Satellite Events

Several workshops will be taking place on Monday, 9 September 2024:

Workshop 1

Successful Translation of Neurotechnologies

Organizer: 
Gerwin Schalk, Ph.D. I Mayo Clinic, Fudan University

Confirmed Speakers:
Tim Denison, Ph.D. I Oxford University
Kai J. Miller, M.D. Ph.D. I Mayo Clinic Rochester
Phoenix Peng I CEO, NeuroXess
Michael Tangermann, Ph.D. I Donders Institute/Radboud University

Date: Monday, September 9, 2024 I from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Location: HS BMT I Stremayergasse 16, Ground floor, 8010 Graz, Austria

Description:
BCI research has provided thousands of demonstrations that interfacing with the brain has the potential to be useful to patients. However, with few exceptions, this research has not yet resulted in solutions that can improve brain-related function of a large number of people. After an initial workshop in Shanghai in 2022, a Satellite Event at the BCI Meeting in June 2023, a Satellite Event at SfN in November 2023, and based on a formal analysis described in an upcoming article in Nature Reviews Bioengineering, we are now proposing another workshop that is dedicated to the question of how to translate neuroscientific achievements into clinically and commercially successful solutions. In this workshop series, world-reknown speakers from academia and industry discuss: 1) neurotechnologies and their historical context; 2) opportunities for translation; 3) scientific, technical, financial, and regulatory challenges; and 4) suggestions for the design, implementation, and optimization of non-invasive and invasive neurotechnologies.

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Workshop 2

Designing Brain-Computer Interfaces,
from theory to real-life scenarios

Organizers:
Bruno Aristimunha I Université Paris-Saclay, Inria TAU, CNRS, France
Pierre Clisson I Timeflux, Paris, France
Marie-Constance Corsi I NERV team, ICM, Inria, INSERM, Paris-Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
Arthur Desbois I NERV team, ICM, Inria, INSERM, Paris-Sorbonne Université, Paris, France
Pierre Guetschel I Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen,Netherlands

Date: Monday, September 9, 2024 I from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m.
Location: Lecture Hall H "Ulrich Santner" I Kopernikusgasse 24, Ground floor, 8010 Graz, Austria

Description:
A guided tour of recent & innovative open-source tools helping to design and use EEG-based Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI). We will explore real-world applications of BCI, the main paradigms used in the field, and the different types of variabilities to overcome. With HappyFeat, you will gain practical knowledge in extracting and selecting features from EEG signals. With Braindecode, you will discover tools to develop deep learning-based pipelines. Additionally, you will learn how to benchmark machine-learning frameworks using MOABB, a powerful tool that prioritizes reproducibility and replicability. Then, you will acquire practical experience through hands-on activities and tutorials. We will introduce Timeflux, a Python framework tailored for the development of realtime BCI applications. After delving into the challenges faced by end-users, we will unveil a novel BCI paradigm designed to streamline calibration time, prioritize visual comfort, and deliver high accuracy using dry EEG technology.
Prerequisites: Background in EEG would be preferred, still open to clinicians/not specialist of signal processing.

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Workshop 3

Navigating the latest advancements in c-VEP BCI:
From experimental paradigms to decoding techniques

Organizers:
Jordy Thielen I Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Sara Ahmadi I Radboud University, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
Frederic Dehais I ISAE-SUPAERO, Toulouse, France
Pierre Clisson I Timeflux, France)
Sebastien Velut I ISAE-SUPAERO, Toulouse, France
Victor Martinez-Cagigal I University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain
Eduardo Santamaría-Vázquez I University of Valladolid, Valladolid, Spain

Date: Monday, September 9, 2024 I from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m.
Location: BMT03094 I Stremayergasse 16, 3rd floor, 8010 Graz, Austria

Description:
The goal of this workshop is to provide both theoretical as well as practical information on the latest developments of BCIs that use the code-modulated visual evoked potential (c-VEP) as measured by EEG. This workshop promises a comprehensive overview and hands-on exploration of both sophisticated experimental paradigms as well as cutting-edge decoding methods, both leading to higher performance as well as higher user-acceptance of the c-VEP BCI system. The workshop will start with an introduction to c-VEP, followed by an in-depth discussion of current developments in c-VEP experimental paradigms including burst codes, non-binary codes, and a novel auditory paradigm. The focus will then shift to decoding techniques, including trial-level prediction and zero-training, bitwise decoding using deep learning, and decoding using a Riemanian pipeline and deep learning. Finally, the workshop will conclude with interactive live c-VEP BCI demos featuring 'flickers on top' in combination with 'Timeflux', 'Medusa BCI', and ‘PyntBCI’.

