Homemade EMDR device

[kurokawa8]

http://i47.tinypic.com/2h704mq.jpg

Similar to this model http://www.neurotekcorp.com/atacas.htm

They will not sell the Neurotek device non-practitioners.  Believe me I tried.  Emdr machines aren't illegal but the EMDRIA does consider them unsafe for patients to use without supervision.  FWIW.


I converted my Photosonix MUSE# brain entrainment device.  http://www.cerebrex.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=C&Product_Code=M&Category_Code=MM

They don't make them any more but they have a new model which is probably the same thing: http://www.cerebrex.com/Merchant2/merchant.mv?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=C&Product_Code=I&Category_Code=MM

The device has a 1 Hz alternating stimulation setting, but it uses light glasses and headphones.  Light doesn't really work that well for EMDR.  It really interferes with visualization.  Handheld buzzers work much better.

So assuming the glasses use your typical LEDs, I found some cell phone buzzers on ebay with roughly the same Vdc and amperage requirements as LEDs:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Cell-Phone-Pager-Vibrating-Vibrator-Mini-Tiny-Small-Micro-Electric-Motor-DC-/270995069963?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3f18909c0b

The LED glasses use the standard TRS 1/8" (35mm?) connector.  When you strip it there are two wires, red and white, and grounding fibers around the outside of the sheath.  The cell phone buzzers each have two wires, red and black.

connect the wires as such:
TRS red --> buzzer 1 red
TRS white --> buzzer 2 red
TRS grounding wires --> buzzer 1 and buzzer 2 black

I used 22 guage (it may have been a tad heavy) speaker wire to conduct the main signal and the ground signal to each handheld device.  The hand held devices are made from 25 cent plastic bubble containers you get from the quarter machines in the front
of the supermarket.  I poked two holes in each bubble with a hot needle to thread the wires.  I wrapped thin foam around the base of the cell phone buzzer and jammed it into the plastic bubble and then taped it down being careful to leave the spinning
part free.

Mine works like a charm.  I can even speed up or slow down the intensity of the buzzing with the light control on the MUSE#.  The only problem is it doesn't alternate at intervals less than 1Hz.  1Hz works great, but I would like to be able to test slower speeds.  The next higher speed 1.5Hz is too fast, IMO.


I wrote about my experiences with supervised EMDR therapy using the Neurotek device linked above in the club archives, if interested search "EMDR" and you'll find it.