Remote training packages

The Muse headband

We are offering three levels of biofeedback and neurofeedback packages for remote training.  Counseling and support remain integral components at each of these levels.  

The first level employs a consumer EEG device called the Muse, which comes in two different configurations (Muse 2 and Muse S). These devices can be used to improve attention and develop meditation skills.  The second level uses the Muse with an additional electrode and software for targeted neurofeedback.  The third level uses professional equipment and software for fully functional biofeedback and neurofeedback treatment.  

The first level we call Neuroshaping Starter.  Many of our clients have been successfully using the Muse at home. It measures EEG and the app that comes with it provides feedback on how calm or active your mind is.  It is very helpful in improving focused attention and as an aid to meditation.  It comes with an app that can be used on your phone, tablet, or computer.  You can also purchase additional guided meditations to use in conjunction with it.  The Muse 2 and the new Muse S measure heart rate and body movement and include a breath pacer. The Muse S includes a sleep tracker and various programs to aid sleep.  The different devices can be purchased online (choosemuse.com).  They can be used independently without our involvement, but if you wish to have your use monitored by us and receive feedback and coaching from us, there is a platform for this.  The cost for this support is simply the time required to review your sessions and go over them with you.

The next level program we call Neuroshaping Lyte.  It employs the Muse 2 with an additional electrode (approximately $100) and a software program called Myndlift, which requires a monthly subscription fee ($175 US/month).  The Muse 2 can be purchased online. The electrode and Myndlift subscription must be purchased directly from us.  The Muse 2 has both neurofeedback and biofeedback capabilities and, with the additional electrode, it is possible to do a variety of targeted neurofeedback protocols.

The third level program we call Neuroshaping Pro.   It is possible to do one-channel or two- channel neurofeedback training depending on the hardware.  You can rent the hardware and software from us for $170/month.  We can also supply a preconfigured laptop with the equipment on a rental basis ($30/month-$50/month depending on the laptop).  We call it the Pro version because it is more capable than the Lyte version, but also because it requires higher-end equipment and software and a higher level of comfort with the requirements of setting up the equipment and running the software.  

The Starter program has no added cost beyond the purchase of the Muse.  The subscription for the Lyte is more than renting the equipment and software for the Pro platform, but the Lyte typically requires less training and technical assistance.  

To use the Lyte or Pro platforms under our supervision is similar to what would be involved in-office visits ($100/hour for trainers and $200/hour for Dr. McAllister).  It includes the time it takes to train you to use the equipment and software and to provide the technical assistance that you require plus the frequency of sessions that we deliver remotely (as opposed to the ones you do on your own), our periodic protocol reviews, and any counseling we provide during your training.  

To sum up, there are three Neuroshaping platforms available for doing biofeedback and neurofeedback remotely.  The cost of support from us is similar to having weekly visits in the office and should be covered by insurance in an equivalent way.  A requirement of both the Lyte and Pro platforms is at least one session with us a month. The added cost for the Lyte and Pro platforms is for the equipment and software.  This cost may be covered by some forms of insurance. 

If you are a resident of Ontario, you can access our services. Please give us a call if you are interested (705-874-7125), and we can provide you with more detail about the platforms and costs. 

Remote Services

The Covid-19 pandemic lockdown required that all our services to clients in our office in Peterborough, Ontario be delivered remotely.  The transition to phone and online sessions was not a problem for talk therapy, meditation coaching, and hypnosis; in fact, there is every indication that these services can be delivered remotely just as effectively as meeting in person.  However, for biofeedback and neurofeedback, remote delivery can be a challenge. 

Fortunately, we have provided home biofeedback and neurofeedback training in the past so we are experienced in this approach.  There are many advantages to doing home training.  During the pandemic, there is no additional risk of infection if you stay home and receive treatment remotely.  Even though we are no longer in lockdown, there are distinct advantages to home training.  For one, you don’t have to come to the office or fit into our schedule quite as much.  For another, because you have the equipment and software in your home, you can train whenever you want and as many times as you want.  Typically, in-office treatments are weekly.  Most people simply cannot find the time or have the money to do twice-weekly sessions despite the fact that the effects of training are not seen nearly as quickly when you only train once a week.  In sum, remote training is safe, convenient, and efficient.

