Category Archives: Neurotechnology

INDIANAPOLIS--You may not realize it, but your state has its own relationship with Israel. Consul General Aviv Ezra was in Indiana Tuesday to help build that relationship further. He's the highest-ranking Israeli official in the Midwest, and met with Gov. Holcomb, Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett and members of the Indiana congressional delegation.

"We are the Israeli embassy to the Midwest," said Ezra. "Part of our goal is to reach out and bring Israel's priorities here to the Midwest." Ezra's office is in Chicago and he covers nine states.

Not Just Business

He said the relationship is based on both business needs and shared values. Ezra said his meting with Holcomb was about both.

"Superb meeting. The governor is one of Israel's best friends, supportive of the enhancement of the relationship. In terms of shared values we are very honored to have the support of the State of Indiana, with this governor and with his predecessors. The values are synced 100 percent," said Ezra.

But, he believes that both Indiana and Israel can work together to make business happen for both.

"We feel there's a lot of things that can be done and one of my jobs is to brand Israel here, but also to brand Indiana in Israel."

Ezra said there are already 30 Israeli companies in Indiana. He said they are always looking for ways to increase the relationship. He said there have been much development in his country and he believes Indiana has much in common with Israel, with its technology-based business environment.

Not Just Conflicts

"Israel today, unfortunately, is always defined by the prism of the conflict. But, today Israel is totally not just about the conflict. It's about high-tech, bio-tech, telecommunications, cybertechnology and neurotechnology, neuroscience and nanotechnology and for us, this is something that we want to find the right combination with our friends here in the United States, specifically on the level of the states, to create that win-win environment," said Ezra.

And, what about you? Ezra said they'd like to have you as a guest.

"We want to bring as many people as possible from Israel here to learn and to map what the possibilities are. And on the other hand we want to have as many visits as possible from Indiana to Israel."

Ezra said he extended an official invitation for the governor to visit Israel, with a business delegation.

PHOTO: Consul General Aviv Ezra by Chris Davis/Emmis

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Israel and Indiana: Why You're Getting an Invitation to the Holy Land ... - 93.1 WIBC Indianapolis

Global Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR Market 2016, presents a professional and in-depth study on the current state of the Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR market globally, providing basic overview of Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR market including definitions, classifications, applications and industry chain structure, Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR Market report provides development policies and plans are discussed as well as manufacturing processes and cost structures. Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR market size, share and end users are analyzed as well as segment markets by types, applications and companies.

The study Global Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR Industry 2016 is a detailed report scrutinizing statistical data related to the Global Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR industry. Historical data available in the report elaborates on the development of the Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR market on a Global and national level. The report compares this data with the current state of the market and thus elaborates upon the trends that have brought the market shifts.

The market forces determining the shaping of the Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR market have been evaluated in detail. In addition to this, the regulatory scenario of the market has been covered in the report from both the Global and local perspective. Market predictions along with the statistical nuances presented in the report render an insightful view of the Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR market.

The demand and supply side of the market has been extensively covered in the report. The challenges the players in the Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR market face in terms of demand and supply have been listed in the report. Recommendations to overcome these challenges and optimize supply and demand opportunities have also been covered in this report.

Growth prospects of the overall Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR industry have been presented in the report. However, to give an in-depth view to the readers, detailed geographical segmentation within the globe Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR market has been covered in this study. The key geographical regions along with their revenue forecasts are included in the report.

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The competitive framework of the Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR market in terms of the Global Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR industry has been evaluated in the report. The top companies and their overall share and share with respect to the Globalmarket have been included in the report. Furthermore, the factors on which the companies compete in the market have been evaluated in the report.

This report also presents product specification, manufacturing process, and product cost structure etc. Production is separated by regions, technology and applications. Analysis also covers upstream raw materials, equipment, downstream client survey, marketing channels, industry development trend and proposals. In the end, the report includes Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR new project SWOT analysis, investment feasibility analysis, investment return analysis, and development trend analysis. In conclusion, it is a deep research report on Global Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR industry. Here, we express our thanks for the support and assistance from Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR industry chain related technical experts and marketing engineers during Research Teams survey and interviews.

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Global Fingerprint Biometrics in the VAR Market 2016 Fulcrum Biometrics, Neurotechnology, 360 Biometrics ... - Albanian Times

February 15, 2017 Jeffrey Burt

Much of the talk around artificial intelligence these days focuses on software efforts various algorithms and neural networks and such hardware devices as custom ASICs for those neural networks and chips like GPUs and FPGAs that can help the development of reprogrammable systems. A vast array of well-known names in the industry from Google and Facebook to Nvidia, Intel, IBM and Qualcomm is pushing hard in this direction, and those and other organizations are making significant gains thanks to new AI methods as deep learning.

All of this development is happening at a time when the stakes appear higher than ever for future deep learning hardware. One of the forthcoming exascale machines is mandated to sport a novel architecture (although what that means exactly is still up for debate), and companies like Intel are suddenly talking with renewed vigor about their own internal efforts on neuromorphic processors.

The focus on such AI efforts has turned attention away from work that has been underway for years on developing neuromorphic processors essentially creating tiny chips that work in a similar fashion as the human brain, complete with technologies that mimic synapses and neurons. As weve outlined at The Next Platform, there are myriad projects underway to develop such neuromorphic computing capabilities. IBM, Hewlett Packard Enterprise with its work with memristors Qualcomm through its Brain Corporation venture and other tech vendors are making pushes in that direction, while government agencies like the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee and universities like MIT and Stanford and its NeuroGrid project also have efforts underway. Such work also has the backing of federal government programs, such as DARPAs SyNapse and UPSIDE (Unconventional Processing of Signals for Intelligent Data Exploitation) and the National Science Foundation.

Another institution that is working on neuromorphic processor technology is the University of Michigans Electrical Engineering and Computer Science department, an effort led by Professor Wei Lu. Lus group is focusing on the memristors a two-terminal device that essentially is a resistor with memory that retain its stored data even when turned off that can act like synapses to build computers that can act like the human brain and drive machine learning. Weve talked about the growing interest in memristors for use in developing computer systems that can mimic the human brain.

