The Bio Integrator:
The Cutting Edge in Instrumentation

Home of the Bio Integrator Plus

Introducing the Bio Integrator Plus
A premier biofeedback instrument developed at BRI
Laptop and Dual-Monitor Capabilities
Two ways to use the Bio Integrator Plus
Price Sheet

Introducing the Bio Integrator Plus:

A Powerful Tool for Clinicians and Clients . . .

The Bio Integrator Plus represents a dramatic breakthrough in the measuring and feeding back of psychophysiological measures.

It is designed to provide feedback tailored to the client's needs and learning style, while providing maximum ease and flexibility.

The Bio Integrator Plus features 8-channel high-performance front ends, e.g.:

Dazzling Feedback Displays

Clients watch their physiological measures driving vivid, full-color mandalas, nature scenes, games, works of art, and puzzles. Thousands of combinations of beautiful line graph, fill graph, spectral and live 3D displays can be shown as full-screen, two-per-screen or four-per-screen displays.

Mandalas, available in 180 brilliant patterns and variations, animate in real time as the client activates or relaxes the associated physiology.

Extremely Rich Audio Feedback

Audio feedback can be assigned to all measures with any of 60 voices, from calliope to violin. You may have up to four individual measures playing separate voices.

Powerful and Graceful Integration of EEG and Body Measures

The Bio Integrator Plus offers the smoothest integration of EEG and body measures available today. In many systems, you get an over-emphasis on EEG at the expense of body measures, or vice versa. The Bio Integrator Plus provides a very powerful and exciting mixture of EEG, EMG, Temp, Heart Rate/Cardiovascular, SCL, and Respiration for feedback and research.

The EEG measures are powerful and very flexible, allowing the clinician to choose among amplitude, power, percent power, and synchrony. Dazzling real-time, smooth-animation spectral and 3D displays allow for the observation of very subtle brain wave shifts. EEG as a measure is difficult to implement; BRI has spent a great deal of time and effort making sure that the Bio Integrator Plus provides extraordinary data collection and feedback.

Professional Color Printing

High resolution professional color printouts are standard with the Bio Integrator Plus. Printing is as simple as pressing a single key. You can print full-page, two-per-page, or four-per-page data displays, for single sessions and for multiple sessions with longitudinal review.

Design Philosophy

The Bio Integrator Plus was designed over a 7-year period with the goal of creating a more powerful and effective biosystem that accelerates the client's learning process and is very easy and exciting to use.


Bio Integrator Plus Features

We've listed many of our features below; click on the ones that interest you, or scroll down the page to see them all.

Version 5.0 Features
Features Introduced with Version 4.0
Features Introduced with Version 3.0
Basic Features

Virtual Playback EEG Options
Puzzle Game Enhancement
Audio Enhancements
Alphabetical Control of Choice Lists
18 New EEG Displays
17 New Body Displays
Cool New Autoscaling and Smoothing
Reviewing Epoch Data in Real Time
Clustering of Channels for Easier Selection
Notepad Enhancement
Faster Access to User Interface with Laptop
Enhanced Synchrony Calculation
Version 5.5 Support for Dual Encoders

Exciting New Cardiovascular and Respiration System
Complete Integration
New Game Feedback
Puzzle Controls
Virtual Data Playback
Vast Array of Pre-designed Display Screens
Windows-centric
Support for Six Simultaneous Channels of EEG
Ultra-liquid Animations
20 Hertz FFTs
New EEG Displays
EEG Feedback Flexibility
New Mandala Art Image Library

Real-Time, On-the-fly User Set-ups
New Mandala Art
Inhibit Menu
Screen Capture
Notepad
Mind Mirror EEG Display
Body Mirror EMG Displays
Continuous Smooth-scrolling EMG
Balance Bar
Vertical Bars
Double the Number of Epochs
Advanced Heart Rate
Line Graph Speed Control
Helpful Pop-up Messages
Client Case Tutorial

EEG
Active Sensors
Displays
Dynamic EMG and Muscle Scanning
Data Management
Smoothing
Printing
Help
Audio Characteristics
Hardware Design

Basic Features

EEG

Active Sensors

EEG and EMG sensors have a 1 million megOhm input impedance. This exciting characteristic helps prevent noise in the data due to less than ideal hookups. It can be challenging to get proper EEG hookups, but with these ultra-high input impedances, artifacts are greatly reduced.

Displays

Thousands of line graph, fill graph, spectral combinations. 180 mandala variations and patterns animate in real time, available to all 60 variables. Beautiful spectral displays animating in real-time. Full screen, two-per-screen, or four-per-screen displays are available for line graphs, fill graphs, and EEG spectrals 60 variables are available for training and display. Up to 24 variables may be viewed simultaneously.

Dynamic EMG and Muscle Scanning

4 channels of simultaneous EMG. Ultra-high input impedances allow proper muscle scanning

Data Management

High power, very easy to use. Reviewing a client's session is just 3 keystrokes away. Longitudinal data review is just 2 keystrokes away.

Smoothing

0-15 steps of smoothing available to all 60 variables.

Printing

High resolution professional color printouts are standard with the Bio Integrator Plus. Printing is as simple as pressing a single key . Choose a full-page, two-per-page, or four-per-page data display. Print out a single session or multiple sessions with longitudinal review.

Help

On-line context sensitive help available throughout the program.

Audio Characteristics

Wave table synthesis sound. 60 voices to choose from. Up to 4 variables with separate voices may be singing simultaneously. Voices assignable to any of 56 different variables. Major and minor chords. 2, 3, or 4 note chords. User-adjustable volume. Support for stereo & mono. Multiple tones and alarms.