 

The Mind Mirror

The Mind Mirror grew out of a tradition within neurofeedback that investigated meditation and altered states with the objective of monitoring and enhancing those states.  It was originally developed in England in 1976 by a physicist and Zen Master, Maxwell Cade,  with the assistance of electronics engineer Geoffrey Blundell.  At the time, it was unique, a frequency analyzer that could monitor both hemispheres of the brain across different brainwave frequencies.  It resembled a modern-day computer tablet but it used analogue electronics and displayed 14 frequency bands using 16 LEDs.  It was enclosed in a wood cabinet with a handle for carrying about.  Its portability allowed those using it to take it directly to people that the developers were most interested in studying– meditators, mystics, psychics and healers.  It provided moment-to-moment pictures of mind states and graphic profiles of these states.  It was also a feedback device that could guide the user to achieve these advanced states.  Anna Wise was a follower of Cade and through books (The High Performance Mind:  Mastering Brainwaves for Insight, Healing, and Creativity, and The Awakened Mind:  A Guide to Harnessing the Power of Your Brainwaves) and workshops popularized this approach as an aid to meditation and the development of an awakened mind.  

As computer technology evolved, the original Mind Mirror morphed into a digital sampling unit that interfaces with a computer and software to do sophisticated analysis of brainwaves and associated states of consciousness.  Versions of the Mind Mirror can be found in all major neurofeedback softwares, but the original concept is most fully developed in the Vilistus System that has a clear lineage back to Cade and Wise.  

Alpha-Theta training

Alpha-Theta training has been a mainstay of neurofeedback treatment since its earliest days. It grew out of a tradition within neurofeedback that investigated meditation and altered states with the objective of monitoring and enhancing those states.  One clinical application of it was with Vietnam veterans with Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and alcohol addiction.  It is considered a deep-state training much like hypnosis in that it can resolve entrenched trauma and dislodge dysfunctional patterns of behaviour.  In preparation for the training, basic biofeedback training in diaphragmatic breathing and hand warming as well as stabilizing neurofeedback protocols are used.  In addition to its clinical applications, Alpha-Theta protocols are used in peak-performance training.  

In Alpha-Theta training the intention is to induce a hypnogogic state, which is a state commonly experienced between waking and sleep.  During our waking hours beta (b) brainwaves predominate; they are associated with an external orientation and active thinking as well as hypervigilance and anxiety.  When we close our eyes with the intention to go to sleep, alpha (a) brainwaves predominate.  We feel calm and relaxed and thoughts and images flow.  As we become more relaxed and we increasingly let go of control, we go into a theta (θ) brainwave state.  We are more internally oriented, memories and image emerge unbidden and our mind seems to drift off on its own.  Very soon we may be asleep and delta (d) brainwaves predominate.  

Alpha-Theta training is much like other neurofeedback protocols.  Typically, a single active electrode is placed at the back of the head, and reference and ground electrodes are placed on the ear lobes.  During the training, the client’s eyes are closed.  The feedback is auditory.  Before beginning the training, the therapist identifies the sounds associated with three brainwaves–delta, theta and alpha– and the crossover in which theta is greater than alpha, which is associated with the hypnogogic state.  The sound associated with the delta state is a sign that the client is going to sleep or has moved.  Delta is inhibited by a sound such as “uh-oh.”  Alpha is indicated by a high melodic tone and theta by a lower melodic tone.  The crossover state is indicated by  the same lower melodic tone as theta but it becomes louder the more predominate theta is over alpha. 

Most people find this training very relaxing and enjoyable.  Often they have vivid memories of things long forgotten.  An example would be recalling the smell of baking bread in their grandmother’s wood stove, perhaps visualizing what the kitchen looked like and the mood they felt.  Clients may also see connections between issues in their life that had not occurred to them previously.  A client might see that an issue they have in their personal relationships is similar to an issue that they have at work. 

However, sometimes the memories that emerge are not so pleasant.  For someone who has experienced severe trauma, they may have vivid flashback-type memories.  This can result in an abreaction, which is a cathartic release of emotion.  This can be healing or, without the proper guidance, retraumatizing.  This is the main risk of this procedure and why it should only be done with a therapist equipped to deal with it.

