Electrical Geodesics
Apple Maps the Mind for Electrical Geodesics
A sophisticated measurement tool alone cannot translate brain waves into usable research material. Early on, EGI realized that the Geodesic Sensor Net would require an equally sophisticated tool to analyze and visualize the data. The Power Mac bridged the gap between measurement and visualization. Dr. Tucker examined many different computing platforms, but discovered that Macintosh consistently produced superior results. Dr. Tucker was quick to point out “For us, the critical factor was visualization. We chose the Mac OS platform because of its superior graphics capabilities.”
“The Sensor Net and the Power Mac will continue to create opportunities for discovering the mysteries of the human brain.”
The combination of increased data points from the Geodesic Sensor Net and unmatched visualization capability provided by Apple enables research scientists to build a real-time picture of what is happening from millisecond to millisecond in a subject’s brain. Even the most sophisticated analytical tools available produced little more than snapshots of isolated brain wave activity. The Geodesic Sensor Net and the Power Mac combine to deliver real-time monitoring of brain activity over extended periods of time. For scientists, this becomes the difference between information and insight.
Charting Undiscovered Territory
Currently, Electrical Geodesics uses a Power Mac computer running Net Station software to process brain sensor data and create a real-time visual picture of the results. From a research perspective, Dr. Tucker says, “You want to see brain waves, closely analyze them, and see how they’re changing over time. This is done with Net Station, one of the most powerful applications for brain wave analysis ever created, and it’s only available on the Mac platform.”
Collaboration with other companies developing for the Macintosh platform allows Electrical Geodesics to integrate its software skills with some of the best in the industry. Dr. Rainer Goebel and his associates at BrainInnovations have developed one of the most advanced software packages for MRI and fMRI studies of the human brain, Brain Voyager. Now released for Mac OS X, BrainVoyager will allow researchers and clinicians to move seamlessly between radiologic analysis and dense array neurophysiological analysis with EGI’s Net Station on the Macintosh platform.
The Power Mac with Velocity Engine provides the muscle to combine complex processing, filtering, and digital imaging for Net Station, all in real time. “When you add up the requirements for online acquisition of data and visualization, processing demands can be significant. Only the Power Mac has allowed us to continue our emphasis on real-time visualization without compromising the quality of our signal processing,” says Dr. Tucker.
The Geodesic Sensor Net and the Power Mac will continue to create opportunities for discovering the mysteries of the human brain. Research based on the Geodesic Sensor Net has already expanded scientific horizons on learning and human thinking. Now, clinicians can use this technology in life-critical medical applications to help more accurately monitor and review treatments for diseases such as epilepsy. For Dr. Tucker and his associates at EGI, the enabling technologies of Apple provide essential tools for solving the mysteries of the human brain.