Hardware Design

The Bio Integrator Plus uses Thought Technology's advanced hardware,optimized for enhanced performance. Optical cable is used to transmit all data to the computer. This advanced feature provides optimum client comfort and mobility up to 100 feet, and eliminates electrical noise, movement artifact, and shock hazard.

Features Introduced with Version 3.0

Real-time, On-the-fly User Set-ups:

This extremely powerful feature allows you to set all of the wonderful options of the Bio Integrator Plus any way you like and save them as a "Set-up," attach an extensive memo to the Set-up explaining why you chose the various options, and save the Set-up as a custom configuration. Think of it as an "application or protocol generator." For example, you could create an "Alpha protocol" and save it, create an "Beta protocol" and save it, or individualize and name a client protocol, e.g., "Caroline's EMG training" and save it as a Set-up, etc. All you have to do is configure the Bio Integrator Plus in a particular way, provide a name (Alpha/Theta Training), write a little memo as a reminder of what the Set-up is good for, and press the Save key. With this feature, you can create or load a Set-up with the following choices: style of the graph shown on screen scale of the graph (Y-axis scale) whether it's a full screen, two-per, or four-per display audio settings such as voice, chord selection, volume selection, number of tones, and left, right, or mono what physiology drives the audio all settings in the EEG bandwidth menu (F4 menu), including bandwidths, artifact clipping level, artifact clipping range, oscilloscope gain, oscilloscope speed, and 3-D space mandala selections and settings, such as name of the mandala, animation style, measure driving the mandala all the settings for the Inhibit Menu (F3 menu), such as frequency range, amplitude range, EMG levels, etc.

New Mandala Art

One of the hallmarks of the Bio Integrator Plus is its beautiful mandala art. With the advent of the Bio Integrator Plus, we have doubled the number of images available. You may choose any modality, from brain waves to body measures, to drive any of the 50 mandalas. Folks who have seen this art say that it is the best yet. Not only are there many new mandalas and nature scenes, but the current art as well as the new art has been recreated at a higher resolution, giving it an even more fluid and elegant look. The Bio Integrator Plus's mandala art series represents a huge breakthrough in the feedback process. This art was created by Steve Wall specifically to cultivate self-awareness and enhance the training process. Mandalas as powerful symbols have been used for healing for centuries; these have an even deeper effect because they were designed by a psychophysiological artist to animate as the client activates or relaxes the associated physiology. Learning is accelerated because the mandalas reflect client psychophysiology in an artistic and symbolic way that encourages interest, accelerates the development of somatic awareness, and speeds the transfer of learning into daily life.

Inhibit Menu

With this new product, we introduce the most sophisticated inhibit control available in any biosystem. This menu will allow you to place a wide range of inhibits on audio and visual feedback. Independent low- and high-frequency ranges with custom level settings for the measure Amplitude Independent low- and high-frequency ranges with custom level settings for the measure Percent Power Independent inhibit control on two channels of EMG with user-selectable ranges Independent low- and high-frequency ranges for the measure Synchrony with user-selectable levels Wonderful controls on how the inhibits influence the feedback loop, such as whether the graph or mandala instantly freezes; whether the audio turns on or off; and my favorite, whether the data collection pauses when a level is exceeded. (Of course, with our new setup capability, all of these settings can be saved as part of a Set-up, and put into motion with a flick of the wrist.) Flashing Inhibit Pause. When an inhibit threshold has been met and data pause is on, you will be notified of this by a nifty flashing message in the upper right-hand corner of the user interface. This new inhibit control capability will provide particular benefit to folks doing certain training protocols such as ADD, when they want to inhibit the feedback if a measure such as theta amplitude exceeds a preset value. Additionally, because I have included EMG inhibit control, when the client generates excessive EMG values (notorious for causing Beta artifact) the inhibit circuit can turn on.

Screen Capture

The Bio Integrator Plus offers the dynamic feature of real-time screen capture, which allows you to capture any line graph, fill graph, spectral display, oscilloscope, etc., and print it later. Speaking of printing it later, the Bio Integrator Plus has a really nifty previewer that lets you cursor down a list of captured images while looking at each highlighted image on the color monitor. When you find one you like, simply press the Print button and out comes the color graph. However, I haven't stopped there. Not only can you capture the images in real time, you can capture them in Review a Session and Longitudinal Review. Each printout contains a wonderful set of information, including session number, image number, date and time captured, client name, and the name and address of your facility. In addition, the images are saved in a graphical format that allows you to embed an image in a text document in your favorite word processor.

Note Pad

Because the Bio Integrator Plus is a dual-monitor system, there are many things that can be done that simply aren't sensible with a single-monitor solution. Imagine having the ability to write extensive notes on one monitor while the client trains efficiently on the feedback screen. This new feature allows precisely that. Not only can you take notes in real time, you can review notes from previous sessions while the client is training. Additionally when looking at their data in Review a Session or Longitudinal Review you have full access to their note pad and if you choose you can add more text. This very cool feature helps you keep track of what was done in past sessions and what you want to do in the current session or future sessions. The Note Pad is saved in the ASCII format making it possible to import it into a word processor for report generation or other purposes.

Mind Mirror EEG Display

A more dazzling display you have never seen. In this graph, we have taken our fluid spectral animation displays, turned them sideways and placed them side by side. The result is that you can see left and right brain activity building from the center of the screen outward in all of the frequency bins of each of the bandwidths. This mirroring of the mind is an elegant reflection of brain wave activity. Because the arousal continuum is more naturally obvious (theta is at the bottom and high beta is at the top), clients train intuitively to lower or heighten their arousal levels by allowing their energy to "center itself" on the lower or mid part of the screen.