Typically, after the training, the client is debriefed.  The therapist might ask about what the experience was like for the client and anything that it might have brought to mind.  Clients often report that afterwards things look sharper and sounds clearer.  They feel more energetic and as if blockages had been removed.  Memories seem more accessible and may emerge more easily.  Most commonly, clients report more vivid dreaming, even lucid dreaming in which they are aware that they are dreaming and can control what occurs within their dreams.  For those who have unpleasant dreams, they feel more detached and less emotionally affected by the dreams than they thought possible.  For instance, whereas they might have previously awoken from a nightmare drenched in sweat and in full-flight panic, they may have an unpleasant dream but not awaken or wake up only briefly and without great anxiety an not drenched in sweat.  

When Alpha-Theta is used in peak performance training people feel that they have opened up a channel to resources within them that had previously been unavailable to them.  Musicians and dancers are more creative and perform better as a result of this type of training (see Gruzelier, J., Egner, T., & Vernon, D. (2006). Validating the efficacy of neurofeedback for optimising performance. Progress in brain research, 159, 421-431.) and athletes more “in the zone.”

Are you a neuronaut?

With a non-invasive procedure known as qEEG (quantitative electroencephlagram), your brain can be mapped in terms of the electrical power at numerous sites on your scalp and the connections between them. The results can be compared to norms and, using a symptom questionnaire, it can be determined what needs adjustment. Using computer displays and sound systems, you (more accurately, your brain) can be guided to greater balance and improved functionality.
Check out my new website: neuroshaping.com.
You too can be a neuronaut!

Working on hindrances

There is the traditional Buddhist concept of the five hindrances:  sense desire, anger, restlessness and remorse, sloth and torpor and doubt.  Anyone who has meditated has encountered them at some point or another.  Overcoming them is thought to be essential for progress in meditation.

What implications might this have for using neuroshaping devices for improving meditation?

Let's assume that there are EEG signatures for meditation states and that the EEGs of advanced practitioners exhibit those signatures whereas beginners don't. One approach to technologically boosting meditation that might readily come to mind is that we should try and reproduce in the beginner those states of the advanced practitioner through neurofeedback.  However, this ignores the fact that those advanced practitioners got to those states by overcoming hindrances.  If, as many meditation teachers say, we are already enlightened and we have to remove the "dust" that obscures this, then it makes sense to focus on removing these obstacles rather than trying to "force" a state that is already there but obscured.

OpenBCI and the UltraCortex

Perhaps the most ambitious and promising approach to assessing and training the brain is by OpenBCI (openbci.com).  They have developed a 3D printed headgear with dry electrodes that they say can be applied in 30 seconds.  You can make your own headgear if you own a 3D printer or order one from them.  They have 4, 8 and 16 channel systems and software that goes with it.  They plan a 61 ultracortex 3D printed headgear.

It is all open source.  I am getting the headgear printed and have ordered the unprintable parts.  I am going to see if it works with the equipment that I have.  Tune in for progress reports.

Scroll down their home page to check out their Kickstarter video that explains their project.

Slide share on wearables

Here is a PowerPoint on wearables that deals with research and software development:  http://www.slideshare.net/everywaretech/new-trends-on-research-and-software-development-techniques-for-wearable-devices

Shinzen Young's take on technological aids to meditation

Shinzen Young has pondered on the usefulness of technological aids to meditation:  https://www.shinzen.org/how-to-enlighten-the-world/

He posits four assumptions to simplify the discussion.  Embedded in these assumptions is the idea that there are switches in the brain that can turn off and on or dim the self makes me uneasy.  This seems to push the concept of neural correlates for states of mind a tad too far.  I would hold, along with many theorists in cognitive science (Clark, O'Reilly, Chalmers, Hutto, Chemero, Varella, Thompson, Noe), that the mind is more than the brain, that it is extended, situated, enacted and embodied and includes language, cultural and social practices, tools and technology.  Why is this relevant and not just a quibble?  Because working on the brain in abstraction without taking all these extensions into consideration will not likely lead to the kind of results that Shinzen Young foresees.  

