KEYNOTE SPEAKERS
The challenge of detecting sleep APNEA events with low complexity [+]
Prof. Antonio Ravelo, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
Brain Computer Interfaces and Immersive Virtual Reality for Post-Stroke Motor Rehabilitation [+]
Prof. Sergi Bermudez i Badia, Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute/Universidade da Madeira
New Trends in Visible Light Communications [+]
Prof. D. Rafael Pérez Jiménez, Director of Institute for Technological Development and Innovation in Communications, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
The challenge of detecting sleep APNEA events with low complexity
Prof Antonio Ravelo,
ABSTRACT: Obstructive Sleep Apnea (OSA) is a disorder characterized by intermittent cessation of breathing due to upper airway closure during sleep. If breathing ceases completely, the event is called apnea. In case that it does not completely cease, but there is a marked reduction of air entering the lungs, the event is called hypopnea. Apneas produce an alteration of the normal sleep architecture via multiple arousals, which cause somnolence during the day, and are associated with increased risks of high blood pressure, myocardial infarction, stroke, and increased mortality rates. Many sleep centres try to perform a reduced portable test in order to decrease the number of overnight polysomnographies that are expensive, time-consuming, and disturbing. New proposals appear in order to face this challenge with devices that try to offer the maximum discrimination capacity with the minimum complexity.
Biography: Antonio G. Ravelo García, Phd is a researcher and docent in the Department of Signal and Communications at University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (Spain). He has participated in different research projects and has published numerous papers in scientific journals and conferences. His research interests include biomedical signal processing, nonlinear signal analysis, data mining and sensor based systems. He has collaborated with different national and international research institutions and companies.
Brain Computer Interfaces and Immersive Virtual Reality for Post-Stroke Motor Rehabilitation
Prof Sergi Bermudez i Badia, Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute/Universidade da Madeira
ABSTRACT: Stroke is one of the most common causes of acquired disability, leaving numerous adults with cognitive and motor impairments, and affecting patients’ capability to live independently. In recent years, novel rehabilitation paradigms have been proposed to address the life-long plasticity of the brain to regain motor function. Among them, the use of a hybrid brain–computer interface (BCI)—virtual reality (VR) approach can combine a personalized motor training in a VR environment, exploiting brain mechanisms for action execution and observation, and a neuro-feedback paradigm using mental imagery as a way to engage secondary or indirect pathways to access undamaged cortico-spinal tracts. I will present the development and validation experiments of the proposed technology. More specifically, I will discuss the underlying neuroscientific principles, use of low cost EEG acquisition systems, the integration in immersive VR and the use of haptic technology. I will show how the proposed motor imagery driven BCI-VR system is usable, engaging and able to engage the desired brain motor areas. This novel technology enables stroke survivors without active movement to engage in more effective rehabilitation paradigms.
Biography: Sergi Bermúdez i Badia is a Senior Researcher at the Madeira Interactive Technologies Institute (Madeira-ITI), and Assistant Professor at the University of Madeira (UMa) and Adjunct Faculty of the Human Computer Interaction Institute of Carnegie Mellon University (HCII, CMU). He received a degree in telecommunications engineering from the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya (UPC) and a PhD from the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich (ETHZ). He has pursued research at several institutes in Europe and the USA, including the Laboratoire de Production Microtechnique at the EPF (Lausanne), the Institute of Neuroinformatics at the ETHZ (Zurich), at the Institute of Audiovisual Studies at the Technology Department of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra (Barcelona) and the Quality of Life Technologies and Entertainment technology centers of the Carnegie Mellon University (Pittsburgh). Since he arrived in Madeira, he contributed to the establishment of the NeuroRehabLab research group (http://neurorehabilitation.m-iti.org) with the scientific goal of investigating the use of multimedia, interactive technologies and robots to exploit them in real world applications, with special emphasis in neuro-rehabilitation systems, educational and entertainment applications.
Silicon Photovoltaic Technology: Moving Up the Value Chain and a Sustainable Solution to Future Energy Generation
Prof. D. Rafael Pérez Jiménez, Director of Institute for Technological Development and Innovation in Communications, University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
ABSTRACT: Visible light communications are becoming feasible alternative to other technologies in the Internet of things paradigm. It offers a vaste amount of unregulated bandwidth that can be used in applications as Body Area Networks, wearable devices and vehicular communications. New trends as colourspace-based modulations, optical camera-based receivers or embedded 2D coding will be presented, as well as the new boundaries opened by the new IEEE 802.15.7r standard.
Biography: Rafael Perez-Jimenez, Madrid 1965, Eng. MsC. PhD. He is a Full Professor ate the ULPGC and he serves as chairperson of the IDeTIC Research Institute, his current research interest are in the field of the Wireless Optical Communications, Visible Light Communications and Wireless Sensor Networking. The main application areas are Vehicular Communications and the Smart City/Smart Tourism Destination Paradigm. He has been also involved in the design of on-board optical devices for aeronautic and spatial systems. He is also serving as reviewer in several agencies (including H2020) in different countries and in many technical journals in areas related with Communications Engineering.