Lus group created a nanoscale memristor that to mimic a synapse by using a mixture of silicon and silver that is housed between a pair of electrodes. Silver ions in the mixture are controlled by voltage applied to the memristor, changing the conductance state, similar to how synaptic connections between neurons rise and fall based on when the neurons fire off electrical pulses. (In the human brain, there are about 10 billion neurons, with each connected to other neurons via about 10,000 synapses.)

Neuromorphic computing proponents like Lu believe that building such brain-like computers will be the key moving forward in driving the development of systems that are smaller, faster and more efficient. During a talk last year at the International Conference for Advanced Neurotechnology, Lu noted the accomplishment of Googles AlphaGo program, but noted that it had to be done on a system powered by 1,202 CPUs and 176 GPUs. He also pointed out that it was designed for a specific task to learn and master Go and that doing so took three weeks of training and some 340 million repeated training reps. Such large compute needs and specific task orientation are among the weaknesses of driving AI in software, he said. AlphaGos win was an example of brute force an inefficient computer using a lot of power (more than the human brain consumes) and designed for s specific job that necessitated a long period of training. He also pointed to IBMs BlueGene/P supercomputer at Argonne National Lab that was used to simulate a cats brain. It used 147,456 CPUs and 144TB of memory to create a simulation that was 83 times slower than that of a real cats brain.

Once again, this is because they tried to emulate this system in software, he said. We dont have the efficient hardware to emulate these biological systems. So the idea is that if we have the hardware, then we can also implement some of the rules or features we learn in biology, not only will we make computers faster, but also you can use it to up with biological system to enhance our brain functions.

Were not trying to do it in software. Were actually trying to build as a fundamental device on hardware a computer network very similar to the biological neuro-network.

His group is doing that through the use of memristor synapses and CMOS components that work like neurons and are built on what Lu described as a crossbar electrical circuit. The crossbar network is comparable to biological systems in the way it operates. An advantage such a system like this has over traditional computers is the synapse-like way memristors operate. Traditional computers are limited by the separation between the CPU and memory.

Such a change could have a significant impact on a $6 billion memory industry that is looking at what comes after flash, he said. Lus team introduced its concept in 2010, and now he is a cofounder of Crossbar ReRAM, a company with $85 million in venture capital backing that was founded that same year and is working to commercialize what the University of Michigan team developed. He said in 2016 that the company already had developed some products for several customers. The company last month announced it is sampling embedded 40nm ReRAM manufactured by Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp. (SMIC) with plans to come out with a 28nm version in the first half of the year.

Categories: Analyze, Compute

Tags: Neuromorphic

IBM Wants to Make Mainframes Next Platform for Machine Learning Why Googles Spanner Database Wont Do As Well As Its Clone

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Memristor Research Highlights Neuromorphic Device Future - The Next Platform

Neurotechnologyreleased theirSentiVeillance 5.0software development kit (SDK). This latest version of SentiVeillance incorporates the new VeriLook face recognition algorithm featured inMegaMatcher 9.0, providing five times higher accuracy in identifying full frontal faces and 10 to 15 times higher accuracy for unconstrained facial recognition than the previous release. SentiVeillance 5.0 works with images from surveillance cameras, making it suitable for a wide range of applications in surveillance, security and public safety.

SentiVeillance uses the face recognition algorithm to match face images against internal databases, such as authorized personnel or criminal watch lists. This allows a SentiVeillance-based application to trigger alerts for recognized or unrecognized faces. "Using state of the art technology, called deep neural networks, we were able to significantly improve facial recognition accuracy, especially for unconstrained scenarios," said Ignas Namajunas, surveillance technologies research lead for Neurotechnology.

The significantly higher accuracy for unconstrained facial identification is based on a smaller False Rejection Rate (FRR) at the same False Acceptance Rate (FAR) value.

In addition to face tracking and recognition, SentiVeillance provides real-time moving object detection; tracking and classification for pedestrians, vehicles and other predefined object classes based on size and speed of movement; and area control by event triggering when people or objects enter, leave or stay in restricted areas.

The SentiVeillance 5.0 SDK is available through Neurotechnology or from distributors worldwide. For more information and trial version, go to:www.neurotechnology.com. As with all Neurotechnology products, the latest version is available as a free upgrade to existing SentiVeillance customers.

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SentiVeillance 5.0 software development kit (SDK) - Officer.com (press release) (registration) (blog)

UTMB Researchers Discover Reason for Permanent Vision Loss After Head Injury

By: Raul Reyes | Monday, February 06, 2017

Research fromThe University of Texas Medical Branch in Galvestonhas shed new light on what causes the permanent vision loss sometimes seen in the wake of a head injury. The findings are detained inThe American Journal of Pathology.

When someone suffers a head trauma, sometimes there is damage to the optic nerve that is responsible for passing information between the eyes and the brain. When the optic nerve is injured, there are tears and swelling in the affected area that causes the nerve cells to die. This type of injury is called traumatic optic neuropathy, or TON, and results in irreversible vision loss.

At this point, there is no effective treatment for TON and the mechanisms of the optic nerve cell death have been largely unclear.

Wenbo Zhang, UTMB associate professor in the department of ophthalmology & visual sciences, and histeam found that inflammation brought on by white blood cells play a role in head trauma-induced vision loss. Limiting inflammation could decrease nerve damage and preserve cell function, researchers discovered.

Inflammation is part of the bodys defense system against injury and infection and is an important component of wound healing. White blood cells travel to injured areas to help repair the damaged tissue, causing inflammation in the process. Excessive or uncontrolled inflammation can actually make injuries worse and contribute to disease in a couple of different ways by activating cell death processes, clogging and rupturing blood vessels and producing toxic molecules like free radicals.

Our data clearly showed that one of the protein receptors on white blood cells called CXCR3 brings white blood cells to the optic nerve in response to production of its binding partner CXCL10 by damaged nerve tissue, said Zhang. When we deleted CXCR3 or gave mice a drug that blocks the receptors following optic nerve damage, we observed fewer white blood cells on the scene by real-time noninvasive imaging, nerve damage was decreased and nerve cell function was preserved compared with mice that did not receive any intervention following injury.

