Public Funding for Emteq Limited

Fatigue cases reduced mental or physical performance. It can be caused by sleep loss, extended wakefulness, 'body clock' mismatch (jetlag) or excessive workload. It can lead to errors, sometimes with grave consequences. We are developing a wearable device that enables unobtrusive monitoring of fatigue, which will be particularly useful in high stakes setting such as driving, flying and operating dangerous machinery.

Producers of screen fiction face a daunting challenge in capturing the attention of audiences. The current gold standard used by industry CEOs and film content producers to understanding if a film or TV pilot will be commercially viable is audience testing. The structure of audience testing has changed little since it was first used in 1928\. A target audience is invited to preview content in a theatre. Afterward, the audience fills out questionnaires rating the show or film they have seen. A smaller focus group of twenty or thirty is then asked to stay and discuss their reactions in more detail, with questioning focused primarily upon ascertaining an overall rating (e.g., "What was your reaction to the movie overall?") and generalised aspects of the film (e.g. "list which scenes or moments of the movie you liked the most/least?"). There are a number of limitations with this approach: * Since audience testing was conceived, our understanding of how emotional responses and individual differences shape how we evaluate experiences has advanced * Audience testing was never designed for fully immersive experiences. It remains unknown how well existing audience testing methodologies can explain how audiences will consume 3D content * Target audiences are selected on the basis of superficial characteristics (age, ethnicity) instead of the self-relevant traits that better determine interest and engagement * It is prohibitively expensive for productions operating on a shoe-string budget To address these needs we are running a feasibility study to test a new approach to audience testing. This will involve content creators labeling onscreen events for their desired emotional response and then testing if audiences show the desired response. To achieve the aims of this feasibility study we will: * Investigate what features of 2D and 3D experiences content creators would like feedback on * Develop a prototype system of SimLabVR for demonstration purposes sufficient to show proof of principle * Run a pilot study to test if it is possible to identify a target audience using emotional responses alone, without reliance on superficial characteristics.

As EU populations age, their risk of disease that impacts brain function leading to difficulties in everyday life and care requirements increases. Dementia (10M EU sufferers projected to double by 2030) and stroke (1.1M EU events each year) affect older members of society and significantly impact the individual who may then need additional help rehabilitation to retain and improve their ability to lead a healthy and fulfilling life. Currently, brain rehabilitation is conducted via pen and paper exercises that stimulate capabilities such as memory, attention and speech. However, there is minimal training geared towards everyday tasks e.g. shopping, public transport, that can often be stressful for those with brain functionality issues. We propose to undertake a EUREKA! collaborative research project to develop brain rehabilitation that utilises virtual reality environments akin to real life scenarios e.g. museums and shops, to help individuals build up skills they can use every day. The system will use virtual reality hardware that is enabled with sensors that track user attention, motion and emotional state to enable tailoring of the experience to provide the best rehabilitation training for users. Bioinformation will be used to tailor the difficulty and experience to the particular user to ensure they derive the most benefit from the training. Our overall aims will be to develop virtual reality training that reduce the time that stroke survivors spend in rehabilitation by two weeks on average and slows deterioration of dementia patients by six weeks. The proposed project will help us to understand the needs to users (human centred design) and build on existing technical capability to develop engaging and interactive environments that improve brain rehabilitation processes for users. Our ultimate ambition to roll this out to EU healthcare and care settings to improve patient outcomes.

As EU populations age, their risk of disease that impacts brain function leading to difficulties in everyday life and care requirements increases. Dementia (10M EU sufferers projected to double by 2030) and stroke (1.1M EU events each year) affect older members of society and significantly impact the individual who may then need additional help rehabilitation to retain and improve their ability to lead a healthy and fulfilling life. Currently, brain rehabilitation is conducted via pen and paper exercises that stimulate capabilities such as memory, attention and speech. However, there is minimal training geared towards everyday tasks e.g. shopping, public transport, that can often be stressful for those with brain functionality issues. We propose to undertake a EUREKA! collaborative research project to develop brain rehabilitation that utilises virtual reality environments akin to real life scenarios e.g. museums and shops, to help individuals build up skills they can use every day. The system will use virtual reality hardware that is enabled with sensors that track user attention, motion and emotional state to enable tailoring of the experience to provide the best rehabilitation training for users. Bioinformation will be used to tailor the difficulty and experience to the particular user to ensure they derive the most benefit from the training. Our overall aims will be to develop virtual reality training that reduce the time that stroke survivors spend in rehabilitation by two weeks on average and slows deterioration of dementia patients by six weeks. The proposed project will help us to understand the needs to users (human centred design) and build on existing technical capability to develop engaging and interactive environments that improve brain rehabilitation processes for users. Our ultimate ambition to roll this out to EU healthcare and care settings to improve patient outcomes.

