If you are doing research on how to support persons who need support for their mental condition, can you take such an everyday object as a smartphone, put on it a well-thought out app (excuse the pun) and come up with a solution that helps such persons have better quality of life? 

 

Maltese company AAT Research just did that with their Brain Music System App, and their efforts were rewarded by winning the Best App category at the eBusiness Awards 2013 organised by the Malta Communications Authority (MCA).

 

The aim of the Awards is to be promote innovation in the local technology industry and recognise the best efforts of the local talent. The Best App category recognises apps for mobile devices that have an impact on the market and/or the users.

 

Though AAT Research were happy to receive such recognition they didn’t really expect it in a category where tough competition was quite evident.

 

“The whole team was taken aback when AAT Research's logo popped-up on the screen as the event's presenter announced the first place winner,” admits Adrian Attard Trevisan, managing director at AAT Research. “Nonetheless we hold ourselves proud on the tireless amount of effort every single member within the team had put in to produce the app, and especially the software developers, who through inexhaustible determination succeeded into pushing the concept and already award winning therapy over the bounds and into new uncharted territory.”

 

Dr Attard Trevisan explains how the concept behind the then called Brain Music System App (now renamed ‘Mente’) was carefully constructed on the basis of rigorous research and a spark of genius flared up by AAT Research team's passion to help and facilitate everyday life for those who suffer from neurological disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder. Paired with the Mente headband, the app software, now available on three operating systems (Android, iOS and PC) helped to revolutionise therapy sessions as we know them and positively impact the life of the autistic users and their parents. 

 

The Mente headband analyses the components of an EEG (electrical activity) output from a user’s brain and then converts these brain waves into music used for therapy, which can be enjoyed through the app.  This can be used a structured type of therapy that can be applied to a range of clinical conditions such as epilepsy, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and the locked-in syndrome, and to optimise performance in healthy subjects. 

 

The company insists that although there are many therapy sessions available to autistic patients, the Brain Music System/Mente is the only FDA approved therapy system for Autism Spectrum Disorder available on the market. This award-winning system is revolutionary and unique and the fact that the patients are free to attend therapy sessions away from the expensive clinical setup and at the comfort of their homes makes it unique.

 

The Brain Music System App/Mente is the culmination of years of dedicated research in Malta and abroad and although the AAT Research team didn’t expect to win an MCA eBusiness Award, the ingredients for success were all there.

 

“The passion, integrity and determination within a driven team does prove to be the recipe for success. This, paired with an encouraging environment to transit new ideas and concepts into award-winning innovations is paramount to the growth of any company, including AAT Research. I would like to show my appreciation towards the well-organized awards ceremony and for the overall continuous support MCA dedicates within the local business scene in Malta,” concludes Dr Attard Trevisan.

 

The 2014 edition of the MCA eBusiness Awards has been announced, providing yet another opportunity for the local eBusiness industry to come forward with its best ideas, products and services. More information at www.mca.org.mt/ebiz-awards