I appreciate that he sees that the "conceptual content" of practice is one of the necessary components of a technological approach to aiding meditation.  I have noticed in my experiences with clinical neurofeedback that people sometimes just want to fix their brains without altering their approach to life and what perpetuates the dysfunction that led them to seek treatment.  Similarly, with meditation, it is essential to alter perspectives and attitudes.  Traditionally sila (wholesome conduct) is the foundation of the path to liberation.  The "techno-boosts" that he talks about are potentially accelerants rather than replacements of meditation practice.

I am not sure that lesions (even reversible ones) are the path to arhatship, and zapping the brain (as opposed to measuring it and getting feedback) does not appeal to me.  Whatever technologies we use for aiding meditation should be well-understood and safe.  The virtue of biofeedback in general and EEG neurofeedback in particular is that they have been around for a long time, they are non-invasive and, even when unwanted effects occur (and they can), they can be easily reversed or the effects simply fade away with time if they are not reinforced.

Meditation research website

Dr. Peter Malinowski of the Liverpool John Moores University has a website and blog devoted to psychological studies of meditation and mindfulness : http://meditation-research.org.uk/.  

"My aim is to share some of my thoughts on current developments regarding the science of meditation and also to inform about the meditation research carried out in our group in the School of Natural Sciences and Psychology at Liverpool John Moores University."

TED talk on wearables

Vandrico's CEO, Gonzalo Tudela, did a TedxTalk on wearable technology in 2013:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8tnYt30L-A

Interesting:  As much as wearable technology is potentially revolutionary, his projection of the adoption of it (50% of the population using wearable technology by February, 2015) appears to be (more than) a bit off.  

List of wearable devices

Vandrico provides a list of wearable devices directed at commercial operations.

Below is an excerpt from their ABOUT page:

vandrico

GAIN A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE WITH WEARABLE TECH

Vandrico helps large commercial operations leverage wearable technology to remove process redundancies, reduce lost time injuries and increase net promoter scores. Our agile approach brings together software, process and expertise to drive worker safety, business process optimization and returns on investment.

Finger temperature and electrodermal response-- what they can tell us.

Frank and Mary Deitz were pioneers in the development of biofeedback systems. Their F1000 was one of the first relatively affordable and robust systems that integrated EEG, EMG, heart rate variability, respiration, temperature, and electrodermal response (EDR).

The attached chart was developed by them to show the relationship between measures of finger temperature and EDR, both of which indicate what is going on at the autonomic level.  By combing these two measures, it is possible to obtain a great deal of information about how someone is responding physiologically and, by inference, psychologically.

For instance, I have regularly asked clients to meditate on the breath and recorded their finger temperature and EDR.  Usually, the first time around, before they have practiced, what appears is rather erratic.  However, after a week or two of practice, I begin to see what to me is a relaxation response as they meditate.  Their finger temperature increases and their EDR decreases, but they remain responsive to thoughts or sensations that occur to them and to environmental events.  What this suggests, in accordance with the chart, is that they have an open circulatory system and a quiet, but still responsive, arousal system

When I have used these measures with clients who have practiced open monitoring with noting, a slightly different profile emerges.  Their temperature increases. but the EDR varies, presumably in response to their noting activity.  This suggests that while they are relaxed, as indicated by the increase in finger temperature, they are actively engaged and responsive to what is occurring to them.

Biosignals and the quantified self

Here is a Ted talk and an interview with Fu-Chiek Hsu of Op-Innovations, a company that makes affordable and versatile biosignal devices (more about this later).

This is a good introduction to the whole idea of measuring biosignals:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4BLUXKOSfZ4

This provides a more informal and very insightful discussion of why it is useful to use biosignal devices:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F8dHM4jzCTY

Musing--the problem with feedback

I plan a series of reflections, not so much on the Muse specifically, but on the issues that it and other similar devices raise.  This first musing is on the issue of feedback during meditation, especially auditory, which is used in the Calm app.

Ideally, there would be no need for feedback when we meditate.  We should be able to notice when our mind is focused and when it is distracted.  But this requires practice, and, even with practice, it is sometimes difficult to maintain the appropriate focus and awareness.  So this is where devices such as the Muse might prove helpful.

