Innovation in brain–computer interfaces

Industry and academic experts discussed innovations in devices and applications of brain–computer interfaces.

Watch the video to learn about the latest research in brain–computer interfaces and how global experts are translating research into clinical applications and industry solutions.

Panel discussion

Panelists

David Grayden (Chair)

Clifford Chair of Neural Engineering, Department of Biomedical Engineering, Melbourne School of Engineering and the Graeme Clark Institute for Biomedical Engineering, The University of Melbourne

Prof Grayden’s research focuses on understanding how the brain processes information, how best to present information to the brain using medical bionics, such as the bionic ear and bionic eye, and how to record information from the brain for brain to machine interfaces. He is conducting research in epileptic seizure prediction and electrical stimulation to prevent or stop epileptic seizures, and in electrical stimulation of the vagus nerve to control inflammatory bowel disease.

Christoph Guger

Founder and CEO, g.tec

Christoph studied electrical and biomedical engineering at the University of Technology Graz in Austria and Johns Hopkins University in the USA and received his PhD in 1999. In 1999 he started the company g.tec which was now branches in Austria, Spain, the USA and Hong Kong. g.tec produces high-quality neurotechnology and real-time brain computer interfaces for the research, medical and consumer market. The company is active in many international research projects about brain-computer interfacing, neuromodulation, stroke rehabilitation, assessment and communication with patients with disorders of consciousness and high-gamma mapping in epilepsy and tumour patients.

Tara Hamilton

Associate Professor, School of Electrical and Data Engineering. University of Technology Sydney

Tara Hamilton interest areas include neuromorphic systems, biomedical devices and sensors, and integrated circuit design. She received her BE Honours Class (Electrical Engineering) and BCOM (Economics and Marketing) from the University of Sydney in 2001, MSc (Biomedical Engineering) from UNSW in 2003, and PhD from the University of Sydney in 2009. Tara has also worked extensively within industry including leading health, defence, and technology companies and she is focused on developing innovative solutions to real-world problems.

Farhad Goodarzy

Faculty of Medicine, Dentistry and Health Sciences, The University of Melbourne

Farhad Goodarzy has a background in electrical engineering. He finished his PhD in 2015 with his thesis on the design of a wireless microchip for implanted medical devices. He has worked in academia and industry since. He was one of the first employees of Australia's successful start-up companies, Nura. Currently, he's with the department of MDHS at The university of Melbourne developing software to decode brain activity from invasive brain implants for the next generation of BCIs.

Andi Partovi

The University of Melbourne

Andi Partovi has a background in Computer Science and has been a research fellow at Monash University, working on various grants in Natural Language Processing and Machine Learning in Healthcare. He is currently a senior cognitive engineer at Automation Anywhere and a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne, researching deep learning algorithms for Brain Computer Interface decoding. Andi has co-founded the BCI Australia meetup group as a social ad knowledge sharing hub for BCI enthusiasts in Australia and around the globe.

Nick Opie

The University of Melbourne

Assoc Prof Nicholas Opie is a biomedical engineer with experience in neural prostheses and co-head of the Vascular Bionics Laboratory. He completed his BE (Hons) and BSc undergraduate degrees at Monash University in 2007, his MBA at Melbourne Business School in 2018 and was awarded his PhD in 2012 for research developing a bionic eye.

Rikky Muller

Assistant Professor Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences, University of California, Berkeley

Rikky Muller is an Assistant Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Sciences at UC Berkeley where she holds the S. Shankar Sastry Professorship in Emerging Technologies. She is a Co-director of the Berkeley Wireless Research Center (BWRC), a Core Member of the Center for Neural Engineering and Prostheses (CNEP) and an Investigator at the Chan-Zuckerberg Biohub. Her research group focuses on emerging implantable and wearable medical devices and in developing low-power, wireless microelectronic and integrated systems for neurological applications. Prof Muller was also the Co-founder of Cortera Neurotechnologies Inc, a medical device company focused on closed-loop deep brain stimulation technology that was founded in 2013 and acquired in 2019.