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Foc - Us 1 USER GUIDE For The Foc Us HEADSET 2 2 PDF
Foc - Us 1 USER GUIDE For The Foc Us HEADSET 2 2 PDF
Foc - Us 1 USER GUIDE For The Foc Us HEADSET 2 2 PDF
Important Notes
1. This is version 2.2 of this guide, current as of 2/18/2014
2. This guide is intended to help you successfully use the foc.us tDCS headset out of the box. This
is a living document and will be updated as new information or corrections become available.
The document version number and date will be incremented as it is updated.
Introduction
Welcome to the brave new world of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS). tDCS is an amazing,
simple, and apparently safe technology that is surprising the medical community, researchers, and
laymen alike by all that it can do. tDCS is well researched and has been written about in scientific
literature for decades. See www.pubmed.com (search tDCS) for many examples. Whether you are
seeking to improve a condition like depression or chronic pain or simply seeking to improve your ability
to memorize or learn a new skill, there are already published studies indicating positive effects from
tDCS.
For more details on the basics of tDCS, please see the articles on my blog, www.speakwisdom.com. I
also suggest www.diytdcs.com and www.transcranialbrainstimulation.com.
tDCS is not yet well known as it has, until recently, only been available to researchers via expensive
commercial tDCS equipment or the curious (the do-it-yourself community), building their own tDCS
devices. In the last year, a small number of consumer oriented tDCS devices have begun to appear in
the marketplace. The foc.us headset represents the most innovative, sophisticated, and flexible of the
affordable new tDCS devices to this point. While marketed as a gamer accessory (probably to limit
FDA flack), this headset offers great potential to those seeking a very versatile tDCS device.
The foc.us headset comes preconfigured to deliver stimulation to the prefrontal cortex of the brain via a
conservative 0.8 milliamp (mA) 10 minute duration tDCS session. Researchers use up to 2 mA and 30
minutes per session.
The foc.us headset arrives in an attractive and professionally prepared box. Inside is a travel and storage
case containing the headset, sponges, USB charging cord, a small bottle for water, instructions, and
foc.us stickers (ala Apple.)
(Left to right: Connector for wire electrodes, on-off switch, USB charge connector)
3. Electrode Position
The comfortable and light headset has a fixed position for its electrodes, placing them on the forehead
and upper forehead. The position selected by foc.us will be of interest to a large audience. Why? It
happens to correspond nicely to an accepted location for treatment of depression (yes, there are others)
and the position described in various studies for learning, memory, and gaming enhancement. Electrode
placements not addressed by the headset itself are handled with the wire electrodes in the foc.us
accessory kit. The accessory kit is needed for treating chronic pain and for savant learning as well as a
number of other possible tDCS scenarios.
(Correct positioning of foc.us headset. Lower sponges above the eyebrows, centered.)
For the slightly technical, you will want to know that when wearing the headset, the left electrodes
(sponges) are the ANODE and the right are the CATHODE. Two electrodes on each side? Think of it as a
way to have one larger sponge on each side covering more of the frontal lobe area.
(It is normal for the copper plates in the foc.us headset to show some green oxidation with use it does
not interfere with headset operation. Some of the oxidation will transfer to the sponges. Always use
that side against the copper plates to avoid turning your forehead green!)
8. Maintenance
When not using the foc.us headset, make sure the slide switch is in the W position (it needs to be in
this position for charging, too.) My experience is that the foc.us headset can do many 10 minute tDCS
sessions on a single charge. Again, full charge time is about 2 hours.
Store your wet sponges in a sealed plastic or glass container. Keep them damp. Clean them periodically
with non-irritating soap (and water). The sponges should last a very long time.
READY state. Once back to READY state, you can tap the touch-button again (3 times) to repeat the
display.
If you see anything but the above, your headset is configured in some other way, in which case I suggest
you complete the steps below to make sure your headset is set up correctly.
10.
If you have glanced through the documentation provided with the foc.us headset, you may know that it
can be set to deliver current in four different modes and at four different current levels. Beginners
should stick with Constant Current, 0.8 mA. Only with experience and study of tDCS montages should
you move away from this setting.
Read Carefully, Setup can be Confusing
The blinking from the headset that is part of the setup process can be confusing. If you get lost, dont
feel bad, we have all been there. Just switch the headset off (W) and start over. After doing setup on
the headset a few times, you will get the hang of it.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
8.