Yonju Ha, a lead author of this article, said that further studies on this receptor and its role in white blood cell recruitment following tissue injury may aid in the development of new interventions for diseases associated with nerve injury, such as TON, stroke, diabetic retinopathy and glaucoma.

Other authors include Hua Liu, Shuang Zhu, Panpan Yi, Wei Liu, Jared Nathanson, Rakez Kayed, Bradford Loucas, Jiaren Sun, Massoud Motamedi from UTMB and Laura Frishman from the University of Houston.

The study was supported by the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, the John Sealy Memorial Endowment Fund for Biomedical Research, Retina Research Foundation, the University of Texas System Neuroscience and Neurotechnology Research Institute, Retina Research Foundation and the BrightFocus Foundation.

Raul Reyes, director of media relations at UTMB, has an extensive background in communications with more than 30 years experience in journalism. Before joining UTMB in 2007, he was an editor at The New York Times and also worked as an editor at the Dallas Morning News and the San Antonio Express-News. When he and his wife, Linda, worked at the Houston Chronicle in the 1980s, they used to dream about living and working in Galveston. Some things do come true. Raul is at UTMB and Linda edits a couple of Dallas magazines from their home in Galveston.

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UTMB Researchers Discover Reason for Permanent Vision Loss After Head Injury - Galveston.com & Company (press release) (blog)

Our society has reaped the rewards from the industrial revolution, as well as the first wave of technological revolution that came right after it. Some of the technology types we use today areawe-inspiring, even though we have started to take themfor granted. Technology is awe-inspiring in every way possible, and this list will go over the top 4 most underrated technologies.

What makes fibre optics so intriguing is how this technology dates back all the way to the year 1840. At that time, Alexander Graham Bell developed the technology to transmit voice signals over an optical beam. We later came to know this technology as the telephone, or landline as it is often referred to in this day and age.

In the Internet world, fibre optics have only just begun to gain mainstream traction. Higher internet speeds allow us to share and gather information more quickly, although fiber optics are not available in every part of the world just yet. Since these cubes or are immune to electrical interference, they are perfect for computer networking in general. Moreover, a fibre optic connection is considered to be more secure.

The term nano robots can be found in better sci-fi novels and TV shows these days. Contrary to what most people would believe, however, nano robots are very real and already exist among us. To be more precise, these robots are often used to determine drugs to the correct part of the body of patients suffering from terminal cancer. A very powerful technological feat that should not be underestimated by any means.

A lot has been said and written about the Internet of Things, despite this technology still being in the very early stages of mainstream traction. Objects who can communicate with other devices over the Internet is a very novel concept, yet it also poses quite a few security challenges. Rest assured a lot more news will come out of the IoT sector in the coming years, as more of these devices will make it into mainstream homes and locations all over the world.

In the year 2017, it almost seems straightforward to replace a missing limb with a prosthetic version. Up until a decade ago, such a concept was impossible to comprehend, as losing an arm or a leg would mean that functionality would be lost to us forever. Thanks to major advancements made in health care, prosthetic limbs have become a normality in recent years, mainly because they are starting to look very real.

Moreover, the early generations of prosthetic limbs were never designed to let its users feel anything in the traditional sense. This situation has come to change as well, thanks to DARPAs hard work of implementing neurotechnology. With realistic-looking prosthetics which become more powerful in functionality as time progresses, the future of prosthetics is looking very bright.

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Top 4 Underrated Technologies - The Merkle

Neurotechnology provides algorithms and software development products for biometric fingerprint, face, iris, voice and palm print recognition, computer-based vision and object recognition to security companies, system integrators and hardware manufacturers. More than 3,000 system integrators and sensor providers in more than 100 countries license and integrate company's technology into their own products.

With millions of customer installations worldwide, Neurotechnology's products are used for both civil and forensic applications, including border crossings, criminal investigations, systems for voter registration, verification and duplication checking, passport issuance and other national-scale projects.

Drawing from years of academic research in the fields of neuroinformatics, image processing and pattern recognition, Neurotechnology was founded in 1990 in Vilnius, Lithuania under the name Neurotechnologija and released its first fingerprint identification system in 1991. Since that time the company has released more than 130 products and version upgrades for identification and verification of objects and personal identity.

With a combination of fast algorithms and high reliability, company's fingerprint, face, eye iris and voice biometric technologies can be used for access control, computer security, banking, time attendance control and law enforcement applications, among others.

Neurotechnology's fingerprint identification algorithm has shown one of the best results for reliability in several biometric competitions, including the International Fingerprint Verification Competition (FVC2006, FVC2004, FVC2002 and FVC2000) and the National Institute of Standards & Technology (NIST) Fingerprint Vendor Technology Evaluation for the US Department of Justice (FpVTE 2003), where Neurotechnology ranked among the top five companies for accuracy in single-finger tests.

The company's MegaMatcher fingerprint identification engine has been recognized by NIST as fully MINEX compliant allowing to use it in U.S. Government Personal Identity Verification program (PIV) fingerprint recognition applications.

VeriEye iris identification engine has been tested in the NIST Iris Exchange (IREX) Evaluation and recognized as one of the most reliably accurate iris recognition algorithms among those tested.

In 2004 Neurotechnology began research in artificial intelligence (A.I.), computer vision and mobile autonomous robotics fields, and in the same year the company's AI division was founded. The company's object recognition, surveillance, eye movement tracking and 3D object model reconstruction technologies use advanced computer-based vision algorithms and are applicable to a variety of applications, as well as for generic robot and machine vision.

In 2014 Neurotechnology released SentiBotics a ready-to-use robotics development kit. SentiBotics enables the rapid development and testing of mobile robots and comes with software, sample programs, a tracked platform and grasping robotic arm, 3D vision, object recognition and autonomous navigation capabilities. The kit includes a mobile robotic platform with a 3D vision system, modular robotic arm and accompanying Neurotechnology-developed, ROS-based software with complete source code and programming samples.

