Alpha-Active Ltd

EEG Products and Consultancy

Innovative EEG brainwave monitors for neuroscience research, neurofeedback therapy practitioners and sports performance coaching

Alpha-Active Ltd is a UK company dedicated to the design and provision of ambulatory brainwave monitoring electroencephalograph (EEG) products and consultancy in neuroscience and cognitive studies, therapeutic & rehabilitation applications, and sports performance coaching.

Applications:

Alpha-Active ambulatory EEG technology may be potentially beneficial as an aid to users for:

• neuroscience research & cognitive studies using EEG, including in brain computer interfaces (BCI).
  
• medical fields (e.g. use of EEG in psychology, determining states of consciousness, ADHD, etc.).
  
• assisting practitioners to judge mental receptiveness in a range of neurofeedback therapies (e.g. pain relief, hypnosis, treatment of anxieties, phobias, cessation therapy, hypnotherapy, counselling, cognitive behavioural therapy, etc.)
  
• home use (e.g. relaxation, meditation, etc. with the aid of EEG)
  
• sports performance coaching, exploiting the mobility of the EEG system.
  

Who can benefit:

Potentially, the Alpha-Active EEG system may help individuals achieve their personal best consistently in challenging situations, ranging from rehabilitation & therapeutic work through to improving performance under stress.

Applications may include in sporting events, appearing in front of the public (e.g. performing arts, speeches, business meetings, etc.), and in any stressful situation where clear focus and composure are required.

In the sports field, this focus is often associated with elevated levels of alpha brain waves.

Sound Recording Capability:

How it works:

An EEG (electroencephalogram) monitors the electrical activity of the brain. Brainwaves may be a measure of a person's concentration or 'focus' and are optimised routinely, including by sports men and women, to improve performance when carrying out a task. Alpha-Active's EEG products can be used to monitor changes in brainwaves simultaneous with the carrying out of actions.

A further useful feature is the option to record sound simultaneously with EEG. This has a range of event-related synchronisation applications, including potentially in speech therapy.

Most EEGs are large, expensive, complicated-to-use, mains-powered devices. Such multi-channel laboratory-based EEG systems offer a wealth of data when subjects are in sedentary, static positions. However, these systems can have limitations when extending studies into the more normal environment of the subject being studied, particularly if they are moving.

Alpha-Active's EEG products build on patented and proprietary technology and techniques to provide a system which may be a useful tool for extending EEG studies to more 'normal' environments, including when the subject is active, exercising, training etc. It may provide a cost effective solution to studying a subject, using a subset of electrode positions, in a more wide ranging and natural environment which might include ambulatory monitoring in the home. Our CE-marked Class 1 medical device is:

• pocket-sized
  
• robust
  
• cost-effective
  
• simple-to-use
  
• laptop-powered

This EEG system, developed in the UK in collaboration with academic partners and clinicians, can work when the subject is moving, in the sports field when athletes are actively practising, in a rehabilitation session, etc., because the software is more robust to the movement of the user. Our pocket-sized EEG system is specifically optimised, following extensive consultation with professional therapists, sports coaches and university scientists, to measure alpha waves in the therapies and sporting context.

Sophisticated user-friendly software allows practitioners, therapists, sports coaches etc., and their clients, to relate performance to EEG recorded at the time - hence providing a 'neurobiofeedback' mechanism to help reproduce the appropriate brain wave activity at key pressure moments - thereby providing a competitive edge.

Key features of the Alpha-Active EEG:

In essence, the Alpha-Active instrument offers user-selected EEG data over 2 channels, which can be viewed in real time or played back later and the optional facility to simultaneously record sound. The Alpha-Active Ambulatory EEG System connected to a laptop:

• 5 easy to fit electrodes
  
• small unit which can be placed in pocket or belt-bag
  
• robust design allows for use 'in the field'
  
• easy to use software with play, rewind, pause and fast forward controls
  
• real-time display gives instant feedback to the therapist or coach
  
• all recordings are saved on computer to review and share later
  
• sampling rate is 128Hz per channel
  
• resolution is 24 bit

What people say: