Challenges Directory
Browse featured challenges for Neuro Nexus 2020
Welcome to the Neuro Nexus Challenge Directory!
The 2020 Neuro Nexus competition received over 40 challenges related to brain science and mental health from health practitioners, researchers, entrepreneurs, industry members, patient advocates all in an effort towards better understanding of the brain and how to recognize and treat neurological disorders and mental health conditions.
Below you will find our challenge database which includes challenges accepted into the program categorized into three unique project tracks:
- Industry: Advance, strengthen or test a product by addressing challenges relevant to the firm’s core technologies. These projects often originate from and stay within the firm, and require intellectual property claims to be kept by the firm. Award funding is structured to grant the winning team with an internship at the firm.
- Research and Education: Projects that seek to accelerate scientific discoveries through tool development or provide improved training for brain and mental health care. Award funding is structured to grant the winning team with an internship at the research lab.
- Entrepreneurship: Pursue an idea and develop solutions to directly impact brain and mental health practice. These projects may originate from almost any context. Award funding will be provided as seed funding to continue development of your prototype.
Browse through the challenges by scrolling down and click on a card to learn more. Check back daily as we add more challenges to this featured list.
Improving Mental Health Treatment Using Real-time Assessment of Behaviours and Emotions
Champion Name: Gina Dimitropolis, Paul Arnold
Project Track: research-education
Skills Needed: Mobile App Development, Psychology, Digital Illustration,
The COVID-19 pandemic and the unintended consequences of public health measures to curtail the spread of the virus ha…
Read MoreA portable encephalogram (EEG) solution for acute care
Champion Name: Sina Marzoughi, Ankur Banerjee
Project Track: entrepreneurship
Skills Needed:
We envision an EEG device created for medical use that is low cost, portable and wireless, and designed for use in Em…
Read MoreGoing virtual - adapting a dual-language program for children who speak minority languages
Champion Name: Andrea MacLeod, Catrine Demers
Project Track: research-education
Skills Needed:
By valuing the abilities that minority language children bring to school, we are building towards an inclusive societ…
Read MoreMachine learning tool for the rapid analysis of video-EEG recordings in mice
Champion Name: Deborah Kurrasch
Project Track: entrepreneurship
Skills Needed:
Epilepsy is a brain disorder characterized predominantly by epileptiform discharges, otherwise known as seizures. The…
Read MoreBounce forward with psychological assets
Champion Name: Brenda Leung, PhD
Project Track: research-education
Skills Needed:
Chronic psychosocial stress is known to impact mental health by way of metabolic dysregulation, inflammation, and oxi…
Read MoreRemBRAINdt: Generating Art from Live Brain Data
Champion Name: Shane Eaton
Project Track: entrepreneurship
Skills Needed: Front-End Software Development, Python, Psychology, Machine Learning, Business, Marketing, Animation, Digital Illustration, Cloud Computing,
Development of RemBRAINdt, an EEG-based application for entertainment, as well as development of a business strategy…
Read MoreUsing Neurotechnology Tools to Better Identify and Support Adult Concussion Management in Emergency Departments
Champion Name: Petra O'Connell, Eddy Lang
Project Track: research-education
Skills Needed:
While some patients receive excellent post-concussion care in Alberta, especially those with sports-related concussio…
Read MoreDevelopment of a Universal Daily Tracking App
Champion Name: Ashley Harris, Kate Godfrey, Carly McMorris
Project Track: research-education
Skills Needed: App Development, Interface Development, Data Security,
In research, we are often interested in aspects of daily life that we wish we could track for days or weeks at a time…
Read MoreCreating Mental Wellness through UX
Champion Name: Ty McKinney, Shannon Snaden
Project Track: industry
Skills Needed: Front-End Web Development, UX Design, Django and Phaser Framework Experience, Mental Health Experience, Progressive Web Applications, Data Science, Communication Skills,
8-Bit Cortex is a social enterprise that aims to democratize and gamify mental health services. As the recipient of t…
Read MoreLow-cost, portable balance training and assessment platform
Champion Name: Shaun Fickling
Project Track: industry
Skills Needed: Data Science, Front-End Software Development, Mobile App Development, Physical Therapy, Kinesiology,
Having good balance means being able to control and maintain your body's position. Good balance helps you walk withou…
Read MoreApplying new machine learning techniques to the analysis of neural time-series data
Champion Name: Peter Blouw
Project Track: industry
Skills Needed: Python, Tensorflow,
This challenge is focused on applying a novel machine learning technique for time-series analysis to neurological dat…
Read MoreAn APPetite for mental health
Champion Name: Catherine Swytink-Binnema
Project Track: entrepreneurship
Skills Needed: mobile app design, Mobile App Programming, Nutrition Science, Cognitive Behavior Therapy, Mindfulness, Behavior Change Theory, Psychology,
Can we build an app that guides people to eat in a way that is both physically and mentally healthy? -- “Diet c…
Read MoreSensory conditioned unconscious learning to play a piano
Champion Name: Ephrem Zewdie
Project Track: research-education
Skills Needed: Electrical Circuit Building, Software Design, Music Playing, Cognitive Neuroscience, 3D Design,
Learning processes and outcomes can be conscious and unconscious. The unconscious processes range from registering in…
Read MoreCalculation of Muscle Asymmetry
Champion Name: Diana Pederson; Philippe A. Souvestre, MD, CEA/PhD
Project Track: research-education
Skills Needed: Kinesiology, Software Design, Software Engineering, C++, Architecture, Biomechanics, Neurology, Physical Medicine,
Expand on gravity integrated locomotion modeling research to application in medical diagnostics -- The human musculo…
Read MoreMemory on hand
Champion Name: Cameron Clark, PhD, R.Psych.