Body Mirror EMG Displays

There are three new EMG displays available in the Bio Integrator Plus. These were designed to make looking at bilateral EMG much more practical and elegant. Each display can show two channels of EMG; if you want to show four channels, you simply use a two-per-screen display to create a four-channel montage. In addition, you can animate the balance bar and the vertical bars in post session by stepping through the individual epochs. This is particularly useful for showing clients individual epochs in which significant shifts in bilateral activity occur.

Continuous Smooth-scrolling EMG

In this display, you can see your left and right EMG levels scrolling from the bottom of the screen to the top; the screen never refreshes, and the image is always there in front of you. In addition, the normal Y-axis scale has been changed, and is now located in the center of the screen on the X-axis. This flowing bilateral EMG display allows you to see absolute and relative EMG values for both sides of your body, almost as though you were looking in a mirror and watching your left and right sides move.

Balance Bar

This display features a balance bar that connects two Y-axes representing EMG1 and EMG2. When the bar is horizontal on screen, activity is balanced between the two channels. The bar's position at the top or bottom of the screen indicates the level of activation. Because of our animation techniques, this display is very lively and engaging.

Vertical Bars

Two vertical bars represent EMG1 and EMG2 in this display. As muscle tension increases the bars go up, and as it decreases the bars go down. Because the two bars are inside of one graph, clients can see magnitude and balance issues in a simple and effective way.

Double the Number of Epochs

The Bio Integrator Plus now allows you to record up to 300 epochs per session, twice as many as before. If you want to record and review very fine details, then this is for you. Not only are the body data recorded at this very fine resolution, but you also have access to high-resolution EEG spectral data in any of the 300 epochs.

Advanced Heart Rate

With the Bio Integrator Plus we have taken heart rate measuring and feedback to new heights. Not only is the heart rate enhanced and very accurate, but those of you who like to teach diaphragmatic breathing will find endless joy in using the heart rate measure for advanced RSA training.

Line Graph Speed Control

Dramatically enhanced choices for line graph speed control are now available. Not only do you have finer control over fast screen sweeps, but you now have the ability to slow down the screen sweep to as slow as 15 minutes. This new, slower sweep can help you see trends in your data more easily.

Helpful Pop-up Messages

Low Battery Warning
The Bio Integrator Plus now constantly monitors the battery strength in your encoder. When your battery is getting low, an information pop-up box will appear, letting you know. When this message appears you can pause the data collection and replace the batteries; the Bio Integrator Plus will take up recording at the epoch where it left off.

Data Stop Warning
When the Bio Integrator Plus detects that the data has stopped coming in, e.g., the encoder has been turned off or the fiber optic cable has become disconnected from the encoder, a pop-up box will appear and inform you of this problem. But we didn't stop there; not only will a message appear, but data collection will automatically stop. When you fix the problem, proper data collection will continue from the last valid epoch.

User Pause, Inhibit Pause
You can interrupt your data collection by pressing CONTROL P, or through the Inhibit Menu. This nifty feature allows you to stop data collection temporarily. The Bio Integrator Plus will flash the words "User Pause" or "Inhibit Pause" in the upper right-hand corner when you have paused the data. This feature is very helpful for reminding you to un-pause the data collection, or in the case of inhibit pause, to prompt the client to reduce the undesired activity.

Client Case Tutorial

The Bio Integrator Plus includes two cases from BRI's client library that can be used as a tutorial for clinical practice. They include data you can play with in Review a Session and Longitudinal Review. These cases show you the kinds of data that are generated by mind/body measures across time. The first case has 24 sessions, illustrating a person's progress session-by-session. You'll find it exciting to explore this case through Longitudinal Review. It will give you an idea of the power of a coherent training model as you observe the measures going from higher arousal to lower arousal across the sessions. The second case has two sessions, first and last, and gives a quick illustration of what a client's physiologies look like before and after a training series. Both cases include a comprehensive evaluation (baseline series) that clearly illustrates the client's initial condition. Both these clients went through a training protocol called BioIntegration, pioneered at BRI, which incorporates sophisticated right- and left-brain EEG with EMG, EDA, Temp, Respiration, Heart Rate, and RSA. This training model brings together body measure training and neurofeedback, producing a very dynamic and rich training opportunity for clients, and is particularly effective in helping clients achieve maximum self-regulatory skills in a minimal amount of time. Once you have loaded any of the sample sessions to review onscreen, you can refer to the Note Pad, where we have provided extensive documentation of the client's initial condition and training history.

Features Introduced with Version 4.0

Exciting New Cardiovascular and Respiration System

Easily the most powerful Heart/RSA/Respiration system available anywhere, Version 4.0 of the Bio Integrator Plus offers you unheard of flexibility in monitoring or training sophisticated relationships between heart and respiration measures. New features in this system include:

Spectral Heart Rate Analysis. Power spectrum analysis teases apart the heartbeat time series into its component waveforms. These are waves riding on other waves, sinusoids of varying amplitudes and phase. Once they're isolated from the time series and then grouped together according to their own frequency, you can display them in order to identify the oscillators that make up the final waveform. From the component waveforms, a power spectrum can be displayed with high peaks and low peaks at different frequencies reflecting the relative energy of each component. Four main oscillatory systems can be recognized in our power spectrum analysis of heart rate variability:

