UMD Brain Cap Technology Turns Thought into Motion

Mind-machine interface could lead to new life-changing technologies for millions of people

College Park, Md. - "Brain cap" technology being developed at the University of Maryland School of Public Health allows users to turn their thoughts into motion. Associate Professor of Kinesiology José 'Pepe' L. Contreras-Vidal and his team have created a non-invasive, sensor-lined cap with neural interface software that soon could be used to control computers, robotic prosthetic limbs, motorized wheelchairs and even digital avatars.

"We are on track to develop, test and make available to the public- within the next few years - a safe, reliable, noninvasive brain computer interface that can bring life-changing technology to millions of people whose ability to move has been diminished due to paralysis, stroke or other injury or illness," said Contreras-Vidal.

The potential and rapid progression of the UMD brain cap technology can be seen in a host of recent developments, including a just published study in the Journal of Neurophysiology, new grants from the National Science Foundation (NSF) and National Institutes of Health, and a growing list of partners that includes the University of Maryland School of Medicine, the Veterans Affairs Maryland Health Care System, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, Rice University and Walter Reed Army Medical Center's Integrated Department of Orthopaedics & Rehabilitation.



"We are doing something that few previously thought was possible," said Contreras-Vidal, who is also an affiliate professor in Maryland's Fischell Department of Bioengineering and the university's Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program. "We use EEG [electroencephalography] to non-invasively read brain waves and translate them into movement commands for computers and other devices.

Peer Reviewed 

Contreras-Vidal and his team have published three major papers on their technology over the past 18 months, the latest a just released study in the Journal of Neurophysiology in which they successfully used EEG brain signals to reconstruct the complex 3-D movements of the ankle, knee and hip joints during human treadmill walking. In two earlier studies they showed (1) similar results for 3-D hand movement and (2) that subjects wearing the brain cap could control a computer cursor with their thoughts.

Alessandro Presacco, a second-year doctoral student in Contreras-Vidal's Neural Engineering and Smart Prosthetics Lab, Contreras-Vidal and co-authors write that their Journal of Neurophysiology study indicated "that EEG signals can be used to study the cortical dynamics of walking and to develop brain-machine interfaces aimed at restoring human gait function."

There are other brain computer interface technologies under development, but Contreras-Vidal notes that these competing technologies are either very invasive, requiring electrodes to be implanted directly in the brain, or, if noninvasive, require much more training to use than does UMD's EEG-based, brain cap technology.

Read the complete news release UMD Brain Cap Technology Turns Thought into Motion

SPH Students Makes a Difference at Maryland General Assembly

On a visit to the Maryland General Assembly in March, we had the chance to catch up with Monica Machado, a UMD SPH graduate student working on completing her Masters in Health Administration this spring. She shared with us some of her experiences as an intern for Delegate Hubbard and how they relate to public health.

How did you end up interning with Delegate Hubbard?

I first met Delegate Hubbard and learned about his relationship with the School of Public Health and the University of Maryland on a field trip to the Maryland State Assembly in my Health Policy and Politics course in Spring 2010. On the field trip, we learned about his bills on BPA in baby bottles and chemicals in detergents. He emphasized that he thought very highly of UMD SPH and that in the past he had had interns from the school. He encouraged the students in my class to apply for an internship the next year and to encourage fellow students as well. Since then, I have had my eye set on getting the internship. Wes Queen in SPH knew about my intentions, so in the fall of 2010 when Delegate Hubbard’s office was looking for students to help organize student volunteers for the primary campaign, Wes asked if I was interested. I took the opportunity and I got PHEAR (Public Health Engaging and Representing) involved. I organized five students to help at the polls. Delegate Hubbard won the primary and then I volunteered at the polls for the general elections. After he won the general election, I contacted his office and applied for the internship. Delegate Hubbard has a good relationship with many of the faculty and staff in my Department. I was well recommended and soon started on the paperwork to make me official! I started my Capstone Experience/Project during the first week of the legislative session in January 2011.

My time interning with Delegate Hubbard is my Capstone Experience and it is structured similarly to an internship. My Capstone Project is on how to effectively advance state-level health policy and the role of academia and research on health policy. I am working on a specific bill, which will serve as a case study for my larger project.

What do you like most about it?

I really like the excitement about all of the bills being discussed and having up to the minute details about the progress of some of the more controversial bills (gay marriage was the biggest one). I really like the pace here. The beginning of session was sort of slow because there weren’t too many bills introduced because it was an election year.

What are your major responsibilities?

My main responsibility is researching, coordinating, and providing testimony on one bill. This includes finding out what other states have done on the issue, looking at federal recommendations, finding the legislative history, talking to advocacy groups, helping to draft amendments, preparing testimony, and delivering testimony to a committee. 

