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TRICIA
SADA
Discover the brain with Scope
Project 01 : UCLA x Venturewell Sponsored Project
Scope is a wireless EEG brain scanner that will enable researchers to understand the brain on a level that has never been achieved before.
14 Week Project: Design a next level EEG brain scanner and brain research platform that is wireless, hidden, and high-fidelity.
Team
Tricia Sada: Product Designer
Noel Ekker Product Designer
Pooja Nair: Interaction Designer
Diana Choung: Graphic Designer
+ Wireless
Scope allows the EEG to be used outside of the lab, with patients in the field, as it is no longer tethered to a machine.
+ Discreet
Patients will be able to wear this mind reader covertly under a beanie or baseball cap.
+ Hi-Fidelity
Scope is a 360 channel EEG that can also read the depth of the brain, something no other EEG on the market can do.
+ Problems
Current EEG devices are tethered to a machine and require gel and a long attachment process of each individual electrode to put on the device.
Current EEG devices cannot measure the depth and breath that this device can. This will allow for more in-depth research of how the brain works
Defining User Painpoints
through Journey Maps
Formulating Problem Areas
From analysis of test subject and researcher journey maps we found multiple points of negative experiences.
- Wet Head
A wet gel used to improve electrode conductivity feels uncomfortable on the test subject's head
- Long Setup
Electrodes need to be individually placed and injected with gel to get good data.
Turning Problems into Solutions
+ Dry EEG
Using Dry electrodes in Scope will eliminate wet gel discomfort
+ Quick Setup
Scope creates a way to adjust headwear to subject's head once, and after that subject can put it like a regular hat
- In-Clinic Only
Researchers can only measure brain activity for short periods of time in the lab because the EEG needs to be wired to the computer.
+ Wireless
Scope allows the EEG to be used outside of the lab for field research, as it is no longer tethered to a machine.
Initial Ideation Stage
What if we attached to the crown?
What if we map modules based on
lobe placement?
What if we built a skeleton framework?
First Refined Iteration
We created a skeleton framework that when put together would be fully adjustable.
Problem Areas
The first iteration had some flaws:
-
The design was mechanically complicated and did not consider soft good solutions
-
Not enough adjustability where electrodes are attached to skeleton
-
Spacing between fabric modules were inconsistent
Question: How can we create total adjustability on the head?
Iterative Ideation Stage
We used found objects and inspiration from other fields to ideate creative ways to solve the problem of total adjustability to head shape.
We had the crazy idea: What if a brain scanner is made out of a wig cap?
That's ridiculous — but it worked.
Who would have thought that a tube wig cap could be the solution to a brain scanner?
It allows you to stretch the fabric tight to the head, and twist up any excess to create enough pressure for electrode contact with skin.
SCOPE final concept
The final hardware consists of 3 parts:
-
TPU Crown
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EEG Nylon Layer
-
Compression Layer (Wig Cap Concept)
The combination of these parts creates a wireless EEG cap that is fully adjustable to head sizes.
Here's the Technology Behind it All:
Team
Dr. Yi Kai Lo : UCLA CNSI Doctor
Tricia Sada: Product Designer
Noel Ekker Product Designer
Pooja Nair: Interaction Designer
Diana Choung: Graphic Designer
Interaction +
Help Researchers gain qualitative data on the brain
+ Branding
Scope goes beyond being a mind reading research tool.
It has become a platform for discovering the brain.
It's the next human genome project, but instead of DNA it's the brain
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