The great value of the power spectrum biofeedback methods is that it shows clearly the presence of slow wave activity in the heart rate variability (HRV) pattern -- something hard to see in the beat-to-beat trace because it takes so many beats over multiple breath cycles to play out. The Bio Integrator shows this new feature in real time through four different displays:

While you are looking at your power spectrum in real time, you can also view a whole set of new measures and displays as well, including

You can also look at virtually any relationship among heart rate, PPG, heart rate spectrum, BVP, BV, RSA amplitude, respiration rate, and either channel of respiration through the 40 cardiovascular/respiration graphs we have built into this new system. We have organized these graphs according to the nine measures, so you can easily select graphs showing the combinations of measures that interest you. For example, you could view a single graph showing Heart Rate, TempL & TempR; or Heart Rate, Raw Resp 1 & Raw Resp 2; or Heart Rate, Raw PPG & Blood Volume; or Blood Volume, Raw PPG & Raw Resp 1; or Raw Resp 1 & Raw Resp 2. You can view these graphs alone, or in powerful combinations in two-per-screen or four-per-screen displays.

Complete Integration

The hallmark of the Bio Integrator Plus is its ease of use and smooth integration of psychophysiological measures. So of course, not only can you view all the new measures mentioned above, you can simultaneously view and record EEG, EMG, Temp, SCL, Respiration, Heart Rate, BVP, BV, PPG, RSA Amp, and Spectral Heart Rate.

New Game Feedback

Version 4.0 of the Bio Integrator Plus includes new threshold-activated puzzle games, offering control and animations that make training clients with ADD and other problems so much easier. These puzzles can be driven by any EEG or body measure.

While the puzzle game was inspired by children's interest in playing biofeedback games, we decided to broaden its appeal substantially to appeal to adults as well. You can choose from a library of 170 images to suit your clients' needs. We have included themes of birds, bears, deer, bunnies, foxes, porcupines, dogs, cats, and butterflies, many of which include baby animals. We have underwater nature scenes featuring spectacular tropical fish. Further, we included a special section of military ships, airplanes, and tanks. We didn't stop there: we also feature beautiful astronomical and space scenes, and a selection of fine art from great artists from around the world, such as Fragonard, Boucher, Russell, Renoir, Goya, and others. Of course, we also provide mandalas.

Each puzzle display includes a status line at the top that provides information such as epoch number, elapsed time, etc. However, the puzzles also provide two rows of live numerics that show other useful information.

Games provide onscreen real-time numerics for:

For EMG inhibits, when the client exceeds the threshold you have set, the real-time numeric turns white to let you know that inhibiting is occurring. For EEG inhibits, when either the low or the high band threshold is reached, the live numeric turns white as well.

Puzzle Controls

In order to make your life easy and the client's training more fun, we have provided a variety of puzzle controls:

Virtual Data Playback

This breakthrough feature gives you the ability to recreate and replay a session exactly as the data were generated by the body (not in epochs, but the actual data as it was measured), and manipulate all audio and visual displays in any way that suits you. With this powerful clinical and scientific tool, you can:

This capability is a tremendous advantage for the clinician. With Virtual Data you can demonstrate actual sessions to clients as well as other health care professionals, highlighting methods, goals, or protocols, and illustrate various health conditions.

For example, if a client is having a problem learning how to do RSA breathwork, you might play back a record of another individual who initially had trouble before learning how to do it. Not only would this give your client the idea that success can be achieved, but he or she would have a model of the breath patterns you want to see developed.

When working with EEG, it's sometimes difficult to know if you are setting the parameters optimally. Virtual data allows you to play back the session after the client has left and explore setting feedback options and levels differently to see and hear possibilities you might use in the next session.

A Vast Array of Pre-designed Display Screens

The Bio Integrator offers over 135 predesigned display screens, providing you with a lush choice of feedback . The best part of it all is that it is incredibly easy to choose a display, and you can change your choice on the fly, at any time. Because you can see two or four displays per screen, there are literally thousands of combinations available to you. And with our on-the-fly protocol generator, you can design and save any combination of visual and audio feedback you want for future use.

Windows-Centric

The Bio Integrator Plus is now Windows-centric. So now you can have the reliability and ultra-smooth animation of our full 32-bit protected mode Bio Integrator and the convenience and familiarity of accessing it just like other Windows application. The Bio Integrator handles the interruptions that a Windows environment introduces. This means that when Windows is running some background task that normally would cause the biofeedback data to be interrupted or introduce errors into the data stream, the Bio Integrator seamlessly deals with this and the clinician and client are not affected. Unlike other Windows-based biofeedback systems, our smooth animations continue without hesitation, and time domain measures such as EEG, Respiration, and Heart Rate behave perfectly.

Support for Six Simultaneous Channels of EMG

Version 4.0 of the Bio Integrator Plus has added two channels of EMG, making it possible to record and feed back six channels total. We provide a wide selection of graphs:

Fill graphs
You may select one of these elegant, smoothly animating graphs for any of the six channels of EMG.

Line graphs
You may select any of a number of EMG line graphs, from a single EMG channel to varying combinations of EMG channels, such as EMG1 and EMG2, or EMG5 and EMG6, or a graph that shows all six channels of EMG.

Body Mirror
This smooth-scrolling display was designed to make looking at bilateral EMG much more practical and elegant. Each display can show two channels of EMG; if you want to show four or six channels, you simply use a two-per-screen or four-per-screen display to create a four- or six-channel montage.

Balance Bar
This display features a balance bar that floats between two Y-axes representing EMG1 & EMG2 (or EMG3 & EMG4, or EMG5 & EMG6). When the bar is horizontal on screen, activity is balanced between the two channels. The overall level of activation is represented by the bar's position relative to the top or bottom of the screen. Because of our animation techniques, this display is very lively, smooth, and engaging.