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About Neurotechnology: company information and white paper

by Lifeboat Foundation Scientific Advisory Board member Zack Lynch. Overview Society shapes and is shaped by advancing technology. To illuminate the important societal implications of the NBIC (nano-bio-info-cogno) convergence it is critical to place it within a broad historical context. History sharpens unique issues that require attention versus ones that have more obvious trajectories. By viewing history as a series of techno-economic waves with accompanying socio-political responses, it is possible to begin to understand how NBIC technologies will have an impact on society. Waves of Techno-economic Change Since the time of the Industrial Revolution there has been a relatively consistent pattern of 50-year waves of techno-economic change. We are currently nearing the end of the fifth wave of information technology diffusion, while a sixth wave is emerging with converging advancements across the NBIC (nano-bio-info-cogno) space, making possible neurotechnology, the set of tools that can influence the human central nervous system, especially the brain. Each wave consists of a new group of technologies that make it possible to solve problems once thought intractable. The first wave, the water mechanization wave (17701830) in England, transformed productivity by replacing handcrafted production with water-powered machine-o-facture. The second wave (18201880), powered by a massive iron railroad build-out, accelerated the distribution of goods and services to distant markets. The electrification wave (18701920) made possible new metal alloys that created the foundation of the modern city. The development of skyscrapers, electric elevators, light bulbs, telephones, and subways were all a result of the new electricity infrastructure. At the same time, new techniques for producing inexpensive steel emerged, revamping the railroad systems, and making large-scale construction projects possible. The fourth wave (19101970), ushered in by inexpensive oil, motorized the industrial economy, making the inexpensive transportation of goods and services available to the masses. The most recent wave, the information technology wave (19602020), has made it possible to collect, analyze, and disseminate data, transforming our ability to track and respond to an ever-changing world. Driven by the microprocessors capacity to compute and communicate data at increasingly exponential rates, the current wave is the primary generator of economic and social change today. The nascent neurotechnology wave (20102060) is being accelerated by the development of nanobiochips and brain-imaging technologies that will make biological and neurological analysis accurate and inexpensive. Nanobiochips that can perform the basic bio-analysis functions (genomic, proteomic, biosimulation, and microfluidics) at a low cost will transform neurological analysis in a very similar fashion as the microprocessor did for data. Nano-imaging techniques will also play a vital role in making the analysis of neuro-molecular level events possible. When data from advanced biochips and brain imaging are combined they will accelerate the development of neurotechnology, the set of tools that can influence the human central nervous system, especially the brain. Neurotechnology will be used for therapeutic ends and to enable people to consciously improve emotional stability, enhance cognitive clarity, and extend sensory experiences. Techno-economic waves have pervasive effects throughout the economy and society. New low-cost inputs create new product sectors. They shift competitive behavior across the economy, as older sectors reinterpret how they create value. New low-cost inputs become driving sectors in their own right (e.g., canals, coal, electricity, oil, microchips, biochips). When combined with complementary technologies, each new low-cost input stimulates the development of new sectors (e.g., cotton textiles, railroads, electric products, automobiles, computers, neurofinance). Technological waves, because they embody a major jump up in productivity, open up an unusually wide range of investment and profit opportunities, leading to sustained rates of economic growth. Table 1. Six long waves of techno-economical development Long Wave Years New Inputs Driving Sector New Sectors Mechanization 17701830 Canals, water power Agriculture, cotton spinning Iron tools, canal transportation Railroadization 18201880 Coal, iron, steam power Railroads, locomotives, machine tools Steam shipping, telegraphy Electrification 18701920 Electricity, steel, copper Steel products, electricity Construction, precision machine tools Motorization 19101970 Oil Automobile, oil refining Aircraft, construction, services Information 19602020 Microprocessor Microchips, computers Networking, global finance, e-commerce Neurotechnology 20102060 Biochip, brain imaging, ??? Biotechnology, nanotechnology Neuroceuticals, bio-education Neurotechnology Like any new technology, neurotechnology represents both promises and problems. On the upside, neurotechnology represents new cures for mental illness, new opportunities for economic growth and a potential flowering of artistic expression. These benefits are countered by the potential use of neurotechnology for coercive purposes or its use as neuroweapons that can selectively erase memories. The diffusion of the neurotechnology will have an impact on businesses, politics and human culture in the following ways: New Industries: As brain imaging advances, neuromarketing will become a significant growth sector as the trillion-per-year advertising and marketing industries leverage brain scanning technology to better understand how and why people react to different market campaigns. Neurotechnology will also have an impact on education. As more people live longer and global competition intensifies, people will need to learn new skills throughout their lives. Regulated neuroceuticals represent the tools workers will use to succeed at continuous education. Adult neuroeducation will emerge as a significant industry, teaching individuals how to leverage neuroceuticals to acquire knowledge faster. Using cogniceuticals to increase memory retention, emoticeuticals to decrease stress, and sensoceuticals to add a meaningful pleasure gradient, neuroeducation will allow people to acquire and retain information faster. Imagine learning Arabic in one year rather than ten, or calculus in eight weeks. New Products: For example, neuroceuticals that can temporarily improve different aspects of mental health will become possible. Unlike todays psychopharmaceuticals, neuroceuticals are neuromodulators that have high efficacy and negligible side effects. By being able to target multiple subreceptors in specific neural circuits, neuroceuticals will create the possibility for dynamic intracellular regulation of an individuals neurochemistry. Neuroceuticals will be used for therapy and improvement. Neuroceuticals can be categorized into three broad groups cogniceuticals that focus on decision-making, learning, attention, and memory processes; emoticeuticals that influence feelings, moods, motivation, and awareness; and sensoceuticals that can restore and extend the capacity of our senses, allowing people to see, smell, taste, and hear in different ways. Competitive Advantage: Mental health is the ultimate competitive weapon. Mental health underpins communication, creativity and employee productivity. Individuals who use neurotechnology to understand how their emotions affect their financial decisions will become more productive and will attain neurocompetitive advantage. Neurotechnology-enabled traders will be equipped with emotional forecasting systems that provide them with real-time neurofeedback on their expected emotional bias for a given trade. To further reduce forecasting error, hormone-triggered emoticeuticals will keep traders from entering hot states, where they are known to make less accurate decisions. While some countries may choose to ban them, performance-enabling neuroceuticals will emerge as significant productivity tools. Public Policy: Neuroethicists are already confronting issues of brain privacy and cognitive liberty. As the competitive edge provided by neurotechnology becomes apparent, the ethical debate will evolve into a discussion of the right to enable individuals to use these new tools to improve themselves vs. uneven access to what others will describe as unfair performance improvement. In the legislative arena the competitive necessity of using these new tools will cause great concern over whether or not they will be required in order to just compete in tomorrows global economy. Mental Health: Today, five of the ten leading causes of disability worldwide major depression, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, substance abuse, and obsessive-compulsive disorders are mental issues. These problems are as relevant in developing countries as they are in rich ones. And all predictions point toward a dramatic increase in mental illnesses as people live longer. New treatments for mental disorders are driving neurotechnologys early development. By 2020, biochips will have radically altered the drug development process, reducing the time to develop new therapies from 15 to 2 years while slashing the cost of drug development from $800 million to $10 million. In addition, entirely novel ways to treat disease at the molecular level will extend life expectancy and improve mental health. New Behaviors: Because our mental perspective slants our thinking, self-reflection and recollection of events, even a slight shift in human perception, will alter how people learn, feel, and react to personal problems, economic crises, and cultural rhetoric. When humans can better control their emotions, how will this affect personal relationships, political opinion and cultural beliefs? When we can enhance memory recall and accelerate learning, how will this influence competitive advantage in the workplace? As we can safely extend our sense of sight, hearing and taste, what might this mean for artistic exploration and human happiness? Patterns in the Location of Production: India and China will likely develop regional clusters of neurotechnology firms as political and cultural views on human testing create the necessary conditions for technological experimentation and development. Conclusion By viewing recent history as a series of techno-economic waves ushered in by a new low-cost input, it is possible to see that neurotechnology will lead to substantial economic, political, and social change. Building on advances in brain science and biotechnology, neurotechnology, the set of tools that influence the human brain, will allow people to experience life in ways that are currently unattainable. Neurotechnology will enable people to consciously improve emotional stability, enhance cognitive clarity, and extend sensory experiences. As people begin to experience life less constrained by ones evolutionarily influenced brain chemistry, neurotechnology will give rise to a new type of human society, a post-industrial, post-informational, neurosociety.