After that, I provide support for the many other bills that Delegate Hubbard sponsors. This includes making copies of testimony, getting amendments, drafting letters, and talking with constituents, lobbyists, and advocates.

Which bill are you supporting and why?

The bill I am working on is HB1150: Trauma-Informed Care. I chose to work on this bill because I am interested in patient safety and because it was grounded in research. This bill calls for improved patient safety in state mental health facilities, including training and separating male and female bedrooms. This bill was originally written by the Maryland Disability Law Center, which is the designated Protection and Advocacy agency for the State of Maryland, mandated to advance the civil rights of people with disabilities. They approached Delegate Hubbard to ask him to be the sponsor for the bill and after reviewing it, he agreed.

How is the bill progressing?

The House bill has been cross-filed (the same language as the House bill) in the Senate (SB 556), and was discussed by Senate committees earlier in the session than the House bill was. I provided my testimony to the Health and Government Operations Committee on March 17^th. In the Senate, the committee members, the MDLC, and the Mental Hygiene Administration (they must implement the bill) have come up with amendments that all parties can live with, and the bill is going to be voted out of committee soon.  In the House, the bill has not yet been assigned to a sub-committee, but we have already drafted amendments to match what happened in the Senate. The next steps are to discuss the House bill in a committee hearing and approve the amendments. After that it will be voted out of committee, voted on the floor, and then sent to the Senate to make the second to last approval. After that, it goes to the Governor to sign.

At the current point in the process, there have been some compromises on the bill, and it looks like the bill will pass!

Many Americans Have Poor Health Literacy -The Washington Post

The Washington Post featured an article about health literacy in the United States on Feb. 28, 2011. Dr. Bonnie Braun, the endowed chair and director at the Herschel S. Horowitz Center for Health Literacy at the UMD SPH provided her comments on the Post's article.

"As this article explains, health literacy is a vital set of knowledge and skills. Health literacy paves the way to positive health outcomes. It’s so important that all health professionals, not just those in the medical field, possess and use health literacy competencies in their professional practice settings.

"The Herschel S. Horowitz Center for Health Literacy is the nation’s first academic-based endowed health literacy center. We are addressing health literacy through education of students and current public health workers. We are conducting research and promoting the incorporation of health literacy science in education, public policy and the practice of all health professionals. We are currently launching Health Literacy Maryland, an initiative to collaboratively address barriers described in this article. We welcome others who want to join us.

"Thank you for writing this article. It laid a good foundation for the case of improving health literacy. We’d like to see a series of stories in the Post explaining how area hospitals, health centers, clinics, including dental and mental, health departments, nutrition educators and others are working to eliminate health literacy barriers among urban and rural populations."

Read the article on The Post's website here.

SPH Signs Agreement With the HRSA

On January 19, 2011, the University of Maryland School of Public Health and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA), an agency of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, entered into an agreement to establish multiple collaborative programs, including internship placement opportunities for SPH students.

Dean Robert Gold, Associate Deans Dushanka Kleinman, Laura Wilson and Sandra Crouse Quinn, Assistant Dean Colleen Farmer and Chief of Staff, Blakely Pomietto met at the SPH with Patrick Lockett, Vickie Baldwin and Coral Cope, who represented HRSA’s Division of Workforce Development.

The two organizations are working to establish an internship program that will be beneficial to students and the employees they are working alongside at the HRSA. Along with internship opportunities, the SPH and the HRSA will initiate planning for programs to address workforce development for the agency.

Dr. Sandra Crouse Quinn, Associate Dean for Public Health Initiatives, said, “HRSA’s broad array of responsibilities and offices provide a rich source of internship opportunities for both undergraduate and graduate students in the school.”

This is the first formal agreement signed by University of Maryland President Wallace D. Loh, and it aims to expand upon the commitment to improve public health programs and knowledge shared by the HRSA and the SPH.

Above: Sandra Crouse Quinn, Dushanka Kleinman, Vickie Baldwin, Blakely Pomietto, Patrick Lockett, Dean Robert Gold, Laura Wilson, Colleen Farmer and Coral Cope at the first meeting between the SPH and the HRSA.

Beltsville Community Health Fair

Public and Community Health students had the opportunity to put what they’ve been learning in the classroom to use at a health fair for the Beltsville community on Monday, Nov. 15.

Dr. Sharon Desmond’s section of HLTH391, Principles of Public and Community Health, hosted “Fall Into Good Health” a family health fair at the Beltsville Community Center, and around 200 people came out to support the event.

The students were divided up into six different committees in regards to planning and executing the fair: door prizes, evaluation, facilities management, publicity, topics and vendors.

Lucy Valera and Ryan Nguy, both public and community health seniors, were a part of the evaluation committee, which developed surveys for the fair’s students, visitors and vendors.

