my wave

Bone Conducting Speakers

What are Binaural Beats

Binaural beats are tones that do not exist in physical space but that are produced by

the brain when two tones between 90 and 1000 Hz that differ by no more than 35 Hz

are perceived by each ear separately. This perceived tone is the difference between the

two heard tones. For example if tones of 400 Hz and 410 Hz are introduced to the right

and left ears, the perceived tone will be 405 Hz (Lane et al., 1998; Wahbeh et al.,

2007).

The binaural phenomenon is thought to originate in the Superior Olivary Complex which

acts as a crossover site for spatially oriented auditory information. “The single meshed

tone will “beat” with an overall frequency of the difference between the two original tones

due to in-phase and out-of-phase disparate yet similar interference within waveforms.”

(McMurray, 2006). This beating is what gives the phenomenon the name “binaural

beats”.

The perceived tone “beats” at very low frequencies which is equal to the difference

between the two original tones (10 Hz in the example above). These frequencies

correspond with brain wave frequencies, and it is thought that these beat frequencies

have the capacity to entrain brain waves, affect neurochemical functioning, and

generally assist with healthy brain functioning (Lane et al., 1998; McMurray, 2006;

Wahbeh et al., 2007).

The My Wave device is designed to take advantage of the processing power of modern smart phones. The custom application is responsible for generating the binaural beats that are fed to the user through the bone conducting speakers.

The user can choose to listen to the binaural beats through two modes: “Music” or “Pink Noise”. Music mode simply masks the binaural beats behind the user’s music. “Pink Noise” mode masks the beats behind a familiar sound such as rain.

REFERENCES

Lane, J. D., Kasian, S. J., Owens, J. E., & Marsh, G. R. (1998). Binaural auditory beats a�ect vigilance performance and mood. Physiology & Behavior, 63, 249-252.

McMurray, J. C. (2006). Binaural beats enhance alpha wave activity,memory,and attention in healthy aging seniors. Dissertation Abstracts International: Section B: The Sciences and Engineering, 46, 4150-4220.

Wahbeh, H., Calbrese, C., & Zwickey, H. (2007). Binaural beat technology in human: A pilot study to assess psychologic and physiologic e�ects. The Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, 13, 25-32.

Judy is stuck in traffic on her morning commute. She uses My Wave to keep concentration on traffic wile listening to the radio on her smart phone. The bone conducting speakers leave her ears free to concentrate on her surroundings.

Working in a large office can be distracting at times. Judy uses My Wave's white noise function to block out distractions while staying contextually aware.

Since her children left for college, Judy has taken up yoga. She makes her way to a park after work finds the My Wave's Relax function useful in clearing her mind. She listens to binaural beats masked behind Buddhist mantras during her yoga session and finds them helpful in obtaining peace of mind.

Judy must wake early for tomorrow's business meeting and uses My Wave's Sleep function to mentally prepare her for the night's rest.

Judy is a 58 year old executive at a large corporate branding firm. Married with children in college, she has taken a renewed interest in personal health and

spirituality as she approaches retirement age. Her life is often stressful and time is often hard to come by. She values the little sleep she can get and is willing

to invest in products and technology to increase her quality of life.

My Wave is a way for Judy to make the most of her life asleep or awake.

Alpha Waves

Beta Waves

Theta Waves

Delta Waves

Studies suggest that beta waves can enhance attention and memory task performance. They are associated with a sense of alertness

Alpha wave activity has been associated with alertness, attention, inhibitory processes, working memory, perceptual abilities, processing speed and relaxation.

Theta and Delta waves are associated with creativity, meditative states, drowsiness and sleep.

Why 50 Plus

Loss of Memory with Aging: A number of brain areas important for memory function have shown decline with aging including the hippocampus, cerebellum, caudate nucleus, and lateral

prefrontal cortex, (McMurray, 2006). Neuroimaging studies have shown that working and episodic dysfunction is associated with prefrontal function.

Poor Attentional Focus with Aging: Aging people have difficulty with attention selectivity and tend to have trouble specifically with inhibiting attention to irrelevant stimuli. Higher levels

of anxiety and depression are linked with deficits in cognitive attentional tasks (McMurray, 2006).

Alpha Wave Decline: In healthy aging individuals, alpha wave frequency slows. The slowing of alpha waves has been shown to correlate with neurocognitive decline. Alpha waves

have been correlated with, among many things, attentional focus and working memory (McMurray, 2006).

Neurotransmitter Declines: dopamine and choline levels, which are related to memory and attentional function, are known to decline with age. It is thought that brainwaves stimulation

may facilitate neurotransmitter production (McMurray, 2006).

Potential for Improved Neurocognitive Function in Aging: There is evidence of reorganization of brain circuitry and functional compensation for brain function declines. “Neural

over-activation in seniors suggests compensation for progressive cognitive loss and decline… As methods of postponing human aging advance, a premium will be placed on processes

designed to maintain cognitive function… New methods, such as techniques that enhance brainwave function may provide an optimizing process in promoting successful again of the