Therapeutic innovation made in Ilmenau
Healyan is the brainchild of Philipp Caspari, a graduate of TU Ilmenau and former scholarship holder at the University of California, Berkeley. The system developed by his company consists of special LED glasses and an app for smartphones or tablets. The application aims to support mental states such as relaxation, concentration or an improved mood. In the future, a special version of the system will also be used as a medical product for the therapeutic treatment of Alzheimer's, depression, anxiety and sleep disorders.
With a clear focus on areas such as semiconductor technology and chip design, photonics and health tech, "boOst" is laying the foundations for the next generation of high-tech companies "Made in Germany".
Acoustic brain stimulation
In an earlier project with the Fraunhofer IDMT, it was realised that users can listen to their own music via Bluetooth headphones during light therapy. To do this, the light pulses had to be synchronised in real time with the music being played - depending on the desired therapeutic purpose.
In the current project, the Fraunhofer IDMT is going one step further: a special sound generator is being developed that produces targeted sounds that can stimulate the brain. The result is a new form of therapy in which both light and sound have a targeted effect on the brain.
"Certain sound modulations - such as isochronous or binaural tones - can stimulate the brain to work in a certain rhythm. This can specifically promote states such as relaxation, concentration or sleep. The brain follows the rhythm of the sounds, so to speak," explains Mario Seideneck, acoustics researcher at the Fraunhofer IDMT.
Integration of the sound generator into the Healyan app
The newly developed sound generator is to be integrated directly into the Healyan app. The neuromodulating sounds are played back in harmony with the light stimulation of the glasses and the music played. Depending on the selected mode - for example relaxation, concentration or falling asleep - different combinations of light and sound frequencies are used.
The Fraunhofer IDMT is also supporting the technical implementation of a user-friendly integration of the sound generator into the existing app.
Award-winning idea: support through innovation competition
The collaboration was made possible by Philipp Caspari's success at this year's iHUB pitch in Ilmenau - an ideas competition organised by the InSignA Innovation Hub and funded by the Thuringian Ministry of Economic Affairs, Agriculture and Rural Areas.
Thanks to its success in the competition, Healyan will receive free research and development support from the Fraunhofer IDMT until the end of the year.
"With this support from the Fraunhofer IDMT, we can now actually implement our idea and realise an important development step. By integrating brain-stimulating sounds, the effect of our therapy system can be enhanced - and new fields of application are opening up, especially in the medical field," says Philipp Caspari, founder of Healyan, with delight.