Vertical Bars
Two vertical bars represent EMG1 and EMG2 in this display. As muscle tension increases the bars go up, and as it decreases the bars go down. Because the two bars are inside of one graph, clients can see magnitude and balance issues in a simple and effective way.

Audio Support for EMG
Any EMG channel can provide audio feedback. Up to four EMG channels could be producing tones independently, with whatever voice you choose.

Ultra-Liquid Animations

The entire feedback loop now animates twice as quickly. Graphs, mandalas and sound update 20 times per second, producing the most fluid audiovisual feedback available today. This increased speed and greater amount of data flowing through the displays can dramatically enhance training. Your clients will notice subtler psychophysiological changes, and make connections to their internal processes more rapidly and intuitively. Our spectral displays benefit delightfully from this increased speed, now flowing at 20 frames per second, making them by a large margin the fastest available in the biofeedback market. This has eliminated all jerky movement, and when you watch these graphs, they flow like water.

20 Hertz FFTs

We've doubled the speed of our FFTs for EEG to 20 times per second per channel, providing ultra-fast updates for visual and audio feedback. This means that data are analyzed and presented on screen every 50 milliseconds. Not only are the displays animating more quickly, but a person's internal EEG shifts are being fed back at a significantly enhanced rate.

New EEG Displays

In addition to our extremely rich selection of EEG line graphs, fill graphs, spectral displays, mind mirror, mandalas, and oscilloscope display, we have created two new ways to look at EEG activity:

Continuous Smooth-scrolling Left and Right Hemisphere EEG Display
In these smooth-scrolling fill graphs, you can see your left and right EEG levels scrolling from the top of the screen to the bottom. In addition, the normal Y-axis scale has been changed, and is now located in the center of the screen on the X-axis. This flowing bilateral EEG display allows you to see the absolute and relative EEG values for both sides of your brain. This new kind of EEG feedback display is a simple yet elegant way to show clients hemispheric balance relationships as well as how much overall activity is occurring in your selected bandwidth. You may display the brain activity in any bandwidth range you desire. In addition, you may select from Power, Amplitude, or Percent Power to drive the feedback.

EEG Balance Bar
This display features a balance bar that connects two Y-axes representing EEG channels 1 and 2. When the bar is horizontal on screen, activity is balanced between the two channels. The overall level of activation is represented by the bar's position relative to the top or bottom of the screen. Because of our animation techniques, this display is very lively, smooth, and engaging. You may display the brain activity in any bandwidth range you desire. In addition, you may select from Power, Amplitude, or Percent Power to drive the feedback.

EEG Feedback Flexibility

The Bio Integrator Plus provides unparalleled ease and flexibility when it comes to mixing and matching various feedback screens. Not only can you display either of the new EEG displays described above, you can show many mixtures of displays simultaneously. For example, in a four-per-screen display, you might have our EEG composite display of left and right hemisphere activity for the traditional frequency ranges of theta, alpha, and beta in one viewport, an oscilloscope in the second viewport, a balance bar in the third viewport customized to whatever frequency range suits you, and our mind mirror spectral display in the fourth viewport. Also, you can easily customize any of these viewports on the fly in real time to include different EEG displays or body measures. And, with our new 20 Hz animation, these displays update every 50 milliseconds, providing amazingly fluid and fast feedback.

New Mandala Art and Image Library

One of the hallmarks of the Bio Integrator is its beautiful mandala and image library. With the advent of Version 4.0, we have quintupled the number of images originally available. You may choose any modality, from brain waves to body measures, to drive any of the 150 images. Not only are there many new, fabulous mandalas, but we offer thematic images from the realms of fine art, animal scenes, and underwater scenes.

The Bio Integrator Plus's mandala art series represents a huge breakthrough in the feedback process. This art was created by Steve Wall specifically to cultivate self-awareness and enhance the training process. Mandalas as powerful symbols have been used for healing for centuries; these have an even deeper effect because they were designed by a psychophysiological artist to animate as the client activates or relaxes the associated physiology. Learning is accelerated because the mandalas reflect client psychophysiology in an artistic and symbolic way that encourages interest, accelerates the development of somatic awareness, and speeds the transfer of learning into daily life.


Version 5.0 - Exciting Features

Virtual Playback EEG Options (F4 Menu)

We have redesigned the F4 menu to make navigation more efficient and created new real-time user controls that affect how your EEG plays back when you are looking at virtual data. These nifty new controls allow you to play back the EEG data in exactly the same way that you recorded it during your real-time feedback session, reflecting any changes or modifications of the bandwidths or artifact settings that you may have made.

Replay EEG Bandwidth Settings
You can look at the data exactly as you recorded it--the Bio Integrator remembers when and what changes you made in the bandwidths as the session proceeded. Or, you can choose to override these changes and make new adjustments that help you see the data in a different way.

Replay Artifact Settings
Both the artifact frequency range and the artifact clipping levels you chose during the real-time session will automatically be played in virtual feedback just as you originally set them. Of course, you can override them and make any adjustments you want as well. One of the nifty values of this capability is that when you are playing back a session in which you had turned artifact clipping off for eyes-closed training and turned it on again for eyes-open training, the Bio Integrator will remember when you did this and make the correct adjustments to your artifact clipping settings.

Puzzle Game Enhancement

You can now choose between two puzzle modes: Regular and Auto Restart. In Regular mode, the puzzle will start building as usual, and stop when the puzzle is complete. If you select Auto Restart, the puzzle will start building as usual, but when it is complete, it will automatically start all over again.

