sLORETA with BrainAvatar Patent Infomation

Q: The Validating Ipsative Decision-making using Electroencephalography (VIDE) patent states "The VIDE process uses asymmetric wave analysis resulting from a stimuli to validate the underlying mental decisions behind these self-reported responses, at the very moment of decision-making, thus exposing the true thoughts behind responses and documenting potential abnormalities between their pre-assessments and actual brain activity. This process provides evidence that an evoked emotionally laden response results in corresponding brain activity and documents both the intensity of human emotional response as well as the directionality of the response."

Does this mean that sLORETA with BrainAvatar for detecting Brain Activation Patterns is no longer allowed?

A (Thomas Collura):
The patent includes detailed specifications for:

an intake process
an initial automated survey process
a specific set of stimuli parameters
a specific design of a session control process
a detailed process for combining EEG data with stimuli and survey data
a detailed form of report incorporating calculated and displayed data.
A specific type of interpretation process that incorporates a set of theoretical and practical principles.


Unless you copy identically all of these processes, you don't have to worry.   The patent is basically being made so that if someone wants to slavishly copy the entire procedure and try to pass it off as their own, they can't do that.  This work took some man-years to develop, and is not easy to duplicate.  So you can do anything you want with our system and be pretty safe that you won't be violating the patent.  In fact, if you come up with your own unique approach, you could patent that, for example some special way to work with chronic pain that no one has thought of, and you invent it.

No one can patent "using sLORETA with BrainAvatar for detecting brain activation patterns."  The system is a platform, and people can create original work on it, the same way that so many people developed "apps" for the iPOD platform.  The BrainAvatar is a platform on which you can build, and this is one example of a very creative and effective approach.

I hope this helps clarify this question, many people have it.

A (Ron Bonnstetter): Actually the Validating Ipsative Decision-making using Electroencephalography (VIDE) patent should be viewed more as an opportunity than a concern. I would LOVE to see as many of us as possible begin to exam this fascinating approach in your own areas of interest.  While our patent addresses an approach to validating ipsative assessments by assessing frontal lobe gamma asymmetry, the concept has so many potential uses that need to be explored.