Brain Products successfully finishes EU funded project and strengthens its position in the MoBI market
by Dr. Monika Nörr | Research Cooperation Manager (Brain Products)
& Dr. Thomas Emmerling | Team Leader of Strategic Product Management (Brain Products)
Mobile Brain/Body Imaging (MoBI) is a new approach to imaging human brain dynamics in natural settings. This increasingly popular technique allows researchers to investigate brain activity supporting cognition that unfolds in synchrony with active behaviour, thereby overcoming the restrictions of traditional brain imaging methods. MoBI research becomes increasingly important for society as it allows us the possibility to understand brain activity in real-life scenarios which possesses more generalizability than typical lab-based brain imaging methods. Research institutes and companies are interested in knowing how the brain works when people are driving a car, flying a plane, or even while playing competitive sports. Especially in the case of movement disorders or rehabilitation after injury, the research accomplished in the field of MoBI will help scientists not only better understand corresponding neural associations, but also better develop and implement therapies and treatments in this direction.
With our MoBI Award, we were already able to engage the MoBI community to some extent. By winning the 2020 SME Innovation Associate grant from the EU, we were able to analyze this market more thoroughly and thereby grow our reputation as a reliable and strong competitor in the field of wearable EEG devices. As Innovation Associate we could employ Dr. Christina Lavallée, a highly-skilled researcher from Canada. During her PhD and post-doctoral training, Christina worked in the field of cognitive and experimental psychology with simultaneously recorded EEG-fMRI methods. Before joining Brain Products, Christina was recording EEG in pediatric populations receiving cochlear implants.
The H2020 SME Innovation Associate is a new pilot action under the EU Research und Innovation Framework Programme “Horizon 2020”, supporting European SMEs to recruit post-doctoral research associates from other countries to explore an innovative business idea for a duration of 12 months. Across Europe, only 80 companies were funded and within Germany 8 companies received the grant – one of them was Brain Products.
As Innovation Associate Christina worked on strategic marketing campaigns and fostering relationships with researchers and scientists in the field of mobile EEG. These marketing campaigns involved exhibiting at various neuroscientific conferences, promoting the MoBI Award, curating content for the BCI+ website and creating instructional content for the concept of an end-to-end MoBI solution. The campaigns were strategically planned and executed to create interest in our products, develop new relationships with researchers, as well as to foster already-existing relations. Exhibitions and demonstrations at various international conferences throughout the year were also successful in generating interest in our wireless and portable LiveAmp amplifier, as well as giving scientists the opportunity to have first-hand experience with viewing and recording mobile EEG data. To allow further experience with our mobile solutions, we also held workshops in conjunction with relevant conferences, providing attendees with instructional and hands on materials to enable them to successfully execute MoBI research in their own labs. To further complement our mobile solution, we have introduced the Wireless Trigger for the wireless recording of event markers in EEG. This new product is a great addition for mobile EEG researchers and will benefit those in the MoBI community to further expand their paradigms with the confidence of having accurate triggers encoded in their EEG data.
Having successfully completed the EU project, we are happy that Christina will stay with us. As a strategic product manager she will be one of the key contact persons in our company for the MoBI market.
This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 739628.