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Neurotechnology and Society (20102060) - Lifeboat

The market for neurotechnolgy products is poised to become one of the most dramatic growth areas of the 21st Century. Spurred on by medical developments and discoveries that cure disease, alleviate suffering, and generally improve the quality of life, many leading research institutions and health care firms have gained the world's attention and respect in recent years. Within the biomedical technology industries, there is one field that stands out not only for its promise of restoring function to human patients, but also for carrying over biomedical concepts and processes to the industrial and information processing sectors. That field is what we call neurotechnology.

Unlike the field of biotechnology, which concerns itself with pharmacological and genetic engineering efforts to understand and control DNA, genetic material, and other complex biological molecules, neurotechnology is concerned with electronic and engineering methods of understanding and controlling nervous system function.

Some of the very early firms in the neurotechnology field have scored great success building devices that restore hearing to deaf people, restore arm and hand function to quadriplegics, and accomplish a host of other feats using techniques of functional electrical stimulation of the human body. We believe that government and private research funding in this area will lead to one of the great spinoffs of our time as biomedical engineers apply their knowledge and experience building devices that sense and stimulate the human nervous system and interface with non-human systems such as computers, training systems, and virtual reality.

We also believe that the field of neurotechnology offers the promise of generating significant venture capital interest and funding. After the disappointing results shown by many venture-funded Internet, e-commerce, and dotcom firms that lacked a proven revenue base, technology-oriented venture capitalists will be looking for new opportunities in markets where the opportunities are relatively salient. Neurotechnology, with its promise and proven record at such tasks as restoring hearing to deaf patients and hand function to quadriplegics, offers such a clear opportunity. Moreover, much of the risk in financing technology development in this field will be borne by government and private medical institutions who do not necessarily have the same ROI expectations as the venture capital community.

Neurotech Reports editors have prepared in-depth whitepapers on a number of business and technology issues confronting the neurotechnology industry. These short reports, ranging from 16 to 40 pages in length, cover technology areas such as deep-brain stimulation, brain-computer interfaces, and visual prostheses, as well as business issues such as venture capital funding, government funding, and management issues. For a list of available whitepapers, click this link:

Whitepapers

Neurotech Reports has developed a market research report entitled "The Market for Neurotechnology: 2016-2020."

This newly updated study offers detailed information about the market potential of each application segment of the industry, profiles of each of the current players, and projections on the size and growth rates of the market over the next five years. For more information on the contents of the report, click here:

Report Contents

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Neurotechnology Market Research and Data

Neurotechnology is any technology that has a fundamental influence on how people understand the brain and various aspects of consciousness, thought, and higher order activities in the brain. It also includes technologies that are designed to improve and repair brain function and allow researchers and clinicians to visualize the brain.

The field of neurotechnology has been around for nearly half a century but has only reached maturity in the last twenty years. The advent of brain imaging revolutionized the field, allowing researchers to directly monitor the brains activities during experiments. Neurotechnology has made significant impact on society, though its presence is so commonplace that many do not realize its ubiquity. From pharmaceutical drugs to brain scanning, neurotechnology affects nearly all industrialized people either directly or indirectly, be it from drugs for depression, sleep, ADD, or anti-neurotics to cancer scanning, stroke rehabilitation, and much more.

As the fields depth increases it will potentially allow society to control and harness more of what the brain does and how it influences lifestyles and personalities. Commonplace technologies already attempt to do this; games like BrainAge,[1] and programs like Fast ForWord[2] that aim to improve brain function, are neurotechnologies.