Awaiting Public Project Summary

One in six UK adults are affected by a mental health disorder (ranging from phobias to psychosis), but most do not receive treatment (NHS Digital 2016). People who do receive treatment are more likely to be given general medication rather than a targeted and personalised psychological intervention. Yet, for many common mental health conditions, particularly anxiety disorders, patients prefer evidence-based psychological treatments, which are also shown to have the best outcomes. Numerous studies have demonstrated the benefits of virtual reality for a range of mental health conditions such as anxiety disorders. However, there is currently no method to remotely monitor patients' progress to ensure safety. Emteq Ltd is developing a biosensing VR mobile headset and associated software to enable real-time feedback on performance, adaptive treatments based on personalised individual characteristics. Patients will be able to access a range of personalised treatments from the comfort of their own homes. This will have the benefit of allowing clinic-based therapists to oversee the treatment of multiple users simultaneously via software dashboards. Furthermore, this solution will enable scarce resources of in-person visits with therapists to be focussed on those with the greatest need, or who are unsuitable for a technology-enabled solution.

no public description

There is a high emotional cost of treating multiple severely ill patients, triaging those to save, whilst working under severe resource constraints. Health care workers are engaged in a prolonged battle against a deadly, highly contagious illness with no known cure. Following the 2003 SARS outbreak, many health care workers reported high levels of stress, anxiety, and depression symptoms, which had long-term psychological implications. Similarly, frontline healthcare workers directly involved in care of patients with COVID-19 are at risk of developing mental health symptoms including post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).  PTSD is caused by witnessing or experiencing actual or threatened death, serious injury or violence. It causes tremendous suffering, is difficult to treat under normal circumstances, and is even more difficult to treat under pandemic situations. A cross-sectional research study published in March 2020 found that of 1257 health care workers managing Covid-19 in 34 hospitals, 50.4% reported symptoms of depression, 44.6% symptoms of anxiety, 34% insomnia, and 71.5% reported distress.  Past research shows that over a **third** of front line responders experience symptoms of PTSD. It affects the individual (depression), their family (strained relationships), their colleagues (loss of effectiveness), the hospital (reduced resources) and has an economic cost. Employers have an obligation to protect their employees from known threats to their physical and mental well being. Sadly, diagnostic practices for mental illnesses are poorly implemented and patient stratification is almost non- existent in the NHS. NHS-approved therapies for PTSD include cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT), and more recently Eye Movement Desensitisation and Reprocessing (EMDR). These are difficult to deliver and suboptimal via telemedicine, which reinforces the importance of prevention Studies have supported the use of virtual reality for anxiety disorders including PTSD as it allows both the assessment of fear responses, and resilience training. However, traditionally-delivered VR therapy needs a therapist in the room to monitor the patient and ensure that there do not become overwhelmed.  As pandemic circumstances preclude therapists from travelling to hospitals, our EmteqVR solution provides the best of both worlds: real-time sensing of emotional responses to negate the need for a therapist to be in the same room, and a range of graded life-like exposures without the need to travel. For this project, our app will allow earlier warning of when users are experiencing stress. Later this will be integrated into our VR therapy platform.

Parkinson's disease is a progressive neurological condition that affects over 6 million people worldwide. Half of Parkinson patients suffer from a condition called Freezing of Gait, where they feel as if their feet are "glued" to the ground. This sensation can occur when you start to walk or while walking and many last for several seconds to minutes. In the UK there are 145,000 people with Parkinson's and over 72,000 people who suffer from Freezing of Gait.This project is focused on developing SMARTAR -- Augmented Reality platform for increasing the mobility and independence of Parkinson's disease patients. SMARTAR is an Augmented Reality Glasses that, through the use of sensors, will monitor a person's gait, detecting if a freezing incident occurs. It will then use proven techniques of giving the user a visual focus point of parallel lines on the ground to "step over". This method has been proven to be the best solution to overcoming Freezing. SMARTAR will be a portable solution that will work both inside and outside, allowing the user to keep their mobility and to be more independent and less reliant on family members or caretakers.Existing solution address Freezing in Parkinson patients require the user to turn them on/off or to always be on. They can also be very noticeable, drawing unwanted attention to the person with Parkinson's. The need and challenge in this project is to develop a discrete solution and by using Augmented Reality Glasses we will be able to create a system that only the user will be able to interact with.Awaiting Public Project Summary

