Bachelor Student Prize Winner

Eighteen students completed their bachelor's degree in 2021 with a thesis that was labelled ‘excellent’ by their faculty. Here you will find a short introduction to these excellent theses in the form of an "elevator pitch" from each student, plus a video in which the supervisor briefly addresses the lucky winner.

Ben Fishman

  Faculty of Psychology and Neuroscience | Bachelor Psychology

"SENCO-AI: Speeding up fNIRS-based Communication"

Ben's elevator pitch
Some patients with severe motor paralysis lose their ability to communicate, which is a profoundly isolating experience with dire consequences for their social life, well-being and recovery. Neuroelectric brain-computer-interface spellers can restore communication to those patients, but not all patients are able to gain control over them. For those cases, haemodynamic spellers serve as an alternative. Unfortunately, haemodynamic spellers are currently too slow and too cumbersome to allow natural, free-flowing conversation. SENCO-AI is a novel haemodynamic speller based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy that implements a number of features making it faster, more convenient and more accessible than previous haemodynamic spellers.