Currently, modern science can image nearly all aspects of the brain as well as control a degree of the function of the brain. It can help control depression, over-activation, sleep deprivation, and many other conditions. Therapeutically it can help improve stroke victims motor coordination, improve brain function, reduce epileptic episodes (see epilepsy), improve patients with degenerative motor diseases (Parkinson's disease, Huntingtons Disease, ALS), and can even help alleviate phantom pain perception.[3] Advances in the field promise many new enhancements and rehabilitation methods for patients suffering from neurological problems. The neurotechnology revolution has given rise to the Decade of the Mind initiative, which was started in 2007.[4] It also offers the possibility of revealing the mechanisms by which mind and consciousness emerge from the brain.

Magnetoencephalography is a functional neuroimaging technique for mapping brain activity by recording magnetic fields produced by electrical currents occurring naturally in the brain, using very sensitive magnetometers. Arrays of SQUIDs (superconducting quantum interference devices) are the most common magnetometer. Applications of MEG include basic research into perceptual and cognitive brain processes, localizing regions affected by pathology before surgical removal, determining the function of various parts of the brain, and neurofeedback. This can be applied in a clinical setting to find locations of abnormalities as well as in an experimental setting to simply measure brain activity.[5]

Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) is used for scanning the brain for topological and landmark structure in the brain, but can also be used for imaging activation in the brain.[6] While detail about how MRI works is reserved for the actual MRI article, the uses of MRI are far reaching in the study of neuroscience. It is a cornerstone technology in studying the mind, especially with the advent of functional MRI (fMRI).[7] Functional MRI measures the oxygen levels in the brain upon activation (higher oxygen content = neural activation) and allows researchers to understand what loci are responsible for activation under a given stimulus. This technology is a large improvement to single cell or loci activation by means of exposing the brain and contact stimulation. Functional MRI allows researchers to draw associative relationships between different loci and regions of the brain and provides a large amount of knowledge in establishing new landmarks and loci in the brain.[8]

Computed tomography (CT) is another technology used for scanning the brain. It has been used since the 1970s and is another tool used by neuroscientists to track brain structure and activation.[6] While many of the functions of CT scans are now done using MRI, CT can still be used as the mode by which brain activation and brain injury are detected. Using an X-ray, researchers can detect radioactive markers in the brain that indicate brain activation as a tool to establish relationships in the brain as well as detect many injuries/diseases that can cause lasting damage to the brain such as aneurysms, degeneration, and cancer.

Positron emission tomography (PET) is another imaging technology that aids researchers. Instead of using magnetic resonance or X-rays, PET scans rely on positron emitting markers that are bound to a biologically relevant marker such as glucose.[9] The more activation in the brain the more that region requires nutrients, so higher activation appears more brightly on an image of the brain. PET scans are becoming more frequently used by researchers because PET scans are activated due to metabolism whereas MRI is activated on a more physiological basis (sugar activation versus oxygen activation).

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is essentially direct magnetic stimulation to the brain. Because electric currents and magnetic fields are intrinsically related, by stimulating the brain with magnetic pulses it is possible to interfere with specific loci in the brain to produce a predictable effect.[10] This field of study is currently receiving a large amount of attention due to the potential benefits that could come out of better understanding this technology.[11] Transcranial magnetic movement of particles in the brain shows promise for drug targeting and delivery as studies have demonstrated this to be noninvasive on brain physiology.[12]

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a form of neurostimulation which uses constant, low current delivered via electrodes placed on the scalp. The mechanisms underlying tDCS effects are still incompletely understood, but recent advances in neurotechnology allowing for in vivo assessment of brain electric activity during tDCS[13] promise to advance understanding of these mechanisms. Research into using tDCS on healthy adults have demonstrated that tDCS can increase cognitive performance on a variety of tasks, depending on the area of the brain being stimulated. tDCS has been used to enhance language and mathematical ability (though one form of tDCS was also found to inhibit math learning),[14] attention span, problem solving, memory,[15] and coordination.

Electroencephalography (EEG) is a method of measuring brainwave activity non-invasively. A number of electrodes are placed around the head and scalp and electrical signals are measured. Typically EEGs are used when dealing with sleep, as there are characteristic wave patterns associated with different stages of sleep.[16] Clinically EEGs are used to study epilepsy as well as stroke and tumor presence in the brain. EEGs are a different method to understand the electrical signaling in the brain during activation.

Magnetoencephalography (MEG) is another method of measuring activity in the brain by measuring the magnetic fields that arise from electrical currents in the brain.[17] The benefit to using MEG instead of EEG is that these fields are highly localized and give rise to better understanding of how specific loci react to stimulation or if these regions over-activate (as in epileptic seizures).

Neurodevices are any devices used to monitor or regulate brain activity. Currently there are a few available for clinical use as a treatment for Parkinsons disease. The most common neurodevices are deep brain stimulators (DBS) that are used to give electrical stimulation to areas stricken by inactivity.[18] Parkinsons disease is known to be caused by an inactivation of the basal ganglia (nuclei) and recently DBS has become the more preferred form of treatment for Parkinsons disease, although current research questions the efficiency of DBS for movement disorders.[18]

Neuromodulation is a relatively new field that combines the use of neurodevices and neurochemistry. The basis of this field is that the brain can be regulated using a number of different factors (metabolic, electrical stimulation, physiological) and that all these can be modulated by devices implanted in the neural network. While currently this field is still in the researcher phase, it represents a new type of technological integration in the field of neurotechnology. The brain is a very sensitive organ, so in addition to researching the amazing things that neuromodulation and implanted neural devices can produce, it is important to research ways to create devices that elicit as few negative responses from the body as possible. This can be done by modifying the material surface chemistry of neural implants.

Researchers have begun looking at uses for stem cells in the brain, which recently have been found in a few loci. A large number of studies[citation needed] are being done to determine if this form of therapy could be used in a large scale. Experiments have successfully used stem cells in the brains of children who suffered from injuries in gestation and elderly people with degenerative diseases in order to induce the brain to produce new cells and to make more connections between neurons.