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Workshop 4

The role of proprioceptive feedback through embodied VR,
robotics, and neuromodulation in restorative BCI’s

Organizers:
Athanasios Vourvopoulos, Institute for Systems and Robotics (ISR-Lisboa)
Serafeim Perdikis, University of Essex
Silvia Orlandi, University of Bologna
Stefano Tortora,University of Padova
Luca Tonin, University of Padova

Date: Monday, September 9, 2024 I from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m.
Location: HS A I Kopernikusgasse 24, 1st floor, 8010 Graz, Austria

Description:
Restorative Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) can provide access to motor rehabilitation training to patients who lack volitional movement. This training is reinforced by rewarding feedback in order to strengthen key motor pathways that are thought to support motor recovery after stroke. Moreover, BCIs are capable of providing proprioceptive feedback to patients in order to close the intention-action-perception loop of the trained movement. This workshop intends to combine insightful talks and interactive discussions to illuminate the integration of proprioceptive feedback in motor function restoration through the use of embodied virtual reality (VR), robotics, and functional electrical stimulation (FES) for individuals with motor impairments. It will also delve into design principles, clinical applications, and future directions of these innovative technologies. Finally, by fostering dialogue and collaboration, this workshop aims to inspire ovel approaches in neurorehabilitation, reshaping the landscape of non-invasive BCIdevelopment and enhancing the lives of those affected by motor disabilities.

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Workshop 5

Variabilities in Brain-Computer Interactions

Organizers:
Fabien Lotte I Inria Center at the University of Bordeaux, LaBRI, France,
Maurice Rekrut I DFKI Saarbrücken, Germany,
Marc Tabie I DFKI Bremen, Germany
Sébastien Rimbert I Inria Center at the University of Bordeaux, LaBRI, France
Tobias Jungbluth I DFKI Saarbrucken, Germany
Niklas Küper I DFKI Bremen, Germany

Date: Monday, September 9, 2024 I from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: Lecture Hall H "Ulrich Santner" I Kopernikusgasse 24, Ground floor, 8010 Graz, Austria

Description:
Whereas BCIs are promising for many applications, they are not reliable. Their reliability degrades even more across users or when used across contexts (e.g., across days or for changing users' states) due to various sources of variabilities. Unfortunately, such variabilities are 1) often ignored in the literature, as most BCIs are assessed in a single context, for a single day, and with user-specific designs, and 2) poorly understood. Thus, for BCIs to fulfil their promises and to be used in practice outside laboratories, we need to make them robust to such variabilities. This workshop aims at contributing to this issue, by gathering speakers working on BCI variabilities, to survey the various known sources of variabilities for different BCI types, present some methods to address them, and discuss with the audience to identify the most promising next steps and challenges to tackle BCI variabilities.

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Workshop 6

Implantable Devices for Closed-Loop Neural Sensing and Stimulation

Organizers:
Kai J. Miller I Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, Pediatrics & Biomedical Engineering,
Mayo Clinic Rochester,USA
Nuri F. Ince I Professor of Neurosurgery, Biomedical Engineering & Phyiology,
Mayo Clinic Rochester, USA
Martin Schüttler I Chief Technology Officer, CorTec GmbH, Freiburg, Germany
Peter Brunner I Associate Professor of Neurosurgery, Neurology & Biomedical Engineering,
Washington University School of Medicine

Date: Monday, September 9, 2024 I from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: HS BMT I Stremayergasse 16, Ground floor, 8010 Graz, Austria

Description:
This workshop is intended for scientists, engineers, and clinicians interested in using implantable devices for brain-computer interface and neuromodulation studies in the pre-clinical and clinical setting. The workshop will introduce the CorTec Brain Interchange System as an exemplary open-to-use device platform. The didactic objective this workshop is for the attendees to understand the range of scientific questions that can be asked, the translational applications that can be realized, and the scientific, engineering, clinical, and regulatory considerations that need to be addressed when using implantable devices that support neural sensing and stimulation. The practical objective of this workshop is for the attendees to gain hands-on experience in using the CorTec Brain Interchange System as an exemplary device platform in the laboratory setting, and to ask questions and form scientific collaborations with investigators experienced in using implantable devices for closed-loop neural sensing and stimulation.