However, the biggest issue with using feedback technologies with meditation is that certain types of feedback can actually interfere with the activity they are designed to assist.

Let's assume we are doing focused attention meditation on the breath.

If I am remaining focused and not wandering, having any kind of feedback is likely to interfere with my focus.  If I am truly focused on the breath, I should be aware that I am focused on the breath.  I really don't need positive reinforcement.  On the other hand, if my mind is wandering and not focused, I may need to be alerted to this fact, reminding me that I should resume attention to the breath.  Over time, I may become more sensitive to the wandering and more able to readily return to the breath without the warning.

Auditory feedback is a readily available form of feedback, especially when we are already listening to instructions from the app via headphones or speakers.   However, it is common sense that attention to external stimuli such as sound will conflict with attention to the breath.  Whereas attention to the breath activates the interoceptive cortex (Farb et al, 2013), sound activates the auditory cortex.  If my mind is wandering anyway, this auditory "distraction" should not pose a great difficulty.  However, it should be momentary and only repeated long enough for me to recognize that I must redirect my attention.  If the auditory feedback is anything more than a quick reminder, it is likely to become a problem.

The Calm app provides different forms of auditory feedback.  Both the wind and the waves are giving feedback about the degree to which the mind is active.  The wind supposedly represents current activity, whereas the waves represent activity over a more extended time-frame.  Both the wind and waves vary in intensity and are continuous rather than discrete sounds.  The birds are supposed to represent a calm mind, and they reward you for maintaining calm over a period of time.  If I hear any of these sounds, they are very likely to become items of interest in themselves, thereby distracting me from focusing on the breath.  Also this kind of feedback is likely to stimulate evaluation and judgement--"I am doing well," "I am not doing well," and so on.

Whether different forms of feedback would make a difference or not remains to be seen.  Haptic feedback (see http://www.arcwearables.com) might cause less conflict than auditory feedback, for instance.  On the other hand, with auditory feedback it might be possible to provide more differentiated feedback that sensitizes the user to the type of activity that is going on.  In which case the feedback would not so much function as a warning (wind and waves) or as positive reinforcement (birds), but as information about what is going on.

These issues challenge the concept of using a device such as this as a meditation aide.  It is to be hoped that appropriate research will be done to determine whether the Muse (and other devices like it) can be useful for the purpose of assisting meditation.

Farb, N. A., Segal, Z. V., & Anderson, A. K. (2013). Attentional modulation of primary interoceptive and exteroceptive cortices. Cerebral cortex, 23(1), 114-126.

Muse review updated December 28, 2014

I received the Muse on November 27th.  Here are my impressions so far:

1)  The Muse has been well-designed from aesthetic and ergonomic standpoints and is no more intrusive than a pair of glasses.  Unlike the NeuroSky device, it is very comfortable and expands for an extra-large head size.  Setting up and getting the application to work was trouble-free on my Galaxy Note 8.0 tablet.  There is an FAQ site that answers a great many questions, although not all that I had, but my contact at Interaxon has been extremely helpful in clarifying the additional questions that I had.

2)  The Calm (downloaded for free) is the only app that is available at present.  It is designed to facilitate and train calm focus.  It differentiates between calm, active, and neutral states. These states are not defined in terms of EEG bandwidths, which is apparently proprietary information.  Granted, but it is unclear what is meant by these different states.  Is "active" the same as wandering (which is what the documentation says) or does it include active thinking as in problem solving?  Would it not make sense to differentiate active thinking from wandering (see my post, Automating on the road to mindfulness, dated 11/5/12)?  And what does "neutral" represent?  All that we are told is that it is somewhere in between calm and active.

3)  The Calm app provides a diagram of the quality of the connections from the different sensors as well as an indication of noise.  This is essential information to ensure that you are getting proper readings.  I have not had much trouble in getting good readings on myself, but I tried the Muse on one of my daughters and had great difficulty getting one of the sensors to show up on the diagram.  What I discovered was that the band was not touching her forehead no matter how I adjusted it.  (She has a rather oblong rather than round head.)  I had to insert a wedge under the band in order to get the sensor to touch her forehead.  
4)  There is also a calibration exercise at the outset.  This is a good idea as it has the potential for getting an individual profile on how your mind works.  The exercise is a semantic fluency task common to many psychological tests.  This type of activity is supposed to correlate with frontal and temporal areas, which is where the sensors are, and draws on semantic memory.  However, it is not clear how this kind of cognitive activity specifically relates to what is supposed to be measured by the Calm.

