Non-Invasive Alzheimer's Light Therapy Devices

Description

This project is centered around the creation of devices aimed at being used in the study of the effects of Alzheimer's Light Therapy on humans. In December 2016, after publishing my first Instructable, Mr. Sotiris Melissis (graduate student at NYU) contacted me regarding a newly published article on a new Alzheimer's treatment method by MIT (http://news.mit.edu/2016/visual-stimulation-treatment-alzheimer-1207), he suggested that I build a device to aid in the testing of this therapy on humans. I agreed to create glasses with an LED that can cycle at 40Hz to help administer the light therapy to people as they walk, so that they do not have to stand in a test room to receive the therapy. Later a standalone room lamp that is capable of administering the therapy was also created and a remote with an OLED screen was also added to help the user control the two devices.

Details

Demonstration video 1:

Demonstration video 2:

3-D Models:

The models for all 3 of the main components have been completed (not yet rendered) and so I find it mos appropriate to share them here. The primary reason for designing the 3-D models is to improve the safety features of the overall interface as currently all the parts have exposed circuitry and some of the circuits are delivering dangerously high currents. The second reason for the development of the models is to provide aesthetically pleasing cases for the controller, glasses, and standalone light, as not many people enjoy looking at exposed circuitry. Below are some images of the cases I have designed for all of the main physical components of this project (they are not yet rendered, but I will update the images when I fully render them). For a detailed description of the designs, please check out the logs of each component.

Controller Model:

Glasses Model:

Standalone Light Model:

5/03/17:

In the midst of my AP exam preparation, I found some time to work on the 3D model for the watch, it is subject to change, namely placement of the screen and the type of charging port, but here is the image. I also have to work on the back cover as well as the case covering the ESP on the glasses and charger. All of the models that will be made and printed will only serve as cases for the circuitry (for aesthetics and safety purposes). The 3D .STP file link is below the image.

STP file: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwliXMzUsTp5VlV5NTN5REU5ZFk/view?usp=sharing

4/27/17:

Got some time this week to work on the new circuit for the standalone lamp, so now the ESP and the standalone light are running on the same power supply. This makes the standalone light a lot easier to carry and work with.

Slim standalone light (without Li-Po ESP power supply):

4/20/17:

The glasses, lamp, and remote have been fully assembled and programmed. The standalone lamp is bulky (due to its dependency on two power supplies from the AC adapter and the large Li-Po battery). High school exams coming up but I will try to spend some time and this upcoming week and change the lamp circuit so that it depends on only the AC adapter power supply.

Bulky Standalone light (with Li-Po ESP power supply):

Project Logs

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Standalone Light Case 3-D Model
Adellar Irankunda • 05/13/2017 at 23:23 • 0 comments

The 3-D model for the standalone light is complete and as I did with the model for the glasses, I have created a GIF for your viewing/ analyzing pleasure. The primary job of the case is to hide the electrical wiring of the light and keep the user safe (seeing as how it is running on 3A). When designing the case, I made little tunnels within it so that the wires are not exposed, there is a rectangular hole towards the end of the case and that houses the actual 4 LED lights, below those is an even bigger rectangle which houses the ESP running the lights and the network. At the bottom of the case, there are two circular holes that will be the pathways for the cathode and anode wire from the wall outlet. Much like the way the current standalone light has the LEDs on the back of the adapter, the case will be mounted to the back of the adapter and hold the ESP in place and hide the wiring. A piece of the casing goes between the wall adapter and the wall in order to hold the back plate in place. I will provide a fully rendered version of this most likely tomorrow (5/13/17). The .STP files will also be posted after all the models are rendered.
Glasses ESP 3-D Model
Adellar Irankunda • 05/12/2017 at 22:59 • 0 comments

Like I promised yesterday, I've finished the 3-D model for the ESP resting on the glasses. Below is a GIF of the 3-D model. The model consists of 3 different parts, the main casing, a cover for the main case, and a little case to hold the ESP in place. The two circular holes in the main casing are to accommodate the wires that will leave the case in order for the LED to be moved to the corner of the lens of the glasses. Te trapezoidal hole on the other side of the main casing is there to make space for a micro USB charging cable that will be used to charge the Li-Po powering the ESP. This design is subject to change, but I will not make any changes until I have the model for the standalone light complete. Again, I will render the image later so that you don't have to look at a mono-color model.
New controller model
Adellar Irankunda • 05/11/2017 at 23:50 • 0 comments