Audio Enhancements

In Version 5.0, we have made the biggest change to the audio feedback controls since the original Bio Integrator. You now have many new voices, and new ways to provide audio feedback for your clients. We have made several additions in the Voice Qualities menu, including additions to Tones, Style, Chromatic Range, and Offset.

Changes Take Place Immediately
Now, when you make a change in the Voice Qualities menu, you immediately hear the effect. For example, if you are scrolling down the choice list under Voice, wondering what one of the voices such as Choir Aahs sounds like, that voice is heard as soon as you highlight that choice and press enter. No need to go to the Done button to hear the voice.

Audio Automatically Fades Down
With this new feature, the BI automatically knows when the end of the session is about to occur. Ten seconds before the end of the session, the BI gently and progressively reduces the audio volume for any measure that has been turned on. This neat feature is particularly useful when working with clients in low arousal training. Previously, when the BI came to the end of a session and the audio was on, the BI would save the data and immediately turn off the audio.

Voice Qualities Features
New Styles: Beep and Beep Continuous Beep and Beep Continuous are new choices in a new pop-up box under Voice Qualities called Style. The Normal style continues to provide a continuous varying pitch (unless you choose a One Tone selection under Tone). However, if you choose Beep or Beep Continuous, beeping is heard when the client is within the audio range you have set, and the beeping speeds up or slows down as the measure goes up or down. For example, if you set a range of 1 to 10 in EMG, then when the measure is at 1 the beeping is at its slowest, and when it is at 10 it is at its fastest. (This assumes you have selected Audio Polarity Direct; if you select Inverse, then the tone will be beeping the fastest at 1 and slowest at 10.)

The only difference between Beep and Beep Continuous is that when you choose Beep, the beeping stops when the measure goes outside of the range you have chosen. With Beep Continuous, the beep continues to sound when the measure goes outside the range you have chosen.

However, we didn't stop there. Not only can you have the beeping go faster or slower, you can also have the pitch of the tone rise and fall with the speed of the beeps when using Beep or Beep Continuous. Just go to the Tones menu and choose one of the step options or Analog.

We also created a whole new set of voices for you to play with. When you choose Beep or Beep Continuous, you can choose from many alluring beep voices in the new Beep Voice menu.

Chromatic Range
You now have three new choices under Chromatic Range: One Octave, Two Octaves, and Three Octaves. In three octaves, you have the tonal range that you've always had with the Bio Integrator. In the case of the other two choices, we have altered the audio range. For example, if you select Two Octaves, the sound still starts at the same bottom tone, but the top third of the notes (the highest notes) are missing. If you select One Octave, the sound still starts at the same bottom tone, but the top two-thirds of the notes are missing. These new choices are helpful for low arousal training, where the desired range of activity is quite narrow and the traditional three-octave range can provide distracting and disturbing variations when the high tones sound. In each of these choices, you still have a choice of how many tones you want (i.e., 18 tones, 36 tones, etc.), but now you control how many high-pitched notes will be sounded.

Offset
You can now choose to make the pitch range lower or higher; that is, you can change the pitch of the bottom (lowest) feedback tone, which moves the entire range up or down. This feature might be useful if you wished to redefine the lowest tone the client could hear in order to accommodate his or her learning preference. This has no effect on how many octaves you have chosen, or how many steps you have chosen within each octave.

Alphabetical Control of Choice Lists

Now you can skip down lists by typing first letter of the word you want, and you will be moved to that part of the alphabet within the list. This feature helps save time by skipping down certain lists rather than making you scroll down to the word you want. For example, in the list of clients, type "P" and you will skip down to last names that begin with P.

This feature has been enabled in the following choice lists:

Client Names, Graph Styles, Set-up Names, Mandala Names, Puzzle Names, Puzzle Voices, Regular Voices

18 New EEG Displays

Full Histogram
We have developed a new histogram with an extended frequency range. This useful display now shows EEG data from 0 to 42 Hz, available for Power, Percent Power, Amplitude, and Synchrony.

Split Histogram
This new display takes spectral data in a new direction. Unlike our other spectral displays that show left-hemisphere EEG data on the left side of the screen and right-hemisphere EEG data on the right side of the screen, this display shows left and right EEG data within each frequency bin right next to each other. This makes it easy to compare left-channel and right-channel data on a frequency-by-frequency basis, available for Power, Percent Power, and Amplitude.

Double Histogram
In this display, we have greatly simplified the histogram information. Two vertical bars representing left-brain and right-brain activity in any EEG frequency range you'd like them to, such as SMR, provide the client with a simple yet useful way of seeing two channels of data. Because the two bars are inside of one graph, clients can see both magnitude and balance issues in a simple and effective way, available for Power, Percent Power, and Amplitude.

Full Spectral Display
Like our new full histogram, this display shows EEG with an extended frequency range. However, unlike a histogram, which shows its data through moving bars, this display utilizes the Bio Integrator renowned ultra-smooth spectral display technology. This display shows EEG data from 0 to 42 Hz, available for Power, Percent Power, Amplitude, and Synchrony.

Superimposed Oscilloscope Graph
The Bio Integrator has always had a digital oscilloscope. However, we have added a second oscilloscopic display that shows left and right traces, but instead of one being above the other, they are now superimposed. This allows the clinician to study interesting variations in the raw wave forms between one channel and another.