SPECIAL NOTE: If you received one of the first batch of foc.us tDCS headsets (early summer 2013) the
headsets have a defect that prevents them from pairing with BlueTooth devices, your headset has
another defect it wont remember your settings if you switch it off (W). It always returns to Constant
Current, 0.8 mA. If you want any other setting, you will have to set it each time you turn the headset on.
Foc.us has already provided a free replacement headset (that works correctly) to everyone who was
shipped a headset from the first batch.
Yea! Youve Got It! You Can Now Begin to Tap the Power of tDCS!
Getting Connected
Make sure your foc.us headset is charged and ready to go and that Bluetooth is enabled on your iOS
device.
To Connect:
1. Start the foc.us app
2. Place your headset in Ready mode by touching the touch-button for three or four seconds. It
should buzz and the blue foc.us logo should blink.
3. Touch Bluetooth at the bottom of the app screen. The headset should show in the list of
available Bluetooth devices as foc.us gamer. Touch Connect. Note if you take too long, the
headset may drop out of Ready mode.
(double-click home on your iOS device, and flick the foc.us app UP to close it). START OVER at step 1
above.
During the tDCS session, the Duration will count down minute by minute. At the end of the session
there is a brief buzz from the headset to let you know the session is complete.
Oddities
1. The app and the headset seem to lose sync with each other if you delay too long in making
selections, cancel a session, or do much other than the steps I show above. (Remember its
really a 0.99 release.)
2. The duration reads 00 during the last 59 seconds of a session.
IMPORTANT: Your mileage may vary! If you feel any ill effects from tDCS STOP immediately.
Conduct research or contact a medical professional to learn what you need to change before
attempting another tDCS session.
(Accessory anode and cathode wire plugged into the back of the headset)
Important: The Wires
The kit includes a two-wire (anode & cathode) lead with good length, allowing placement pretty much
as you see fit. Uniquely, there is a single wire anode and single wire cathode included too. These are
very useful when you want to use the built-on anode (or cathode) and have the opposite charge applied
at a non-standard location. As mentioned, for depression, users may prefer the built-on anode, but
want the cathode placed on the right shoulder. The single cathode wire makes this simple to do.
(Can you see the minus sign on the back of the electrode clip? Its very hard to see.)
(You will want to clearly mark lead polarity. Zip ties work.)
One more thought: The connector used for external electrodes is a bit fragile. You might want to
consider using some Velcro or similar material to provide some strain relief if you frequently use
external electrodes.
SAVANT LEARNING
This montage is been in the press of late and is easy to do with the foc.us headset with the accessory kit.
Normally, the anode is placed at about T4 (the right temple) and the cathode at about T3 (the left
temple.) Savant Learning is an overly broad term that refers to improved intuition, creativity, and
ability of the right brain to dominate. The montage involves placing the anode high on the right temple
and the cathode high on the left temple.
(The foc.us headset can rest on your desk when using wire electrodes.)
MEMORIZATION and LEARNING
An interesting memorization and learning montage involves placing the anode at FP1 (above the left eye
on the forehead) and the cathode at FP2 (above the right eye on the forehead).
(Memory and Learning Montage. There are other variations of learning electrode placements available
on the web.)
As with the depression montage shown earlier, the unusual placement of the built-on electrodes is
more than required for this montage. Some users suggest possibly leaving out the upper sponges to
more precisely match the montage requirements. However, current density could be too high and
irritation might result as the sponges are small. Using external electrodes is probably better.
CHRONIC PAIN
Chronic pain is addressed in at least a couple of different montages. One example is to place the anode
at C4 (above the right ear, halfway to the center of the head) and the cathode at FP1 (above the left eye
on the forehead). There are other montages for chronic pain so look those up on the web if the one I
show is not what you are looking for.) Another montage places the anode at either C3 or C4 and the
corresponding cathode at FP1 or FP2 on the same side of the head (left or right) to treat chronic pain on
the opposite side of the body (left or right).
Wrap-Up
So there you are four examples of tDCS montages using the foc.us headset with external electrodes.
What a great and versatile product! There are many variations on tDCS montages reported in studies
and articles that appear on the internet. Do your homework! Remember, no matter what montage you
are using, stay within safety guidelines for current and time. No more than 2 mA and no more than 30
minutes per day of tDCS.
Coming Soon
This document will be updated with new material on a regular basis. Check back for additions, updates,
and corrections.
Your comments and suggestions are welcome. Please send them to brent@speakwisdom.com