New R&D project:
CoMiCon – BCI for patients in minimal conscious state

by Stefanie Rudrich
Marketing Manager (Brain Products)

Following various innovative projects funded by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) and the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) in previous years, together with leading researchers Brain Products was successful in gaining funding for a couple of more projects. Here, we proudly introduce one of them in more detail: CoMiCon.

About CoMiCon

New R&D project: CoMiCon – BCI for patients in minimal conscious stateCoMiCon basically stands for “Communication methods for patients in Minimal Conscious state”. CoMiCon kicked off on February 1st, 2017 (ending January 30th, 2020). The project was initiated by Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen Institute of Medical Psychology and Behavioral Neurobiology (Germany). Brain Products is proud to be the overall coordinator. Additional involved partners are: NIRx Medizintechnik Berlin and BDH-clinic Hessisch-Oldendorf.

Problem

Patients in minimal conscious state (MCS), e.g. locked-in patients, are excluded from common communication channels. Adaptive Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) shall diagnose the vigilance of the patient and enable certain ways of communication.

Project Goal

The aim of the project is to join electroencephalography (EEG) and Near-InfraRed-Spectroscopy (NIRS) in one mobile system and to combine this system with music and process oriented communication. In this way, optimal conditions for the communication between patients, relatives and caregivers should be accomplished. This system could be used in intensive care, nursing homes and at-home care.

Further Information

An official website is not yet available. However, keep an eye on www.brainproducts.com for further developments. We will also keep you updated on “CoMiCon” in future issues of our newsletter to make sure you will not miss any major steps related to this innovative project.

Reference

Chaudhary U, Xia B, Silvoni S, Cohen LG, Birbaumer N (2017)
Brain–Computer Interface–Based Communication in the Completely Locked-In State.
PLoS Biol 15(1): e1002593. doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.1002593