5)  The instructions for the Calm app ask that you count your breaths.  Although this is a standard meditation technique, I have always preferred noting the breath as in the Mahasi technique.  Initially, it did not seem to matter whether I counted my breaths or simply noted them.  I thought it would probably work for any technique that has a single object focus (focused attention or FA), but I doubted whether it would work as well with an open monitoring (OM) or mindfulness meditation technique, which has a different brainwave profile.  However, over time and having amassed many hours of use of the Muse, both using the feedback from the app and using the app with the sound off to simply to monitor different ways of meditating, I am beginning to wonder whether the technique I use is the primary determinant of the calm score I obtain.  (More about this later.) 

6)  The sound feedback is pleasant enough consisting as it does of water lapping on the shore and stormy winds.  In the supporting documentation, the wind is clearly identified as representing wandering, but there is also reference to environmental sounds, which presumably include the lapping waves.  I asked about this and was told that, while the wind represents activity as it occurs, the waves reflect longer term activity:  "The wave sound gradually gets quieter throughout the session if you keep the winds calm enough."  This is helpful information as I had difficulty understanding how the wave sound worked as it seemed to be independent of the wind.

7)  In my experience, while I can quiet the wind sound, the waves are more or less constant throughout, although they vary in intensity.  I question the value of having such constant sound as this can be quite distracting in itself.  In a future post, I will explain why this presence of more or less constant sound undermines the intent to focus on the breath.  Because of how distracting the sounds were to me, I prefer to run the app with the sound off and use it just to monitor my meditation.  I found I achieved a better calm score with the sound off than I did with the sound on.  This may be because I have meditated on my own for a number of years and know how to calm my mind.  Also, because I have mainly practiced with an open monitoring style of mindfulness meditation, my mind may have a tendency to go to these environmental sounds, especially as they kick up and become more prominent.   

8)  The data provided by the app is quite helpful and allows you to review with graphs the profile of active, calm, and neutral throughout the session and to review moment by moment what occurred in terms of these different states.  After you achieve a score of 5000, the Muse opens up to added features.  These features reflect basic statistics about what you have been doing with the Muse such as the time of day you practice, how long you practice, and suggestions about what you might do to improve your practice.  You can also review previous sessions and compare them in terms of how calm you were. 

9)  Given that there is not at present a variety of apps available, I would like to see the Muse made compatible with BioExplorer and/or BioEra, which are widely used in neurofeedback circles.  This would make it very easy for anyone familiar with either software to develop their own applications.  At the very least, I would like to see the raw EEG, preferably broken down into standard bandwidths.  I am advised that this is accessible with the developers’ kit, but it would nice if it was an included app rather than something that you have to program yourself.

10)  I have a concern about how substantial the main sensors are as they are placed on a very thin band.  The Muse team said that the strip could be replaced for free within 180 days.  I wonder whether the strip would last beyond that point with regular use.  We will see.

In summary, I have many questions and quibbles, but overall the Muse has many impressive features and a reasonably good app that appears to work in developing focused awareness.  The sound feedback is a major concern, but this is going to be a problem with any attempt to use this type of device to assist meditation when constant sound may act as a distraction.  As a long-term meditator, I prefer to use the Calm app to monitor my meditation rather than to assist it.  I look forward to more applications for the Muse to fulfill the promises that have been made for it.

Another update on available and promised wearable devices (November 28, 2014)

In November, 2012 I published a post on some of the available and promised "wearable" neuroshaping devices.  I updated it in April, 2014.  Not a lot has changed as far as availability. For some of the new devices, the general release dates keep being pushed forward.  However, the long anticipated Muse, is now available.

The MindWave from Neurosky is a one active channel device.  It has been available for a while. It retails for about $100 and comes with ten apps and many more are available (see http://www.neurosky.com/Products/MindWave.aspx).  I have tried it and it seems to work, and it is great that it can be used with third-party software such as BioExplorer and BioEra.  However, I find it very uncomfortable.  It might be fine for a child but not for someone with a big head like mine!