Pharmaceuticals play a vital role in maintaining stable brain chemistry, and are the most commonly used neurotechnology by the general public and medicine. Drugs like sertraline, methylphenidate, and zolpidem act as chemical modulators in the brain, and they allow for normal activity in many people whose brains cannot act normally under physiological conditions. While pharmaceuticals are usually not mentioned and have their own field, the role of pharmaceuticals is perhaps the most far-reaching and commonplace in modern society (the focus on this article will largely ignore neuropharmaceuticals, for more information, see neuropsychopharmacology). Movement of magnetic particles to targeted brain regions for drug delivery is an emerging field of study and causes no detectable circuit damage.[19]

Stimulation with low-intensity magnetic fields is currently under study for depression at Harvard Medical School, and has previously been explored by Bell (et al.),[20] Marino (et al.),[21] and others.

Magnetic resonance imaging is a vital tool in neurological research in showing activation in the brain as well as providing a comprehensive image of the brain being studied. While MRIs are used clinically for showing brain size, it still has relevance in the study of brains because it can be used to determine extent of injuries or deformation. These can have a significant effect on personality, sense perception, memory, higher order thinking, movement, and spatial understanding. However, current research tends to focus more so on fMRI or real-time functional MRI (rtfMRI).[22] These two methods allow the scientist or the participant, respectively, to view activation in the brain. This is incredibly vital in understanding how a person thinks and how their brain reacts to a persons environment, as well as understanding how the brain works under various stressors or dysfunctions. Real-time functional MRI is a revolutionary tool available to neurologists and neuroscientists because patients can see how their brain reacts to stressors and can perceive visual feedback.[8] CT scans are very similar to MRI in their academic use because they can be used to image the brain upon injury, but they are more limited in perceptual feedback.[6] CTs are generally used in clinical studies far more than in academic studies, and are found far more often in a hospital than a research facility. PET scans are also finding more relevance in academia because they can be used to observe metabolic uptake of neurons, giving researchers a wider perspective about neural activity in the brain for a given condition.[9] Combinations of these methods can provide researchers with knowledge of both physiological and metabolic behaviors of loci in the brain and can be used to explain activation and deactivation of parts of the brain under specific conditions.

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a relatively new method of studying how the brain functions and is used in many research labs focused on behavioral disorders and hallucinations. What makes TMS research so interesting in the neuroscience community is that it can target specific regions of the brain and shut them down or activate temporarily; thereby changing the way the brain behaves. Personality disorders can stem from a variety of external factors, but when the disorder stems from the circuitry of the brain TMS can be used to deactivate the circuitry. This can give rise to a number of responses, ranging from normality to something more unexpected, but current research is based on the theory that use of TMS could radically change treatment and perhaps act as a cure for personality disorders and hallucinations.[11] Currently, repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) is being researched to see if this deactivation effect can be made more permanent in patients suffering from these disorders. Some techniques combine TMS and another scanning method such as EEG to get additional information about brain activity such as cortical response.[23]

Both EEG and MEG are currently being used to study the brains activity under different conditions. Each uses similar principles but allows researchers to examine individual regions of the brain, allowing isolation and potentially specific classification of active regions. As mentioned above, EEG is very useful in analysis of immobile patients, typically during the sleep cycle. While there are other types of research that utilize EEG,[23] EEG has been fundamental in understanding the resting brain during sleep.[16] There are other potential uses for EEG and MEG such as charting rehabilitation and improvement after trauma as well as testing neural conductivity in specific regions of epileptics or patients with personality disorders.

Neuromodulation can involve numerous technologies combined or used independently to achieve a desired effect in the brain. Gene and cell therapy are becoming more prevalent in research and clinical trials and these technologies could help stunt or even reverse disease progression in the central nervous system. Deep brain stimulation is currently used in many patients with movement disorders and is used to improve the quality of life in patients.[18] While deep brain stimulation is a method to study how the brain functions per se, it provides both surgeons and neurologists important information about how the brain works when certain small regions of the basal ganglia (nuclei) are stimulated by electrical currents.

The future of neurotechnologies lies in how they are fundamentally applied, and not so much on what new versions will be developed. Current technologies give a large amount of insight into the mind and how the brain functions, but basic research is still needed to demonstrate the more applied functions of these technologies. Currently, rtfMRI is being researched as a method for pain therapy. deCharms et al. have shown that there is a significant improvement in the way people perceive pain if they are made aware of how their brain is functioning while in pain. By providing direct and understandable feedback, researchers can help patients with chronic pain decrease their symptoms. This new type of bio/mechanical-feedback is a new development in pain therapy.[8] Functional MRI is also being considered for a number of more applicable uses outside of the clinic. Research has been done on testing the efficiency of mapping the brain in the case when someone lies as a new way to detect lying.[24] Along the same vein, EEG has been considered for use in lie detection as well.[25] TMS is being used in a variety of potential therapies for patients with personality disorders, epilepsy, PTSD, migraine, and other brain-firing disorders, but has been found to have varying clinical success for each condition.[11] The end result of such research would be to develop a method to alter the brains perception and firing and train patients brains to rewire permanently under inhibiting conditions (for more information see rTMS).[11] In addition, PET scans have been found to be 93% accurate in detecting Alzheimer's disease nearly 3 years before conventional diagnosis, indicating that PET scanning is becoming more useful in both the laboratory and the clinic.[26]

Stem cell technologies are always salient both in the minds of the general public and scientists because of their large potential. Recent advances in stem cell research have allowed researchers to ethically pursue studies in nearly every facet of the body, which includes the brain. Research has shown that while most of the brain does not regenerate and is typically a very difficult environment to foster regeneration,[27] there are portions of the brain with regenerative capabilities (specifically the hippocampus and the olfactory bulbs).[28] Much of the research in central nervous system regeneration is how to overcome this poor regenerative quality of the brain. It is important to note that there are therapies that improve cognition and increase the amount of neural pathways,[2] but this does not mean that there is a proliferation of neural cells in the brain. Rather, it is called a plastic rewiring of the brain (plastic because it indicates malleability) and is considered a vital part of growth. Nevertheless, many problems in patients stem from death of neurons in the brain, and researchers in the field are striving to produce technologies that enable regeneration in patients with stroke, Parkinsons diseases, severe trauma, and Alzheimer's disease, as well as many others. While still in fledgling stages of development, researchers have recently begun making very interesting progress in attempting to treat these diseases. Researchers have recently successfully produced dopaminergic neurons for transplant in patients with Parkinsons diseases with the hopes that they will be able to move again with a more steady supply of dopamine.[29][not in citation given] Many researchers are building scaffolds that could be transplanted into a patient with spinal cord trauma to present an environment that promotes growth of axons (portions of the cell attributed with transmission of electrical signals) so that patients unable to move or feel might be able to do so again.[30] The potentials are wide-ranging, but it is important to note that many of these therapies are still in the laboratory phase and are slowly being adapted in the clinic.[31] Some scientists remain skeptical with the development of the field, and warn that there is a much larger chance that electrical prosthesis will be developed to solve clinical problems such as hearing loss or paralysis before cell therapy is used in a clinic.[32][need quotation to verify]

