、生物医学信号采集和处理的最新发展以及统计分析、数据科学和机器学习专业知识的基础上。这项拟议的技术扩展了先前开发的研究和临床设备，用于在不同的环境中记录大脑活动，包括急诊室、体育领域、军事和航空航天。这项技术还直接建立在量化一个人在广泛环境中的认知状态的经验基础上，例如锻炼、认知处理和交流。此外，它建立在对癫痫、精神分裂症、智力残疾和自闭症动物模型进行认知评估的十年努力的基础上。

The broader impact/commercial potential of this I-Corps project arises from objective cognitive assessment aided by electroencephalography (EEG) technology. Stress, anxiety, irritability, lack of focus, emotional reactivity and problems with relationships amongst coworkers all impact productivity. Stress alone is responsible for up substantial healthcare costs in the U.S. Similarly, good mental health is associated with improved creativity, inspiration and mental clarity, improved relationships and reduced anxiety, improved collaboration and increased employee loyalty. This project aims to explore the commercial potential of including objective cognitive assessment as part of healthcare and wellness programs. Users would be monitored for signs of psychological distress and if detected, an intervention such as therapy, coaching or training would be suggested in order to minimize the impact of distress in its early stages. Objective cognitive assessment can have an impact on the overall productivity of employees and is likely to increase the mental capital of the organization.This I-Corps project is based on electroencephalography (EEG) aided assessment of cognitive function and builds on decades of cognitive evaluation research, recent developments of biomedical signal acquisition and processing, and expertise in statistical analyses, data science, and machine learning. The proposed technology expands prior developments of both research and clinical devices for recording brain activity in diverse settings including emergency rooms, sports fields, military and aerospace. The technology also directly builds on experience with quantifying cognitive state of a person in a wide range of settings such as exercise, cognitive processing, and communication. Furthermore, it builds on a decade long efforts in cognitive assessment in animal models of epilepsy, schizophrenia, intellectual disability and autism.