Israeli startup to test brain-activity gear on space mission to ISS

Axtec

28/03/2022 13:00

By Steven Scheer
    TEL AVIV, March 28 (Reuters) - Israel's Brain.Space, a
four-year-old startup that studies data on brain activity, is
set to put its gear to test on astronauts in space next week
during a SpaceX shuttle flight to the International Space
Station (ISS).
    Three astronauts on the planned private space-flight firm
Axiom Space's mission to the ISS will use a special
electroencephalogram (EEG)-enabled helmet made by Brain.Space,
the company said on Monday.
    The 10-day mission, the first-ever private trip to the space
station, will set off on April 3 with four astronauts.
    "We actually know that the microgravity environment impacts
the physiological indicators in the body. So, it will probably
impact the brain and we would like to monitor that," Brain.Space
Chief Executive Yair Levy told Reuters.
    Data has continuously been collected on heart rate, skin
resistance, muscle mass and others in space but not yet on brain
activity, he said.
    Brain.Space joins 30 experiments that will take part in the
so-called Rakia Mission to the ISS.     
    Three of the four astronauts -- including Israeli Eytan
Stibbe -- will wear the helmet, which has 460 airbrushes that
connect to the scalp, and perform a number of tasks for 20
minutes a day, during which data will be uploaded to a laptop on
the space station. The tasks include a "visual oddball" one that
the company says has been effective in detecting abnormal brain
dynamics.
    Similar studies using these tasks have been completed on
Earth and after the mission, Brain.Space will compare the EEG
data to see the differences in brain activity between Earth and
space. 
    It noted that such experiments are needed since long-term
space exploration and "off-world living are within grasp."
    Brain.Space, which also said it raised $8.5 million in a
seed funding round, bills itself as a brain infrastructure
company and is working with the cognitive and brain sciences
department at Israel's Ben Gurion University to transform
terabytes of data into usable insights.
    Levy said he hoped the space mission would be a springboard
for other institutions, researchers and software developers to
use its brain data platform.
    "Space is an accelerator. The idea is to revolutionise and
make possible brain activity apps, products and services that's
as easy as pulling data from an Apple Watch," Levy said,
pointing to measuring ADHD as an example.

 (Reporting by Steven Scheer
Editing by Bernadette Baum)
 ((steven.scheer@thomsonreuters.com; +972 2 632 2210; Reuters
Messaging: steven.scheer.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net;
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