tech:

taffy

Mayo, Google Research develop new AI algorithm to improve brain stimulation devices to treat disease

Mayo Clinic researchers have developed a set of paradigms, or viewpoints, that simplify comparisons between effects of electrical stimulation on the brain. For people with epilepsy and movement disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, electrical stimulation of the brain is widening treatment possibilities; in the future, electrical stimulation may help people with psychiatric illness and direct brain injuries, such as stroke, said the Mayo Clinic in a statement.

In a study published in PLOS Computational Biology, a patient with a brain tumor underwent placement of an electrocorticographic electrode array to locate seizures and map brain function before a tumor was removed. Every electrode interaction resulted in hundreds to thousands of time points to be studied using the new algorithm.

The Mayo team developed a new algorithm called “basis profile curve identification.” They have also released the downloadable code package in public domain for others may explore the technique.

“Our findings show that this new type of algorithm may help us understand which brain regions directly interact with one another, which in turn may help guide placement of electrodes for stimulating devices to treat network brain diseases,” says Kai Miller, M.D., Ph.D., a Mayo Clinic neurosurgeon and first author of the study.

“Neurologic data to date is perhaps the most challenging and exciting data to model for AI researchers,” says Klaus-Robert Mueller, Ph.D., study co-author and member of the Google Brain research team.

This research was supported by National Institutes of Health’s National Center for Advancing Translational Science Clinical and Translational Science Award, National Institute of Mental Health Collaborative Research in Computational Neuroscience, and the Federal Ministry of Education and Research.

[Image courtesy: PLOS Computational Biology]

Just in

Apple sued in a landmark iPhone monopoly lawsuit — CNN

The US Justice Department and more than a dozen states filed a blockbuster antitrust lawsuit against Apple on Thursday, accusing the giant company of illegally monopolizing the smartphone market, writes Brian Fung, Hannah Rabinowitz and Evan Perez.

Google is bringing satellite messaging to Android 15 — The Verge

Google’s second developer preview for Android 15 has arrived, bringing long-awaited support for satellite connectivity alongside several improvements to contactless payments, multi-language recognition, volume consistency, and interaction with PDFs via apps, writes Jess Weatherbed. 

Reddit CEO Steve Huffman is paid more than the heads of Meta, Pinterest, and Snap — combined — QZ

Reddit co-founder and CEO Steve Huffman has been blasted by Redditors and in media reports over his recently-revealed, super-sized pay package of $193 million in 2023, writes Laura Bratton. 

British AI pioneer Mustafa Suleyman joins Microsoft — BBC

Microsoft has announced British Artificial Intelligence pioneer Mustafa Suleyman will lead its newly-formed division, Microsoft AI, according to the BBC report. 

UnitedHealth Group has paid more than $2 billion to providers following cyberattack — CNBC

UnitedHealth Group said Monday that it’s paid out more than $2 billion to help health-care providers who have been affected by the cyberattack on subsidiary Change Healthcare, writes Ashley Capoot.