"Emteq Ltd, based at the Sussex Innovation Centre, is developing a wearable digital platform that allows real-time objective monitoring of novel markers of depression. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimates more than 300m people are living with depression. In the UK, up to 10% of people will suffer from depression at some point in their lives; accounting for over 57m annual antidepressant prescriptions (England, 2014). The rising incidence of depression worldwide is attributed to increased stress and changing lifestyle. The economic cost of treating a patient with depression is £2,085/person/year and productivity losses account for £7.5b annually. Most precision medicine approaches look for genetic or molecular disease markers. However, whilst some conditions such as cystic fibrosis have and strong genetic influence, twin studies show that for the top ten causes of preventable deaths, genes contribute only a minor predictive role. All of the top ten causes of premature death have a strong behavioural influence, therefore predictive analytics based on digital phenotyping has huge potential to save lives. Currently, no technology is available for clinicians to measure emotional responses objectively in people with major depression. In clinical practice, assessment and documentation of symptoms and signs relies on the patients' subjective recall and a 'snapshot' of how they are feeling on the day. In this respect, a system for objective monitoring during day-to-day activities could have a tremendous impact on treatment stratification and compliance, and understanding individual drivers of happiness. We are collaborating with leading specialists in mental health (MindTech, Sussex Partnership NHS Trust), to develop the 'MOOD' platform for use in patient diagnosis, stratification and treatment monitoring. Sussex Partnership NHS Trust operates from over 260 sites, including community services, and serves a population of 1.55 million people. MindTech is instrumental in ensuring adequate Public Patient Representation, user interface design and advice on clinical pathways. We have invested heavily in building an international network of commercial and academic partners. Successful project delivery will cement our reputation as leading innovators within the industry and is the first step in an ambitious commercial strategy to disrupt the depression treatment and screening markets."

Fatigue causes reduced mental or physical performance. It can be caused by sleep loss, extended wakefulness, 'body clock' mismatch (jetlag) or workload. It can lead to errors, sometimes with grave consequences. Workers operating in safety-critical environments, such as pilots, air traffic controllers, and surgeons, have strictly enforced rules governing working hours. Surgeons, for example, should not work longer than 48 hours per week. However, there are examples where legislation to avoid fatigue does not exist. Private motorists and light vehicle drivers represent a far greater number of the total UK population and fatigue for these people too can have serious consequences. Analysis suggests that driver fatigue contributes to ~20% of road traffic collisions (RTCs) that result in death or people being killed or seriously injured (KSI). Some 50-70% of those affected are aged 15-35 years old and require expensive long-term care. Through disabling injuries, fatigue could cost the UK economy up to £1.4Bn per year. Current methods of measuring fatigue are either highly subjective, self-reports by drivers themselves, or they use technology to measure bodily changes. This includes cameras that track drivers' blinking, facial expressions and head position. However, these methods are inaccurate in poor light and do not allow the use of sunglasses, limiting wider adoption. This project offers an alternative to these limited ways of measuring fatigue. ALERT is a fatigue monitoring glasses incorporated into one of the oldest examples of wearable technology, a pair of glasses. The frame will be compatible with corrective lenses and sunglasses. ALERT will measure additional indices of fatigue, including blink parameters as well as heart rate, facial muscle activity, head posture and temperature. ALERT will enable the first individualised, objective assessment of fatigue. This will allow us to attract partners for a second project to commercialise ALERT. These partners could be insurance firms or large fleet operators, who increasingly realise that they have a legal duty of care to protect staff and the public from fatigued drivers.