Difference Graph
This exciting new display is a breakthrough for those who wish to look at the difference between left-brain and right-hemisphere EEG. It does this by teasing apart the real-time differences between theta, alpha, and beta left-brain and right-brain activity. This graph is laid out differently than any other graph. This graph employs a zero line, meaning that in the middle of the graph, going horizontally, there is a line that separates hemispheric data activity. When the data go above the zero line, it means that there is more activity in the left hemisphere than in the right in one or more of the bandwidths. When the data go below the zero line, it means that there is more activity in the right hemisphere than in the left in one or more of the bandwidths. In short, you have the luxury of watching the data flow smoothly as it biases to the left or right hemispere among the various bandwidths.

17 New Body Displays

In this version, we have added many new body measure line graphs. We added these graphs because they make it convenient to see a variety of relationships between measures, which promotes learning as well as facilitating clinical interpretation. Many of these graphs contain a mixture of various modalities, and most of them show three measures at once. Some examples: BSR 1, TempL & TempR; Heart Rate, SCL 1 & SCL 2; Raw PPG, EMG 2 & EMG 3; Raw Respiration 1, EMG 2 & EMG 3; and Respiration Rate, TempL & TempR.

Cool New Autoscaling and Smoothing

In both Audio Feedback Parameters and Video Graphics Feedback Parameters menus, you can now change the steps of smoothing and the range of scaling for all the channels of any multi-channel modality at once. These new capabilities are really great time savers. Those of you who measure multiple channels of a particular modality will like being able to change all channels at the same time. For example, if you're working with four channels of EMG, you can set a particular range for one of the channels, and then simply press Control A to make the rest of the EMGs swing to the same range. Just go to the video or audio parameters menu, highlight the range, set it to the range you want, and press Control A to reset them all.

To use this feature for smoothing levels, simply select the smoothing value you want for a particular modality and press Control A; all measures of that modality will now reflect your new smoothing choice.

Reviewing Epoch Data in Real Time

In this new and exciting feature, it is possible to access the data collected so far (epoch data) while training with your client in real time. This allows you to point out trends and provide your client with a larger perspective on his or her progress. To use this neat feature, select some graph, say an EMG graph. While watching the real-time data, all you need to do to see the trend data for that same measure is press Alt 1, and the real-time graph will toggle to an graph of all the data collected thus far for that measure. Press Alt 1 again to go back to real-time.

Now, if you use a two-per or four-per display, this feature becomes even more useful. Say for example that you are choosing to have two viewports on the screen. Now select the graph you wish to see in the top viewport, say EMG 1 & 2. Then select the same graph for the bottom viewport. Now you have a two-per display showing two real-time graphs of the same measures. Assuming you are recording, press Alt 1, and the top viewport will show you the epoch data that has been collected so far for EMG 1 & 2, and it will even update as new epochs arrive. The bottom viewport will display EMG 1 & 2 data as it is being collected in real time, thus making it possible for you to watch as the trends develop (in the epoch data) while you are seeing real-time data with your client.

Of course, if you wanted a more comprehensive application of this feature, you could choose to have four viewports on screen. You could set the screen up such that you could see, for example, EMG 1 & 2 in both real-time and epoch data on one side of the screen, and EEG Percent Power in both real-time and epoch data on the other side of the screen.

To switch between real-time data and epoch data, you just press Alt 1 for viewport 1, Alt 2 for viewport 2, Alt 3 for viewport 3, and Alt 4 for viewport 4.

Clustering of Channels for Easier Selection

In the Videographics Feedback Parameters Menu, under Modality, you will now find SCL 1 and SCL 2 clustered together, as are BSR 1 and BSR 2. For those of you who work with two channels of EDA, we have made this change to make your scaling life a little easier.

Notepad Enhancement

Lots of text? No problem. Now when you open the Notepad, the cursor goes straight to where you left writing.

Faster Access to User Interface with Laptop

We have made using the laptop version even easier. You can go from the feedback screen directly to all major menus rather than pressing F9 before navigating to the menus. For example, if you're watching a graph and you want to go to the EEG inhibit menu, all you need to do is press F3 and you're there. We have enabled this feature for the Notepad (F2), Inhibit Menu (F3), EEG menu (F4), Set-up Menu (F5), and Parameters menu (F7/F8).

Enhanced Synchrony Calculation

We have made synchrony more sensitive by calculating it whenever amplitude exceeds 1 microvolt. The net effect is to better pick up low amplitude beta synchrony events. We also used a peak method of calculating synchrony when looking at the data post-session.

Version 5.5 Support for Dual Encoders

In the name of science and in the pursuit of knowledge, I decided to make it possible for the Bio Integrator to acquire data from two encoders simultaneously. I have been looking at eight channels of physiology for two decades, and I was well aware of the potential value of seeing more. If you think of the Hubble telescope as opening up new vistas into the universe, then one way to think of having so many more physiological channels is that it allows us broader vistas into the innerverse. It took a long time and a lot of work to make the Bio Integrator capable of handling so many channels of data, and at the same time I recognized that few people would want this feature. Rather than charge everyone for this feature, I decided to keep the price of Version 5.0 down and make this feature available only in Version 5.5 for those whose palates drift in the direction of more complex flavors. Naturally, all the wonderful new features of Version 5.0 are also included in Version 5.5.


Laptop and Dual-Monitor Capabilities:

Two Ways to Use the Bio Integrator Plus

Flexibility and ease of use are hallmarks of the Bio Integrator Plus, which can be used on a laptop computer or set up as a dual-monitor system, depending on your needs.

Dual Monitor Version:

What's exciting about the dual-monitor version of the Bio Integrator Plus is that clients see continuous, uninterrupted displays on one monitor while you orchestrate the audio and visual feedback from the user interface appearing on the second monitor.

