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Focus Pocus uses a brainwave-reading headset and helps children ages 7-13 improve impulse control, memory, attention and relaxation.

 One of the developers became interested in alternative treatments for children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) after listening to their parents’ concerns about over-medication.

Players wear a headset called MindWave that connects wirelessly to a PC and uses electroencephalographic (EEG) technology to read electrical activity in the brain’s pre-frontal cortex where higher thinking -- such as emotions, mental states and concentration -- occur. The MindWave uses a single sensor on the forehead for data input and two sensors on the ear clip for grounding and reference.

Once the headset is on a player’s head, the child then takes on the role of an apprentice wizard, working through 12 mini games that requires he or she to think in certain ways. For instance, to cast a hex on ghouls or zap goblins the player needs to remember where in a library a spell book was left. The player also can turn a pig into a trumpet by relaxing and do things like fly a broomstick by concentrating.

Parents have access to daily reports as well as a comprehensive report on performance changes in impulse control and memory, EEG changes and observable behavior change.

Focus Pocus and the MindWave headset cost $249. Currently the game is available for Windows PCs but not Macs. 

Press Release:

THE MAGIC OF GAMES BROUGHT TO LIFE BY MIND-CONTROL.

Focus Pocus ™ is the world’s first learning application that effectively incorporates NeuroSky’s real time electroencephalography.

San Jose, CA, USA, Australia and London, UK October 15, 2011 – Today Silicon Valley-based brain-computer interface company NeuroSky, NeuroCog Solutions (Australia), and award winning serious game developers roll7 (United Kingdom) announce the release of Focus Pocus™, an innovative gaming technique to improve impulse control, memory, attention and relaxation in children. Created and developed by NeuroCog Solutions, and based on 15 years of research on ADHD, the wizard-themed game uses NeuroSky's brainwave-reading headset to assist children who have difficulty controlling memory and impulses. It assists children aged 7 to 13 years by targeting learning fundamentals (i.e. memory, impulse control, and the ability to concentrate), rather than specific learning of content (e.g. math, spelling).

In Focus Pocus™ the player takes on the roll of an apprentice wizard, working their way through structured mini games using the revolutionary BCI (brain computer interface) headset, the NeuroSky Mindwave™. The twelve exciting mini games, other than being incredibly fun to play, also require the child to exercise specific behavioural traits. For example:

• 'Impulse control' whereby certain goblins in a forest are zapped.
  
  
  
  Focus Pocus
• 'Working memory' requiring the player to remember where a spell book was left in a library and to cast hexes on ghouls and goblins
  
  
  
  Focus Pocus
• 'State control' games, where players must relax to turn a pig into a trumpet, concentrate to hurtle along on a broomstick, or a host of other wizardy tasks
  
  
  Focus Pocus

The game-play of this magical world is devised to be fun for the child, but Focus Pocus also incorporates a "training" mode designed to track and train the player's mental states, with an online parent reporting and feedback system called FocusIn™ highlighting areas where they need improvement.

FocusIn™ works alongside Focus Pocus, allowing parents to login daily and see how their child is doing with their exercises, and also reward them for good behavior, unlocking features within Focus Pocus.  FocusIn also provides a report after 25 sessions, focusing on performance and behavior change.

MindWave headset

Focus Pocus uses NeuroSky ThinkGear EEG (electroencephalograph) technology in an easily portable NeuroSky MindWave headset which reads and translates the brainwave data in safe and simple way and incorporates it into the game-play.  It not only measures levels of attention and relaxation during different tasks, but also incentivizes them with playable rewards. Using game strategies and mechanics to reward positive mental habits makes this a cutting-edge approach in game-based learning that appeals to parents seeking to help their children develop their abilities in mental control.
It is a new system that has produced positive results in research conducted by Dr Stuart Johnstone of the University of Wollongong (Australia), who tested the cognitive strategies utilized by Focus Pocus. He found that training in impulse-control and memory minimized the effects of distraction, improving overall concentration and behaviour. "I developed an interest in alternative treatments for children with ADHD after listening to their parents’ concerns about over-medication," explains Johnstone.

Dr. Joseph Graffi, CEO of NeuroCog Solutions, says:
"Focus Pocus™ is a game with benefits. We are very excited about giving kids the opportunity to improve their behavior while having fun.  Focus Pocus™ is the first in a line of products that NeuroCog are creating that are based on research, as well as being user-friendly, affordable, and suitable for use by individuals at home or in professional settings."


Stanley Yang, CEO of NeuroSky, states,
"We are always excited to enable partners to develop new and meaningful products and Focus Pocus can contribute so much as a new learning tool."

Chief Executive of roll7, Simon Bennett, says
"Focus Pocus is a vision of the future for games, health and education – combining the latest body sensors with a ‘gamified’ dynamic and real-time cloud reporting for parents and/or professionals."
For details on purchasing Focus Pocus via international distributors, please visit www.neurocog.com.au

Source: PCWorld