Novel drug delivery systems are being researched in order to improve the lives of those who struggle with brain disorders that might not be treated with stem cells, modulation, or rehabilitation. Pharmaceuticals play a very important role in society, and the brain has a very selective barrier that prevents some drugs from going from the blood to the brain. There are some diseases of the brain such as meningitis that require doctors to directly inject medicine into the spinal cord because the drug cannot cross the bloodbrain barrier.[33] Research is being conducted to investigate new methods of targeting the brain using the blood supply, as it is much easier to inject into the blood than the spine. New technologies such as nanotechnology are being researched for selective drug delivery, but these technologies have problems as with any other. One of the major setbacks is that when a particle is too large, the patients liver will take up the particle and degrade it for excretion, but if the particle is too small there will not be enough drug in the particle to take effect.[34] In addition, the size of the capillary pore is important because too large a particle might not fit or even plug up the hole, preventing adequate supply of the drug to the brain.[34] Other research is involved in integrating a protein device between the layers to create a free-flowing gate that is unimpeded by the limitations of the body. Another direction is receptor-mediated transport, where receptors in the brain used to transport nutrients are manipulated to transport drugs across the bloodbrain barrier.[35] Some have even suggested that focused ultrasound opens the bloodbrain barrier momentarily and allows free passage of chemicals into the brain.[36] Ultimately the goal for drug delivery is to develop a method that maximizes the amount of drug in the loci with as little degraded in the blood stream as possible.

Neuromodulation is a technology currently used for patients with movement disorders, although research is currently being done to apply this technology to other disorders. Recently, a study was done on if DBS could improve depression with positive results, indicating that this technology might have potential as a therapy for multiple disorders in the brain.[32][need quotation to verify] DBS is limited by its high cost however, and in developing countries the availability of DBS is very limited.[18] A new version of DBS is under investigation and has developed into the novel field, optogenetics.[31] Optogenetics is the combination of deep brain stimulation with fiber optics and gene therapy. Essentially, the fiber optic cables are designed to light up under electrical stimulation, and a protein would be added to a neuron via gene therapy to excite it under light stimuli.[37] So by combining these three independent fields, a surgeon could excite a single and specific neuron in order to help treat a patient with some disorder. Neuromodulation offers a wide degree of therapy for many patients, but due to the nature of the disorders it is currently used to treat its effects are often temporary. Future goals in the field hope to alleviate that problem by increasing the years of effect until DBS can be used for the remainder of the patients life. Another use for neuromodulation would be in building neuro-interface prosthetic devices that would allow quadriplegics the ability to maneuver a cursor on a screen with their thoughts, thereby increasing their ability to interact with others around them. By understanding the motor cortex and understanding how the brain signals motion, it is possible to emulate this response on a computer screen.[38]

The ethical debate about use of embryonic stem cells has stirred controversy both in the United States and abroad; although more recently these debates have lessened due to modern advances in creating induced pluripotent stem cells from adult cells. The greatest advantage for use of embryonic stem cells is the fact that they can differentiate (become) nearly any type of cell provided the right conditions and signals. However, recent advances by Shinya Yamanaka et al. have found ways to create pluripotent cells without the use of such controversial cell cultures.[39] Using the patients own cells and re-differentiating them into the desired cell type bypasses both possible patient rejection of the embryonic stem cells and any ethical concerns associated with using them, while also providing researchers a larger supply of available cells. However, induced pluripotent cells have the potential to form benign (though potentially malignant) tumors, and tend to have poor survivability in vivo (in the living body) on damaged tissue.[40] Much of the ethics concerning use of stem cells has subsided from the embryonic/adult stem cell debate due to its rendered moot, but now societies find themselves debating whether or not this technology can be ethically used. Enhancements of traits, use of animals for tissue scaffolding, and even arguments for moral degeneration have been made with the fears that if this technology reaches its full potential a new paradigm shift will occur in human behavior.

New neurotechnologies have always garnered the appeal of governments, from lie detection technology and virtual reality to rehabilitation and understanding the psyche. Due to the Iraq War and War on Terror, American soldiers coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan are reported to have percentages up to 12% with PTSD.[41] There are many researchers hoping to improve these peoples conditions by implementing new strategies for recovery. By combining pharmaceuticals and neurotechnologies, some researchers have discovered ways of lowering the "fear" response and theorize that it may be applicable to PTSD.[42] Virtual reality is another technology that has drawn much attention in the military. If improved, it could be possible to train soldiers how to deal with complex situations in times of peace, in order to better prepare and train a modern army.

Finally, when these technologies are being developed society must understand that these neurotechnologies could reveal the one thing that people can always keep secret: what they are thinking. While there are large amounts of benefits associated with these technologies, it is necessary for scientists and policy makers alike to consider implications about cognitive liberty.[43] This term is important in many ethical circles concerned with the state and goals of progress in the field of neurotechnology (see Neuroethics). Current improvements such as brain fingerprinting or lie detection using EEG or fMRI could give rise to a set fixture of loci/emotional relationships in the brain, although these technologies are still years away from full application.[43] It is important to consider how all these neurotechnologies might affect the future of society, and it is suggested that political, scientific, and civil debates are heard about the implementation of these newer technologies that potentially offer a new wealth of once-private information.[43] Some ethicists are also concerned with the use of TMS and fear that the technique could be used to alter patients in ways that are undesired by the patient.[11]

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Neurotechnology - Wikipedia