MindWave

There is an earlier version (MindSet), which was the first mass market neuroshaping device
introduced in 2009.  It has earphones and looks more comfortable.  It uses the same chip set as the MindWave.  NeuroSky provides a comparison chart that shows the capabilities of each of their products (see http://support.neurosky.com/kb/technology/what-are-the-differences-between-the-mindset-mindwave-mindwave-mobile-and-mindband).

Another company promises to introduce the Melon, originally called the Axio.  It is based on the NeuroSky chip.  It is an attractive and comfortable appearing three sensor band, which is adjustable to different head sizes.  Again, they exceeded their goal in crowd-
sourcing (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/806146824/melon-a-headband-and-mobile-app-to-measure-your-fo).

Melon

The developers of the Melon now have a website (www.thinkmelon.com).  The device was promised for the summer of 2014, but it still isn't available  Given that this device uses the NeuroSky chip, I thought it might make its original release date.  But, in this business, no one seems to meet their release dates.

Muse

Muse from Interaxon is now available (http://www.choosemuse.com).  Money was raised initially through an Indiegogo campaign, which quickly exceeded the goal, and more private money was raised subsequently.  It was originally to be released in the spring of 2013, but the date for its release was pushed forward several times. Prototypes were demonstrated at CES 2014 and received rave reviews. The marketing of it has been truly awe-inspiring.  It now can be obtained, although there is only one app for it, Calm, which is designed to develop focused awareness.

The Muse was developed with Interaxon's own chip set and technologies.  The device has seven sensors and four active channels (AFp3, AFp4, TP9, TP10), which are on the forehead and around the ears.  Detailed technical specifications are now available (http://s3.amazonaws.com/totem_production/assets/other/5987/Muse_-_Tech_Spec_Sheet_CES_-_2014.pdf?1387319049), and they look quite respectable.    

The producers of the Emotiv  EPOC 14 channel device are developing the INSIGHT, which is a five channel device.  Again, they exceeded their kickstarter goal of $100,000 by over $1.5 million (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/tanttle/emotiv-insight-optimize-your-brain-fitness-and-per).

INSIGHT

The technical specifications of the INSIGHT reveal that it will have five active channels at AF3, AF4, T7, T8, Pz with two references (see http://emotiv.co/product.php).  The EPOC required saline preparation, but the INSIGHT uses "a proprietory polymer sensor that offers great electrical conductivity without any preparation whatsoever."  This is the truly innovative aspect of this product. Also, these polymer sensors can be applied over hair, while the other products listed above only have sensors on areas free of hair.

The INSIGHT was originally promised for the summer of 2014, but the release date is now December 2014.

The ENOBIO from Neuroelectrics (http://www.neuroelectrics.com/enobio) is a very promising, but expensive high end device.  It comes in 8 channel, 20 channel and 32 channel configurations.  It uses dry electrodes and bluetooth.  This one is definitely on my wish list, and it is actually available now.

Please feel free to comment or, if you wish, direct questions and comments to me directly at drampsych at gmail.com.

A useful review of wireless brain-computer interface systems

A very comprehensive review of brain-computer interface sysems, including dry electrodes, can be downloaded here:  http://cdn.intechopen.com/pdfs-wm/44252.pdf

Dry electrode systems

There are dry electrode systems available that should enable assessments and neurofeedback without all the fuss and mess:

http://cognionics.com/index.php/products/64-channel-system.
http://mindo.com.tw/en/index.php

Another brain wave sensor

Yet another brain wave sensor, Brainlink, hits the market.  This Chinese product has one dry sensor and an ear reference and appears to be based on the NeuroSky chip.  It does not look terribly innovative or particularly well designed, but is probably more comfortable than NeuroSky's Mindwave.  There is a video illustrating it on YouTube.  It is on eBay for $299.

Aside from these devices working with smartphones and using dry sensors, they are decidedly less capable than traditional neurofeedback devices, which have come down in price and can be had for not much more than these devices.  An example is the GP8, which runs about $350 with all the bells and whistles.  It is a single channel trainer and comes with its own software but can also run BioExplorer.