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Workshop 7

Design an incredible neurogame with the Unicorn Unity Interface

Organizer:
Michele Romani I g.tec Medical Engineering GmbH, Graz, Austria

Date: Monday, September 9, 2024 I from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: BMT01046 I Stremayergasse 16, 1st floor, 8010 Graz, Austria

Description:
BCI-controlled game has been at the core of BCI research for more than 20 years, yet building a fun experience with BCI carries several challenges. At g.tec we developed a toolkit for seamlessly integrating BCI interactions into the Unity game engine. This allows developers and designers to focus on the game mechanics without worrying about building a pipeline for signal processing and classification, and even to fast prototyping gamified research tasks. During this workshop the main functionalities of this Unity plugin are presented together with design guidelines for neurogames and a live demo of existing applications built with it. Then a hands-on session will follow, in which participants will transform an existing videogame into a neurogame by choosing and tuning the BCI paradigm of their preference.

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Workshop 8

MEDUSA©: an innovative software ecosystem
to accelerate BCI and cognitive neuroscience experimentation

Organizer:
Dr. Eduardo Santamaría-Vázquez I PhD Research Scientist at the Dpt. of Signal
Theory and Communications of the University of Valladolid, Spain
Dr. Víctor Martínez-Cagigal I Assistant Professor at the Dpt. of Informatics at the
University of Valladolid, Spain

Date: Monday, September 9, 2024 I from 2 p.m. to 5 p.m.
Location: BMT03094 I Stremayergasse 16, 3rd floor, 8010 Graz, Austria

Description:
This workshop introduces MEDUSA© (www.medusabci.com), an open-source Pythonbased software ecosystem to develop brain-computer interface (BCI) systems and neuroscience experiments that aims to address the limitations of current BCI platforms. MEDUSA© includes a comprehensive suite of signal processing functions, deep learning architectures, and functional connectivity analysis tools. Moreover, MEDUSA© empowers researchers with ready-to-use BCI paradigms and cognitive neuroscience experiments while recording synchronized biosignal data (e.g., EEG, ECG, EOG, etc.), highlighting BCI spellers based on code-modulated visual-evoked potentials and eventrelated potentials, motor imagery, neurofeedback and neuropsychological evaluation tasks. Additionally, we will delve into the development of custom experiments for MEDUSA©, leveraging its modularity, flexibility, scalability and extensive compatibility with biosignal recording equipment to reduce implementation time. Finally, we will introduce how the platform fosters collaboration and reproducibility through an app market accessible via our website. Join us to learn more about this project in this practical workshop.

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Workshop 9

Aesthetic Experience Decoding
with multi-modal passive Brain-Computer-Interfaces

Organizer:
Marc Welter I Inria Center at the University of Bordeaux, France
Dominik Welke I University of Leeds, UK I Max-Planck-Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Germany

Date: Monday, September 9, 2024 I from 9 a.m. to 12 a.m.
Location: BMT01046 I Stremayergasse 16, 1st floor, 8010 Graz, Austria

Description:
Aesthetic experience is a complex phenomenon and highly individual (Vessel et al. 2018), but research suggests that experiencing art can be beneficial to health and well-being (Fancourt & Finn, 2019) or creativity (Welke & Vessel 2021). Passive Brain-Computer-Interfaces (BCIs) able to decode personal preference or other aspects of the aesthetic experience could be used to improve these benefits by selecting art works that evokes desirable neurophysiological responses. They could furthermore improve user experience in digital spaces by personalizing content without requiring explicit user feedback that might interrupt the experience.This workshop brings together BCI and Neuroaesthetic researchers working with various data modalities to aid the development of ecologically-valid BCIs for decoding aesthetic preferences. In particular we will discuss potential bio-markers of various facets of the complex aesthetic experience. Finally, challenges to BCIs decoding aesthetic experience outside the lab will be discussed, such as determining optimal calibration strategies for online decoding.

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