Project Track: entrepreneurship
Skills Needed: Software Design, Hardware Design,
Wrist-based tactile feedback to help make memories stick -- As part of my practice in neuropsychology, I facilitate…
Read MoreTech for teletherapy
Champion Name: Huong Hoang; Preeti Kar
Project Track: industry
Skills Needed: UX Design, Psychology, Software Engineering, Website Design, UI Design, Game Development,
The COVID-19 pandemic has resulted in a shift to remote service delivery for many children with neurodevelopmental di…
Read MoreExploring the Role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to Distinguish Typical Optic Neuritis (ON) from Atypical ON Subtypes
Champion Name: Etienne Benard-Seguin; Fiona Costello
Project Track: research-education
Skills Needed: Computer Science, Artificial Intelligence,
Optic Neuritis (ON) is defined as an inflammatory injury to the the optic nerve that presents with acute vision loss.…
Read MoreAssistive chatbot
Champion Name: Dave Damer
Project Track: research-education
Skills Needed: Psychology, Machine Learning, Behavioural Science, Linguistics,
Our goal is to build an intelligent conversational Natural Language Processing (NLP) based bot to serve as a personal…
Read MoreCreating happy experiences for our seniors
Champion Name: Peter Zhou; Ryan Bourns
Project Track: industry
Skills Needed: Behavior Therapy, Language Analysis, Data Mining,
Combining impactful technology with unique minds to advance community-based health interventions for our aging popula…
Read MoreReal-time visualization of large-scale dynamic functional brain networks from EEG recordings
Champion Name: Emma Towlson, PhD
Project Track: research-education
Skills Needed:
Network science approaches help us understand the structure and function of the brain, in an integrative, data-driven…
Read MorePrecision Ergonomics
Champion Name: Jon Doan, PhD
Project Track: research-education
Skills Needed:
Work-related musculoskeletal discomfort has both physical and mental health consequences. MSDs can generate work diss…
Read MoreIntegrated Functional Neurology Assessment Kiosk
Champion Name: Diana Pederson; Philippe A. Souvestre, MD, CEA/PhD
Project Track: industry
Skills Needed: Kinesiology, Software Engineering, Neurology, Engineering, Mechatronics, Human Factors, User Design, Neuroscience, Business, Product Management, Marketing, Technical Writing,
Develop prototype and market assessment for medical assessment kiosk to capture posture and eye tracking There is a b…
Read MoreUniversal remote controller paired with BCI
Champion Name: Hosein Bahari (E.I.T), Corinne Tuck (OT)
Project Track: industry
Skills Needed: Software Engineering, Electrical Engineering,
Brain-Computer Interface lab located at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital utilizes BCI technology to provide pedia…
Read MoreMechanical design of miniature head-mounted optical system for wireless photometry in mice
Champion Name: Kartikeya Murari, PhD, PEng
Project Track: research-education
Skills Needed: User Design, Mechanical Design, Optical Design, 3D Modelling/Printing, Machining, Fabrication,
In basic neuroscience, fiber photometry is a method for monitoring neural activity in deep structures of the brains o…
Read MorePower mobility using SSVEP
Champion Name: Hosein Bahari (E.I.T), Corinne Tuck (OT)
Project Track: industry
Skills Needed: Software Engineering, Machine Learning, Neuroscience, Electrical Engineering, Signal Processing,
Brain-Computer Interface lab located at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital utilizes BCI technology to provide pedia…
Read MoreMapping sensorimotor activation hotspots during cortical stimulation (MOSAICS)
Champion Name: Helen Carlson, PhD; Bryce Geeraert, PhD
Project Track: research-education
Skills Needed:
Using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), excitability of areas within the motor cortex can be mapped and motor…
Read MoreOn Memory Neurotechnologies
Champion Name: Dong Song, Phd; Garrett Flynn
Project Track: research-education
Skills Needed: UX Design, UI Design, Neuroscience, Neural Engineering, Web Development, Data Visualization, Animation, Digital Illustration, Bioethics, Neuroethics, Science Communication,
It is becoming increasingly accepted that user-centered design is critical for the development of effective neurotech…
Read MoreiPhone based Virtual Reality Image Guidance
Champion Name: Yves Starreveld, MD, PhD, Neurosurgeon
Project Track: research-education
Skills Needed:
The recent inclusion of capable VR libraries in iOS have significantly lowered the bar to adding overlay image guidan…
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