BRAIN Center

Tapping the Brain to Boost Stroke Rehabilitation

Posted on January 12, 2021
A clinical trial found that stroke survivors gained clinically significant arm movement and control by using an external robotic device powered by the patients’ own brains.
Clinical Trial Suggests Brain-Machine Interface Coupled with Robot Offers Increased Benefits for Stroke Survivors

Stroke survivors who had ceased to benefit from conventional rehabilitation gained clinically significant arm movement and control by using an external robotic device powered by the patients’ own brains.

College honors 17 with yearly Faculty and Student Excellence Awards

Posted on June 18, 2020
Dr. David Shattuck of Electrical and Computer Engineering.

Dr. Joseph W. Tedesco, Elizabeth D. Rockwell Dean of the UH Cullen College of Engineering, announced that 17 students and faculty members had been selected as recipients in the 2019-2020 Faculty and Student Excellence Awards, which recognize teaching and research achievements.

Your Brain on Wine and on Stage: Experts Look at the Neuroscience

Posted on January 15, 2019
A brain-skull cap is a non-invasive way to collect data on brain activity.

Wine has been around for millennia. Now engineers and wine experts at the University of Houston are teaming up to better understand how aroma, taste, color and other factors contribute to the experience of drinking wine.

Researchers will collect data on brain waves, motion and galvanic responses as wine experts from the UH Conrad N. Hilton College of Hotel and Restaurant Management conduct a wine tasting at 2 p.m. Friday, Jan. 18, at the Hilton University of Houston.

‘Smart’ Robotic System Could Offer Home-Based Rehabilitation

Posted on October 9, 2018
While early prototypes of robotic rehabilitation systems controlled by the user's own brain required the use of skullcaps embedded with sensors, researchers are developing a simpler version that can be used at home.

Industry Partnership Supports Faster Track to Commercialize Accessible Healthcare

 

Researchers in Houston and elsewhere have shown that robotic systems controlled by the user’s own brain activity can help patients recovering from stroke and other disabling injuries. But the demonstrations have taken place in highly controlled settings, and none of the systems have been approved for use in clinics or patient’s homes.

UH Professor Part of National Event on the Interworking of Art and the Brain

Posted on August 21, 2018
Jose Contreras-Vidal, a UH researcher, in discussion with a dancer for his "Brain on Art" research.

Contreras-Vidal seeks to answer what happens in the brain as people create and enjoy art

 

Bringing together scientific research and artistic inquiry is a serious mission for the D.C. Art Science Evening Rendezvous (DASER). It offers monthly conversations about different interdisciplinary topics with invited speakers from all over America.

Nature Magazine Features UH Professor’s Work to Address Paralysis

Posted on March 23, 2018
Nature features University of Houston Professor Jose Contreras-Vidal, known for his work to improve prostheses using brain-machine interfaces.

About 3.5 million people in America are living with some degree of paralysis related to stroke, multiple sclerosis or cerebral palsy. Nature magazine this month published an article about scientists developing technological solutions, such as neural prostheses or devices that read brain signals and help restore movement in paralyzed patients.

Academia, Industry Collaborate on Solutions to Neural Disease, Injury

Posted on April 17, 2017
Jose Luis Contreras-Vidal, Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen University Professor of electrical and computer engineering, will head the new NSF-funded BRAIN Center

Neurological disorders like Parkinson’s, the aftermath of stroke, limb loss and paralysis significantly diminish the length and quality of life – affecting about one in six people worldwide. But a growing number of biomedical innovations, driven in large part by an aging population dealing with debilitating health issues, are improving both cognitive and motor function.

News Contacts

riward [at] uh [dot] edu (Rachel Knudsen)
UH Cullen College of Engineering
713-743-4379

Radio Program

Engines of Our Ingenuity, written and hosted by engineering prof. John Lienhard, airs in Houston on KUHF-FM 88.7 M-F 7:35am and 3:55pm. The series is broadcasted by over 30 NPR affiliates nation-wide.

UH Engineering Podcast

Ph.D. student Nicole Guinn hosts and explores topics related to geology and geosensing systems engineering AND stories of Women in STEM at UH. Listen now.