"Communication platforms have transitioned from a one-to-many structure (broadcast media) to a one to one interaction. This increasing personalisation means that ever more content is needed to match the growing number of demographic niches. In 2016, sales of VR headsets were below original market forecasts. The total number of units (not including their smartphone cousins) are estimated at 1.2 million --- much less than the 2 million predicted. The main reason was the lack of engaging content. Currently, many developers are creating experiences based on a narrow set of assumptions, and without objective data on what constitutes an engaging experience. Understanding the user's emotions and behaviour is an essential goal for experience designers and content developers, as it offers insight into the user's satisfaction and overall interaction with the immersive experiences. The current available solutions are limited to questionnaires conducted after the experience, which rely on the user's inevitably fallible recall. Alternatively the user can describe their responses in real time, but this breaks the immersive experience by requiring the user to disengage with the content to provide explicit feedback. Our goal is to explore the potential of real-time emotion recognition technologies for VR/Mixed reality that avoid these disadvantages by using biosensors to capture implicit emotional responses especially designed for use in Virtual Reality settings. Emotional information derived from the user during an immersive experience can enhance the gameplay (e.g. user-user interaction with expressive avatars via emotional facial expressions), improve the accessibility for disabled people (e.g. enable interaction with facial gestures for people with limb paralysis) and assist immersive designers (e.g. use as additional input for interaction design or adaptive user experience design, while also could be used for content evaluation (market research). The latter could drastically reduce the risk and cost of content development by cutting the distribution risk to the wrong audience, or by allowing marketing to a specific behavioural segment. The outputs of this research could assist in numerous immersive applications such as: (1) Enhancement of immersive experience design, (2) Virtual avatars related VR applications, (3) Content evaluation and market research, (4) Social VR and (5) contribute to healthcare interventions. We have engaged with experts and will further refine the problem, test a range of options and deliver design concepts that can be evaluated in a subsequent project"

Parkinson's Disease affects 30 million people worldwide (Frederico et al 2012) and is the second commonest neurodegenerative disorder. Symptoms include tremors, loss of facial expressivity, loss of vocal projection, muscle rigidity, dropping posture, walking difficulty. There are 10,000 new cases of Parkinson’s disease (PD) each year in the UK. One reason why a cure for Parkinson’s is elusive is because the movement symptoms (e.g. tremor) only appear many years after the nerve cells start dying (70-80% of the nerve cells are already been lost by then). We do not know enough yet about these early stages, although it is clear that some symptoms may occur up to 20 years before the movement problems of Parkinson's appear. A clinician will only ever see a 'thin slice' of a patient's daily life and therefore is making important decisions about management with very limited information. We are developing a wearable technology to identify a subset of patients who might merit further investigation and treatment. Currently, the inability to objectively and remotely monitor treatment response or deterioration does not enabled personalised treatments and leads to unnecessary complications due to over-dosing, inadequate treatment and poor quality of life.

We have developed novel, miniaturised muscle activity sensors that work without the need for invasive procedures. We aim to integrate these into a glasses frame. In combination with a six-axis motion sensor (gyroscope and accelerometer) we want to demonstrate: -Detection of corrugator (frown) muscle activity, without drawbacks of EMG (skin preparation, obtrusive caps) -Accurate detection of head position, without drawbacks of remote cameras (occlusion, reference objects) -Gesture recognition through a combination of the above -Assessment of emotional state, through head position and corrugator response to IAPS images -Performance compared to conventional EMG technology This work could lead to gesture activated devices, enhanced software that detects user engagement and entertainment that detects emotional state of the user.

Fatigue causes reduced mental or physical performance. It can be caused by sleep loss, extended wakefulness, 'body clock' mismatch (jetlag) or excessive workload. It can lead to errors, sometimes with grave consequences. Workers operating in safety-critical environments, such as pilots and surgeons, have strictly enforced rules governing working hours. Surgeons should not work longer than 48 hours per week. However, there are examples where legislation to avoid fatigue does not exist. Private motorists and light vehicle drivers represent a far greater number of the total UK population and fatigue for these people too can have serious consequences. Analysis suggests that driver fatigue contributes to ~20% of road traffic collisions (RTCs) that result in death or serious injury (KSI). 50-70% of those affected are aged 15-35 years old and require expensive long-term care. Through KSIs, fatigue could cost the UK economy up to £1.4Bn per year. Current methods of measuring fatigue are either highly subjective, self-reports by drivers themselves, or using technology to measure bodily changes. This includes cameras that track drivers’ blinking and head position. However, these methods are inaccurate in poor light and do not allow the use of sunglasses, limiting wider adoption. This project offers an alternative to these limited ways of measuring fatigue. ALERT is a fatigue monitoring device incorporated into one of the oldest examples of wearable technology, a pair of glasses. ALERT will measure additional indices of fatigue, including blink parameters as well as heart rate, facial muscle tone, head posture and temperature. ALERT will enable the first individualised, objective assessment of fatigue. This will allow us to attract partners for a second project to commercialise ALERT. These partners could be insurance firms or large fleet operators, who increasingly realise that they have a legal duty of care to protect staff and the public from fatigued drivers.