Opening up new dimensions of Interaction

Being an ALS or Locked-In patient can be extremely frustrating: paralyzed and not able to talk it is difficult to express emotions or needs. Current communication aids are slow and often unreliable.

Our mission is to solve this problem. We invented a groundbreaking brain wave detection technology. This allows patients to communicate using only their brain signals.

Our proven technology is the first Brain Computer Interface that is reliable, fast and requires no training. This opens up new dimensions of interaction.

Product

We have developed a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) that allows locked-in patients to interact or communicate by controlling a computer with brain signals.

PRODUCT

With our solution, patients wear a headset that measures electrical brain activity. Through visually directing their attention at specifically designed stimulus, such as a special keyboard, the BCI matches the brain signals with the stimulus. This allows a patient to spell per letter. This method is fast, reliable and requires no training.

Advantages

  • Fast: detection in 1 second
  • Reliable: 95% accuracy
  • Easy: no training necessary
  • Robust: insensitive to movement artifacts
  • Flexible: combine on-screen and physical objects

Locked-in syndrome

Many locked-in patients are unable to interact with their surroundings or communicate with their loved ones, as they have lost the ability to control their muscles including facial and vocal muscles. Being locked-in means that a patient is quadriplegic, and completely unable to move but mentally fully alert. Locked-in can be caused by ALS, trauma, brainstem stroke or acute muscle disorders.

For locked-in patients who dislike or are unable to use eye-tracking, our technology provides a way to interact with their surroundings. Currently, we have a number of prototypes in the field and are working towards the availability of an improved version during the fall of 2019.

DEVELOPERS

Our patented BCI technology is easy to integrate with other technologies making it suitable for a range of applications that benefit both patients and caretakers and the broader public. Check out our Labs page to get an idea of the possibilities. Please contact us if you are interested in exploring a partnership.

Team

Ivo de la Rive Box

CEO

Peter Desain

CSO

Heleen Willemsen

CPO

Ronald Carpentier

CCO

Jason Farquhar

System architect

Khash Sharif

Software engineer

Daniëlle Tump

System engineer

Jop van Heesch

Software engineer

Careers

We currently don’t have any open positions but will publish them here if we do. If you think we should talk anyway, please feel free to contact us at info@mindaffect.nl

About Us

Mission

We want to open up new dimensions of interaction through the development of a Brain Computer Interface (BCI).

What is MindAffect?

Our team works on the cutting-edge of artificial intelligence and neuroscience. We have developed a BCI that allows locked-in patients to interact or communicate by controlling a computer with brain signals. MindAffect was spun-out of the renowned Donders Institute as a start-up in September 2017.

Who is it for?

Our current solution is aimed at locked-in patients and caretakers. Further down the road, we want to open up our BCI though a Development Kit, consisting of hardware and a SDK, so third parties can integrate it in their solutions.

Where is it going?

Next to opening up our BCI for third parties, we will keep working on expanding our BCI to include tactile and sound stimuli as well. If you want to get a taste of what we are experimenting with, check out our Labs page.

Scientific Advisory Board

University of Vienna

Research Group Neuroinformatics / Faculty of Computer Science

Prof. Moritz Grosse-Wentrup

Inria Bordeaux Sud-Ouest

BCI Research Scientist

Fabien Lotte, Ph.D.

Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology

Institute of Global Innovation Research

Toshihisa Tanaka, Ph.D.

National Center for Adaptive Neurotechnologies

Research Scientist

Theresa Vaughan, B.A.

Partners

Donders Institute

The Donders Institute is part of the Radboud University Nijmegen in The Netherlands. It has undertaken the research in the areas of neuroscience and artificial intelligence that has formed the basis of MindAffect.

NLC

NLC is a healthtech venture builder based in Amsterdam, The Netherlands. It has validated the market for MindAffect.

ALS Association

ALS foundations worldwide are fighting ALS on every front. They support MindAffect in its efforts to help ALS patients in a locked-in state to communicate.

EIT Health

EIT Health Accelerator is a business creation programme, set up to support the best and brightest health industry entrepreneurs.EIT Health is supported by EIT, a body of the European Union.