Thankfully, the bulk of my exams are over and so now I can focus on my projects again (YESSS ;p). Today, I was able to update the 3-D model of the controller to reflect the new design (as seen in the images of the controller). I will most likely post the 3-D model for the ESP case on the glasses and the standalone light tomorrow (5/11/2017). The images aren't rendered yet, but I'm just hoping on finishing the look of the models before I add any texture or renders to them (for now just use your imagination and envision the models in color). Hopefully, this weekend or this upcomming week, I will put out the rendered images so that you can put your imagination to rest. An image of the new model is below and it consists of the controller case with a lid under it (open it to put the circuit in and close it after, you know how it goes).
Progress on 3D Model for Remote
Adellar Irankunda • 05/04/2017 at 01:01 • 0 comments

I found some time to work on the 3D model for the remote, it is not yet finished but I thought it would be appropriate to share it since it is about 80% complete. The model is subject to change, namely screen panel placement and the charging port type. Below is an image of the current model and a link to the .STP file.
STP file link:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwliXMzUsTp5VlV5NTN5REU5ZFk/view?usp=sharing

View all 4 project logs

Build Instructions

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Step 1

The first step to building these devices, was to assemble the remote circuit, which is comprised of an ESP, an OLED, and a couple of buttons.

When creating this circuit, one can either use solder to make the connections between the different pins of the components, jumper wires, or both. Follow the diagram to create the remote circuit. The battery can be tucked on the underside of the perfboard.

The code running on this circuit creates a little menu on the OLED, where the user can control the light therapy lights and glasses. In order to navigate the menu, the user uses the 3 main buttons (topmost is to move up on the menu, middle is to confirm highlighted selection, bottom is to move down on the menu). The button on the far right of the circuit, is used to wake the ESP from sleep mode, the mode is used to conserve battery on the remote.

Step 2

After creating the remote circuit, the glasses circuit can be created. This is the easiest circuit to build as it has the least components. The ESP in this circuit is connected to an LED and that is essentially the entire circuit. The reason behind this circuit's simplicity, is that it is made to fit on the user's glasses, so it has to be small and light. A small Li-Po is used in order to fit on the glasses, and when placing the circuit on the glasses, the LED is placed in the corner of the lense on the glasses. The reason behind this placement is to provide light stimulus while also not being too distracting for the user.

Step 3

The final step to creating these interconnected devices, is the creation of the light/ lamp circuit. This circuit employs high power LEDs that the ESP cannot source the current for, so the [majority of the] power comes from the 3V 3A AC adapter. The PNP transistor exists to allow for high power switching (control) of the lights, by the ESP which receives commands from the remote. PLEASE MAKE SURE TO UNPLUG THE AC ADAPTER WHILE BUILDING THE CIRCUIT, AS THE HIGH POWER OUTPUT CAN KILL YOU. The red and black lines coming off of the circuit schematic connect to the anode and cathode of the AC adapter respectively.

Update:

In the new circuit, I got rid of the Li-Po battery creating a separate power supply for the ESP due to the AC adapter being able to provide power for the LEDs and the ESP. The new circuit now has the ESP sharing a power supply with the LEDs, which means there is no need for a Li-Po and the entire circuit is smaller and can be powered by just plugging in the AC adapter.

Discussions

Adellar Irankunda wrote 04/30/2017 at 20:03

Thank you for all that are following the project, I will be posting 3-D renders of cases I am designing for the glasses, controller, and light this upcoming week. Thank you again.

Are you sure? yes | no

Adellar Irankunda wrote 04/24/2017 at 22:04

Update will be posted later this week. I'm a little bit busy right now as finals are just starting. Thank you for following the project!

Are you sure? yes | no

Non-Invasive Alzheimer's Light Therapy Devices

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Standalone Light Case 3-D Model

Glasses ESP 3-D Model

New controller model

Progress on 3D Model for Remote

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