ICAP™ Technologies has been researching and developing the ICAP™ Release Meter System and its components for the past four years. The creation of this system was driven by the need for an easy-to-use and accurate EEG system that focuses on the measurement of the brain's subconscious stress responses. The system we developed uses a lightweight, wireless, highly accurate sensor, has easy-to-read results and is fully accessible to the public and practitioners at a low cost.

The ICAP™ Release Meter System is made up of the EEG sensor, the signal transmitter, the USB base station that captures the signal, the proprietary algorithm that translates the raw data from the transmitter (Release Vector) and the visual representation of that data in the ICAP™ Release Meter software. The system also incorporates the Release® Technique, a method used to retrain the brain's responses.

Sensor

There are many options for detecting the stress reaction in the body. These include systems that use readings from heart rate variance (HRV), temperature changes or galvanic skin response (GSR) to help you learn to relax. The EEG sensor, on the other hand, is a real-time reading of the firing of a large number of neurons in a particular section of the brain. The location of the EEG electrode, through which the signal travels, is directly related to the area of the brain being read. As a result, finding the correct area to measure becomes the critical path for the development process. In this case, we wanted to work with the neurons that show the movement from stressful to calm reactions in the brain.

ICAP™ Technologies research indicated that measurement at the prefrontal cortex allows us to differentiate between between calm, conscious responses and automatic, stressful responses in the brain. We found that we were able to best identify these responses by using a single EEG electrode over the prefrontal cortex along with a baseline reference from another EEG electrode in the ear clip.

The original ICAP™ Release Meter was a standard neurofeedback (EEG) machine - a large, unwieldy device with thick bundles of wires running to a "black box" recording device. Not only was the device unusable outside of the laboratory setting, it required the use of a full head cap or the application of conductive gel between the electrodes and scalp in order to attain accurate readings. Having simplified the system by reducing the sensor array to a single location, it immediately became evident that we needed to work on simplifying in the physical characteristics of our EEG device as well.

The result was the development of a dry EEG electrode that is worn over the prefrontal cortex, located an inch to the right of center on the forehead. The electrode sends a signal to the sensor module, which encodes and transmits it wirelessly to a USB base station on a computer. The sensor, transmitter and ear clip are held in place by a simple headband that allows free movement of the head and body while using the device.

Data Translation

The next step in the development of the ICAP™ Release Meter System was creating a simpler way of interpreting and displaying of the EEG data. While studying how other systems represent their EEG measurements on-screen, we found that their displays consisted of complex waveforms, complicated strings of numbers and a variety of graphs with little reference to what the data represents. This data then needs to be interpreted by a highly trained clinician with manual calculations and comparisons to other data sets.

Noting the complexity of these systems, we decided to focus on a simpler presentation of only the relevant results. In the ICAP™ Release Meter System it is most important to be able to identify the amount of unconscious, agitated activity that is present in the brain. This brain activity is an indicator that we are stressed. When stressed, the brain reacts automatically (unconsciously) to either avoid or change the perceived cause of the stress. This "fight-or-flight" response immediately triggers a broad spectrum of changes including heart rate, respiration, hormonal levels and emotional state. The constant and repeated call on this "fight-or-flight" automated system fatigues the body and prevents calm, conscious reactions to situations that arise in our daily lives.

To track this fight-or-flight response we developed a simple scale - from 0 to 1000 - that is representative of the amount of unconscious, agitated brain activity present at the time of measurement. A proprietary algorithm called the Release Vector performs the translation process from raw EEG data to the simple scale. The Release Vector removes the need for an additional interpretation step, because the refined data is then immediately represented as a numeric gauge or simple graph.

Method

At this point in our development we had a fairly complete neurofeedback system, with a wireless EEG sensor, the Release Vector to translate the data and a simple way to communicate these results on-screen. To complete the system, we needed to include a method of retraining the brain and lowering the readings recorded by the ICAP™ Release Meter.

There are many powerful methods for working with unconscious brain activity and stress reactions. These methods find it difficult to show that their process of working with the brain is succeeding. With the ICAP™ Release Meter we now have a way to measure and effectively communicate the success of these methods in real-time.

The Release® Technique was the original method used as the test platform for developing the ICAP™ Release Meter sensor and algorithm. This technique uses a process of invoking the unconscious, agitated brain response to situations that we may find challenging. Then it shows how to "release" them - to consciously choose a different response and begin desensitizing the brain to that particular situation. This means the brain no longer automatically jumps into "fight-or-flight" and allows for a calm, conscious response.

In the Release® Technique it is important to recognize when automatic responses are occurring. It's difficult for many people to "feel" this response in their mind or body as it occurs. Using the ICAP™ Release Meter these responses are immediately revealed by looking at the scores reported on a simple numeric graph. A large amount of subconscious mental activity in response to a particular situation returns a high score. Less subconscious activity gives a lower score.

The Release® Technique course, included with the ICAP™ Release Meter System, has over 50 subjects or "life themes" to release on. Many of these are general overriding topics that can be applied to your individual life situation. The ICAP™ Release Meter software provides an "at-a-glance" reference for each subject that you release on. Each subject has a related nine-step meter that shows the level of release that you have achieved. This allows you to focus your releasing time in the areas that remain reactive for you.

Not only is it important to be able to see the brain's subconscious responses on-screen when using these methods, you also want see your progress over time. The advantage to using the ICAP™ Release Meter System is that it records all of your results from the very first time you use it. Then you can view those results and compare your scores to other sessions on the same subject. This allows you to track your own progress and verify the success of this method in retraining the brain to make calm, conscious responses to a wide variety of situations.

Supporting Studies

ICAP™ Technologies is committed to continuing our research and development in this cutting-edge field of study. On the following page, we list relevant academic studies for those interested in exploring some of the science behind the ICAP™ Release Meter.

Science Background