Using two monitors lets clients concentrate on their feedback without distraction, since they are looking at a feedback screen while you view the user interface on a second monitor. This capability allows you to "conduct" the session while the client remains focused on the feedback displays you choose for them. Not only is it easier for the client to focus, but you can relax while operating the user interface because you don't have to worry about interrupting the client's training.

Due to limitations inherent in laptop computers, the dual monitor version cannot be installed on a laptop computer.

Laptop Version:

If portability is what you need, we have just what you want. You can take the Bio Integrator Plus laptop version anywhere, and enjoy all of its powerful features displayed on a single screen. You have all of the Bio Integrator's beautiful graphic capabilities for your clients, and you can adjust the feedback at will by toggling between the feedback screen and the user interface.

The laptop version was designed to be used in settings where two monitors are impractical, or when you need to travel light. The single-monitor design provides the portability of traditional biofeedback equipment with all the power, beauty, and flexibility of the Bio Integrator Plus.

The laptop version was designed to operate on a laptop (portable) computer, but could also be used with a single-monitor desktop system.


Hardware and Computer Specifications

Electromyograph:
Sensor Input Impedance 1,000,000 MegOhms
Sensitivity 0.08 uV. RMS
Bandwidths 100-200 Hz 20-500 Hz.
CMRR at 60 Hz. (US) > 180 dB.
CMRR over 20-500 Hz. 130 dB.
Range .01-400uV

 

Temperature:
Size/Type: .125" bead thermistor
Range: 50-110 degrees

 

Skin Conductance:
Leads: 2 snap style connectors
Standard electrodes: 1 cm 2 circular Ag-AgCl
Range: 0.1 to 30.0 microMhos

 

Skin Resistance:
Leads: 2 snap style connectors
Standard electrodes: 1 cm 2 circular Ag-AgCl
Range: 40 Kohms to 6 MegOhms

 

Photoplethysmograph:
Size: 1"x 0.5"x 0.25"
Type: LED-photodetector
Output: PPG waveform
Heart Rate/Cardiovascular:
30-180 beats per minute
Heart rate spectrum analysis
PPG, BVP, BV, RSA amplitude
Respiration:
Type: Chest/abdominal strap
Output: Amplitude units
Support for two channels
Sound Generation:
Advanced Wave Memory, CD quality sound.
60 voices to choose from.
Voices may be assigned to all 56 variables
Four measures may be singing separately at once
Support for stereo & mono
Ultra-fine user-controlled volume
Major and minor chords
Analog and stepped feedback
Requires ISA SoundBlaster SB32, AWE32 or AWE64
The Laptop version requires use of an external tone generator
Electroencephalograph:
Sensor Input Impedance 1,000,000 MegOhms
Sensitivity 0.08 uV. RMS
Bandwidth .8-40 Hz.
Resolution .8 Hz.
CMRR at 60 Hz. (US) 180 dB.
CMRR over 3-30 Hz 130 dB.
Range 0.1-200 uV.
Monopolar or bipolar electrode configuration supported
Electroencephalograph Measures:
Amplitude
Power
Percent Power
Synchrony
EEG Analysis:
Highly optimized FFT routines
FFTs are performed 20 times per second per channel
Raw EEG data is fed through a sliding window that provides real time
feedback.
Audio and visual feedback is updated for EEG and body measures every 50
milliseconds.
Encoder:
Size: 5" x 3" x 1"
Supports up to eight channels
Two EEG channels, six body channels
Powered by four AA batteries
Connected to computer via optical cable
Operating System:
Windows 95 or Windows 98
The Bio Integrator is a full 32-bit protected mode program optimized for the Pentium processor
Minimum Computer Requirements Dual Version:
Pentium 166 Mhz w/32 megs of ram (we recommend a Pentium II or III), approved SVGA video card, 2 free ISA slots, >MGA card Monochrome monitor, 3 gigabyte or larger hard drive. Sound card: SoundBlaster SB32, AWE32, AWE64.
HP Color Printer: DeskJet 2000, 1120, 970, 952, 940, 932, 895, 882, 842, 832, 812, 697, 695, 670, 612, 440, 400, 350, 340. Supported not currently sold: 540, 550, 560, 600, 660, 670, 672, 682, 690, 694, 850, 855, 870, 890.
Minimum Computer Requirements Laptop Version
Pentium 200 w/32 megs of ram (we recommend a Pentium II or III), 800x600 TFT color screen display, Com1, LPT1, 3 gigabyte hardrive. The laptop version requires the use of an external tone generator.

Turnkey Systems

We strongly recommend taking advantage of our turnkey services, which you receive when you buy a computer from us. Biofeedback software requires that a computer do much more than is required by other applications, such as word processors. The computer must be capable of simultaneously acquiring data, animating sophisticated graphics, producing constantly varying sound, and in the case of the twin-monitor version, driving two video cards. The quality and capability of today's computers vary dramatically, and it is not always an easy task to find a suitable computer for biofeedback, or to be sure that what you are buying will work with your software and hardware.

We have carefully researched and selected laptop and desktop computers for optimal functioning with our software. When you receive a turnkey system from us, all you have to do is plug in the cables and you're ready to start practicing biofeedback.

NOTE: BRI does not guarantee that our software will work with any computer not provided by us. We do not provide free computer support to customers who attempt to utilize our software on computers not provided by us, and we do not provide refunds on software used by customers on computers not provided by us. We do provide professional consultation at our regular rates to customers seeking help in resolving technical problems when using our software on computers not provided by us.