Tag Archives: monitors

Dutch Air Force Monitors Pilots’ Brainwaves for Enhanced Training Challenges

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Dutch Air Force Uses AI to Enhance Pilot Training

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Fighter pilots in training are leveraging AI technology to read their brainwaves while flying in virtual reality simulations. This innovative approach helps assess task difficulty and adjust complexity in real-time, offering a more personalized training experience. Recent experiments revealed that trainee pilots prefer this adaptive training system over traditional, static methods, although it hasn’t demonstrated a measurable improvement in skills.

Utilizing simulators and virtual reality platforms for pilot training is not only more cost-effective but also significantly safer than real-world flight exercises. However, it’s crucial that these educational scenarios are dynamically fine-tuned to balance comfort and cognitive load effectively.

Evi van Weerden, a researcher at the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Center in Amsterdam, has spearheaded this initiative by utilizing a brain-computer interface to read student pilots’ brainwaves through electrodes attached to their scalps. The AI analyzes this data to assess the difficulty levels of tasks pilots encounter.

“We are continually striving to enhance pilot training. It may sound like science fiction, but for me, as I analyze the data, it feels quite normal,” Van Weerden states.

A total of 15 Dutch Air Force pilots participated in the experiment, where the system calibrated between five distinct difficulty levels by adjusting visibility within the simulation based on the AI’s assessment of task complexity.

Post-training interviews revealed that while none of the pilots reported noticing real-time adjustments in difficulty, 10 out of the 15 pilots expressed a preference for the adaptive tests over preprogrammed exercises that incrementally increased in difficulty. Nevertheless, it’s noteworthy that pilots displayed no significant improvement in task performance when compared to traditional training methods. In essence, while pilots appreciated the mind-reading technology, it did not enhance their skill levels.

This discrepancy may stem from the individual differences in brain function, as Van Weerden explains. The AI model was initially trained on data from a separate cohort of novice pilots and subsequently applied to the 15 study participants. Implementing AI systems that accurately analyze brainwaves across varied populations remains a challenge. Notably, six pilots exhibited minimal variation in perceived difficulty, suggesting the AI may not have accurately interpreted their brain data.

Dr. James Blundell from Cranfield University in the UK highlighted that similar technologies are being explored for use in live aircraft to enhance pilot operation safety. “We’re investigating the ability to detect panic responses and creating interventions to help pilots regain control and composure during challenging situations,” Blundell explains. For instance, should a pilot find themselves inverted, the technology could provide critical information to enable a return to stable flight.

While promising progress has been made in isolated scenarios, the question of whether brain-reading technology can be effectively harnessed to bolster aviation safety remains unanswered. “There is still a considerable journey ahead to realize this potential,” concludes Blundell.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Your Brain Monitors Your Sleep Debt—And We Might Finally Understand How

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How does the brain encourage us to make up for our sleep loss?

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Researchers have identified mouse neurons that assist the brain in managing and recovering from sleep debt. Similar pathways exist in humans and could enhance treatments for conditions associated with sleep disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease.

Everyone knows the struggle of sleep debt — the difference between the sleep one needs and what one gets. However, the mechanisms through which the brain tracks sleep loss have remained largely unclear.

Mark Woo from Johns Hopkins University and his team investigated the brain pathways of mice associated with sleep by injecting tracers into 11 brain regions known to promote sleep. The tracers revealed connections to 22 regions linked to four sleep-promoting areas.

Previous studies concentrated on a limited number of unidentified regions. A method known as chemogenetics was utilized, administering specialized drugs to the mice that activated particular areas of the brain. The mice were divided into 11 groups of 3-4 and different regions were stimulated in each group.

Interestingly, an area called the thalamic nuclear reuniens proved to be significant. Stimulation of neurons in this region resulted in a substantial increase in REM sleep for the mice — about twice as much as non-stimulated counterparts. However, it took a few hours for the stimulated mice to fall asleep, during which they exhibited signs of readiness to rest.

“When you go to sleep, you likely engage in routines like brushing your teeth, washing your face, or fluffing your pillow. Mice do something similar; they groom themselves and prepare their nests,” says Wu. This suggests that these neurons are not simple on/off switches for sleep but rather promote drowsiness.

Support for this theory came from another experiment where deactivating thalamic nuclear cells in six sleep-deprived mice resulted in decreased drowsiness. These mice were more active and nested less than the control group, averaging 10% less non-REM sleep.

Additional tests have indicated that these neurons activate during sleep deprivation and become silent when sleep begins.

Collectively, these findings indicate that this brain region not only triggers sleepiness but also facilitates recovery sleep following sleep loss, according to Wu. Targeting these neurons could lead to new therapies for sleep disorders characterized by excessive drowsiness after rest, as well as conditions like Alzheimer’s disease, where individuals struggle with sleep.

However, it’s uncertain if equivalent brain circuits exist in humans. William Gialdino from Stanford University expresses caution, stating that while the immediate effects of sleep deprivation are being studied, the long-term consequences may differ significantly from those observed in humans experiencing chronic sleep loss.

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Source: www.newscientist.com

Pregnancy Strap that Monitors Heart Rate Could Forecast Preterm Birth

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Scientists used fitness tracker WHOOP to monitor heart rate during pregnancy

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Wearing a wrist-strap heart rate tracker during pregnancy may help doctors predict who is at risk for premature birth.

In previous research, shon rowan Researchers at West Virginia University recruited 18 women to wear heart-tracking wrist straps from the brand WHOOP throughout their pregnancies.

They were all born at term, and tracking data showed that heart rate variability (the variation in the time interval between heartbeats) decreased clearly during the first 33 weeks of pregnancy, and then steadily increased until birth. It became clear.

Rowan was curious to see if the same pattern occurred in people who give birth prematurely. Emily Capodilupo A larger study is being conducted at WHOOP in Boston, Massachusetts. They and colleagues analyzed tracker data provided by 241 pregnant women between the ages of 23 and 47 in the United States and 15 other countries. It is unclear whether this data includes data for transgender men.

All participants were pregnant with one child born between March 2021 and October 2022. In total, more than 24,000 heart rate variability records were provided.

Similar to the previous study, those who gave birth at term showed an obvious switch in heart rate variability around 33 weeks of gestation, or an average of seven weeks before delivery.

However, the 8.7% who were born prematurely had much less consistent patterns of heart rate variability, Rowan said. This change from decrease to increase in variability occurred at different times during pregnancy, but similar to those born at term, the change occurred on average about 7 weeks before birth, although the birth was premature. It seemed like there was.

In the future, the device could identify pregnancies that require closer monitoring or benefit from administering drugs such as steroids to help the fetus' lungs develop, Rowan said.

You can also plan to stay near hospitals that provide specialized care, which can be especially helpful for people who live in remote areas, he says.

“Once we are able to remotely monitor some of their health using things like the WHOOP tracker, and we start to see changes in that. [in heart rate variability]Then you might be able to be a little more proactive,” says Rowan.

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Source: www.newscientist.com