Galileo™ for Sensorimotor | Compatible with Neuroimaging Devices

“As a biomedical device developer with an impressive portfolio of sustainable products over many years, EMCI has the in-house expertise ranging from bioengineering and instrument design to the necessary experience to obtain FDA certification and efficient marketing to propel new concept from bench to bedside. EMCI has a successful history of partnerships and collaboration with academic scientists. EMCI’s professionalism and expertise translates to efficiency in developing a new biomedical concept to improve human health and well-being.”

Dr. Steven M. Barlow
Corwin Moore Professor
Director, Communication Neuroscience Laboratories

The Galileo™ Somatosensory System

The Galileo™ is an 8-channel, pneumotactile, saltatory, evoked-response stimulation device. This distinctive research device is non-invasive, and extremely safe to use in any laboratory environment.

The Galileo™ can be used to activate populations of low-threshold, rapidly conducting mechanoreceptive afferents in soft tissues overlying joints and muscles. For example, the stimulus response is ideally suited for two of the most skilled sensorimotor systems of the human body (the orofacial and the glabrous surface of the hands).

Unlike electrical stimulation devices, the Galileo™ evokes activity in mechanosensory afferents in their natural physiological recruitment order. It also creates an interference-free stimulus signal. It is the first and only pneumotactile stimulator designed to be used in fMRI and other magnetic imaging suites, as it uses only plastic contacts and tiny volumes of air in a closed system to create the stimulus.

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The Problem

Researchers have long desired the ability to deliver a tactile stimulus to a subject in an fMRI or other imaging system in order to assess responses in real time. Magnetic, electrical, and audible mechanical systems of tactile stimulus interfere with the magnetic imaging of the brain. In addition, electrical stimulus reverses nerve recruitment, meaning that an adaptation response is absent or extremely limited

The Solution

Hardware

The Galileo™ Pneumotactile Stimulus System was designed with maximum controllability for research environments. The stimulus uses pneumatic pulses generated through a proprietary system, which creates incredibly fast-rising pressure waves. This punctate tactile stimulus is ideally suited for somatosensory stimulus.

Our engineers worked with leading brain researchers to develop the perfect waveform. Once the ideal stimulus was established, they expanded it into a highly customizable 8-channel system.

Software

The real power of the Galileo™ is the ability to control the system’s many features via our included proprietary software package. Since we know that the Galileo™ will be used in a wide variety of experimental applications, it was designed for maximum customization.

Researchers can design custom pulse sequences, each of which can use different pulse durations, start times, and cycle times. The sequences can be repeated infinitely, stratified, or run randomly to suit the experiment. Data are recorded to a text file.

Researchers running more complex experiments that require integration of multiple stimulus devices, behavioral triggers, or sensory inputs can use serial commands via USB 2.0 to send instructions to the Galileo™. Because the pulse delay times are constant, the calculations and programming required are minimal. The Galileo™ Pnuemotactile Tactile Stimulus System can be controlled by any software package capable of generating serial commands. The Galileo™ also accepts per-channel 5V TTL input triggers to do real-time triggering in event-based and cognitive behavioral study environments