Ria Rustagi, Co-Founder and COO, Neuphony, India’s first brain wearable device
An alumnus of the NTU, Singapore, and TUM, Germany, Ms. Ria Rustagi is also a BTech graduate from JIIT Noida.
Podcast
Overview
The brain is the softest and most powerful organ of the human body. Our bodies completely rely on the stable functioning of the brain and neural activity. It is the most complex organ made of about 100 billion nerves that communicate in trillions of connections called synapses. It is the most fascinating part of the human body and requires utmost care and training.
Hence the question arises: Can one really train the brain?
About Ria Rustagi:
Today TBCY brings you an exceptional individual who has successfully created a device that can track brain activity! We are pleased to welcome Ria Rustagi to the podcast.
Ria is a very successful professional from Munich, Germany. She is an accomplished entrepreneur and leader. She is the Co-Founder and COO of Neuphony, India’s first brain wearable device. In this extremely engaging interview with our host Ashutosh Garg, we learn about Ria’s journey of creating an exceptional and rare device. She also talks about her own mental health experiences.
About Neuphony:
Neuphony, a one-of-a-kind device is the brainchild of Ria Rustagi and her CoFounder. It is India’s first brain wearable device. Having spoken about mental health and it’s challenges for a long time now, Ria believed it was time to actively work on these issues. The motivation to launch this device was rooted in a traumatic experience in Ria’s life. Neophony was launched In order to understand the brain better, help others and bring change in society.
The motive behind this device was to track mental activity and stress. While we constantly put our brain through numerous pressure and stress, it is important to keep its functioning under watch. Neophony is a wearable headgear. It is a smart device that reflects mental activity on your phone. It is just like your Fitbit, but for the brain! The best part about her product is that we as commoners can interpret and analyze the results the device shows.
Training the Brain:
While explaining the science and technology behind her device, Ria talks about the power our brain holds. She asserts that it is very much possible to train our brain to perform to our needs instead of the other way round. Constant learning and training bring about chemical changes in the organ. She throws light on the concept of neuroplasticity.
“And when you train your brain, there are new neural connections created. People make this like, we are a victim of our brains. But that is completely wrong. There is a concept called neuroplasticity-that your brain is plastic and you can expand it just by learning!”
More:
Ria talks about the challenges she faced while setting up the venture. The research and testing behind the device were enormous and have helped both the founders come up with the perfect result. Ria further also throws light on mental health issues and how society is slowly accepting and normalizing it. She highlights how the pandemic has given people the time to reflect on their mental health and behavior.
Her venture is welfare-oriented and Ria has helped a number of people through her work. She is indeed an inspiration for everyone looking to contribute to their mental growth.
Tune in to know more!
Profile
With her strong background in electronics & communication Ms. Rustagi was struck with the idea to make a difference in the lives of people due to an unfortunate occurrence in her personal life. Her sister, Pankhuri got a rare brain infection (the year 2016) at the age of 25 which led her to be hospitalized in the stroke ICU for 6 months. Not being able to comprehend what was going on, the inability to communicate with her sister, and eventually losing her to the rare brain infection lead Ms. Rustagi to come up with the idea of inducing brain fitness.
Co-Founder Bhavya Madan, a BTech graduate himself was fascinated by EEG technology as his past workplace was working on it. When he asked Ms. Rustagi about doing something together in the space of brain activity, Ms. Rustagi was nudged in the right direction and that is how Neuphony was born.
Neuphony is India’s first brain wearable which comes with a Mobile application and an SDK that can be used by researchers, developers, and also other businesses to develop their applications example brain-controlled games, wheelchairs, VR Headsets, etc. Neuphony’s vision is to help people like Ms. Rustagi’s sister Pankhuri, people who need to become self-aware and change their reactive approach to mental health by proactively monitoring their brain activity.
They have sold 25+ devices across the world and shipped 10+ devices for other collaborations/promotions. Neuphony’s mentors include Dr. JEFF Tarrant director of neuro-meditation institute and Dr. Sushil Chandra from DRDO.