Along with that, the two created a display for the fair about the importance of exercise.

“We thought about activities and ways to get people to start exercising,” Valera said.
Their display, which included hula hooping, was one of the most popular spots among the children at the fair.

Nguy said he got to speak with people at the fair that he wouldn’t have had the opportunity to otherwise, including a man who claimed watching others work out keeps him healthy.

“It helps us get into the public and see how people feel, and how they actually talk about their health,” he said.

Kristina Smyrk, another public and community health senior, was a part of the topics committee, which conducted focus groups before the event to find out what topics should be presented.

Based on their research, the students presented information on preventing teen drinking, exercise, breast cancer, Alzheimer’s prevention, sexually transmitted diseases, prenatal care, preventing bullying, Type II Diabetes, oral health, newborn and infant health, HIV and AIDS and child safety.

Students from the vendors committee identified and called vendors and organizations from the local community to participate in the fair as well.

The vendors conducted vision screenings, bone density and bone composition testing, blood pressure, glucose and flexibility screenings, HIV testing, social work counseling and administered flu shots.

Lisa Conto, a public and community health senior, said it was a relief to see everything at the fair finally coming together.

“It’s not like in a classroom,” she said. “You’re actually out here doing stuff with people and learning.”

Visiting Professor uses technology to fight cholera epidemic in Haiti

Mike McDonald, Dr.P.H., a School of Public Health visiting professor, is one of many public health experts who is attempting to identify the critical problem areas in Haiti in order to improve the health conditions there.

"In the days and weeks ahead, thousands of medical and public health workers, focused on the health and human security of Haitians, have the opportunity to prevent tens of thousands of cholera infections and innumerable deaths," he said.

There have been nearly 10,000 reported cases of cholera on the island, and almost 1,000 cholera-related deaths thus far, McDonald said.

McDonald has brought together colleagues from across the country to address the health issues in Haiti, and to help find more efficient ways to pinpoint where the problem areas are in the small country through the Haiti Medical and Public Health Information System.

"The Haiti Medical and Public Health Information System is the nervous system that is linking all the medical and public health organizations together to create a unity effort," McDonald said.

While Tropical Storm Tomas did minimal damage to the country, it did drench the island with rainwater, increasing the probability that cholera could spread through the water supply.

"We could see the [cholera] epidemic growing at a much faster rate, especially if it is going into communities where it is much harder to contain," he said.

Following the Haiti earthquake on Jan. 12, 2010, the traditional disease surveillance capabilities in place were not sufficient in Haiti’s complex operating environment, McDonald said.

For that reason, McDonald, among others, focused on adding two new dimensions to aiding the public health surveillance efforts there, he said.

One of the efforts is The Haiti Epidemic Advisory system, a subgroup of the Haiti Medical and Public Health Information System.

The advisory system uses social networks to identify health problems, reporting them to clinicians and public health officials 20 to 30 days sooner than traditional methods of reporting the same information, according to McDonald.

The third tier of communication is an improved crowd sourcing capability, enabling experts to get through cell phones and the Internet directly to Haitian people and humanitarian workers in the field, he said.

These functions have been able to address the lack of communication among Haitian health facilities and the nongovernmental organizations working in Haiti, McDonald said.

McDonald said responders to the situation in Haiti are looking to identify the top 100 plus intelligent social networks and organizations that have the ability to self trigger to address mission critical gaps and respond with smart swarms, social networks that utilize collective intelligence, to achieve a synergistic outcome.

With the help of clinicians, public health workers and other health sector workers in Haiti, better channels of communication have created a public health information-sharing environment capable of pinpointing where the cholera-related infections and deaths are emerging, he said.

"The overall effort amplifies the benefit through collaboration," he said.

In circumstances like Haiti, the idea is to work with U.S. Government agencies and nongovernmental organizations on an ongoing basis to deepen the U.S. societies’ capabilities to rapidly respond to disasters or other health issues, McDonald said.

This is done through information sharing environments, smart swarms information and 5th generation command control systems, which will act as complex adaptive systems with situation awareness, he said.

McDonald hopes to advance these 5th generation command and control capabilities to improve health and human security through the University of Maryland School of Public Health Center for Health Security and Infrastructure, which, he says, will have the ability to uniquely convene and introduce new science and technology into the work that has already been done.

According to McDonald, the center will initiate a national systems science consortium to help bring the best minds together to bear science, technology, management and governance on challenges that threaten the health and human security of Americans and their communities of interest globally.

McDonald hosted an open conference call on Nov. 16 to discuss the possibility of hosting a Crisis Camp, which would bring together volunteers to assist in organizing and aggregating the data that is being collected in the areas affected by cholera in Haiti.