Collaboration between the human brain and computers for healing the nervous system

Students of the University of Debrecen did pretty well at this year’s NeuroSpark Hackathon held in Elche, Spain. Our contestants, representing the Faculty of Economics and Business, the Faculty of Engineering and the Faculty of Informatics, competed as members of international teams focusing on potential solutions of problems related to the nervous system and managed to achieve significant results.

The Student Council of NeurotechEU, a European university alliance dedicated to the advancement of neuroscience, held its latest idea competition called NeuroSpark Hackathon hosted by Universidad Miguel Hernández de Elche, Spain. Participating students from ten European universities at the 24-hour innovation marathon challenge were divided by the organizers into seven cross-disciplinary international teams to work together. Their task was to develop new and functional prototypes and applications that provide solutions to neurological problems using a portable device that senses the electrical activity of the human brain via an interface.

The University of Debrecen (UD), being a founding member of NeurotechEU Alliance and participating currently in the activities of this organization as an associate partner, was represented in this competition by three of our students. The team that included Péter Antal from the Faculty of Economics and Business and Nicolas Peña from the Faculty of Engineering focused on how to reduce phantom limb pain with increased precision neural control. Meanwhile, Máté Majoros, a student at the Faculty of Informatics, joined a team trying to develop an Android phone application by using real-time electroencephalography (EEG) data for assisting people who struggle to identify human emotions.

- The involvement of three different faculties indicates that brain research is no longer the privilege of the medical and natural sciences. In fact, knowledge of engineering, IT, and economics is also essential in developing truly usable solutions. The projects that were created in less than 24 hours, demonstrated an incredibly high level of creativity and teamwork as well as a thorough understanding of the subject matter- said Péter Szücs, Director of the Department of Anatomy, Histology and Embryology at the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Debrecen and Scientific Coordinator of NeurotechEU at UD.

An active part in the success of the NeurotechEU team of UD was played by József Tőzsér, Vice-Rector for Life Sciences, and Orsolya Gregán, Head of the Center for International R&D Relations. The trip to Spain was made possible by Orsolya Jánosy, Head of our International Office, facilitated through the Pannonia Program.