'It's like squats for your brain': Edmonton start-up creates cognitive training app
An Edmonton start-up is shifting its focus from the body to the brain by using virtual reality to strengthen the mind.
The Peak Cognition training app is like a workout for the brain.
"There are very few tools available to assist and improve mental performance, our software helps to meet that need," said Simba Nyazika, CEO and Founder of Lenica Research Group. "It's like squats for your brain."
Nyazika says when it comes to high performance sports what separates the elite isn't their muscles, but their mind.
"Liken to one of those old carnival games: you have three cups, you place a ball inside and you have to track the ball as quickly as you can," he said. "That ability to track is what's utilized in athletes when they are tracking their players, their opponents."
The virtual reality game aims to improve athletes' attention, memory and reaction speed.
"Similar to what you're doing on the ice, you might be tracking the puck, but there is a million other things going on in the game that you have to pay attention to," said Kirsten Chamberlain, the U of A Panda's goalie. "It builds that skill of being able to be aware without being directly focused on it."
She's been using the program for just over a month and says the training is helping heighten her focus on the ice.
"That kind of awareness is huge at the next level, and I think that's what really differentiates good players from great players," said Chamberlain.
But for Nyazika, his motivation was about more than making great athletes.
Originally from Zimbabwe, Nyazika's family immigrated to Canada in 2005 when he was 15. Seven years later while visiting family in his home country he realized a change in his grandmother.
"She had lost a lot of her memory and so it was surprising and very shocking to kind of realize there wasn't that remembrance of who I was," said Nyazika.
It was that dementia diagnosis that sparked his desire to understand the impact aging has on the brain, and a dream of helping people keep their minds healthy.
"When it comes to something like dementia, 60 per cent of the 50 million cases we see are in second and third world countries," said Nyazika.
"We want to ensure our software is accessible to everyone."
The health side of the app also aims to reduce recovery time and improve quality of life for people who have suffered a brain injury by targeting attention, working memory, reaction time and hand-eye coordination.
The app went public this month. A VR headset and cell phone are required to use the program.
With files from CTV News Edmonton's Chelan Skulski.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
What a CBSA strike could look like, according to an expert
Slowed or interrupted travel, the passing of goods and significantly restricted borders should be expected if Canadian border workers take upcoming strike action.
Tornado touches down west of the Island of Montreal
Emergency services in the town of Rigaud, Que. are investigating after a tornado touched down shortly after 5:30 p.m. on Friday.
Teen was doing homework at family's Mississauga, Ont. restaurant when gunman opened fire: testimony
The 13-year-old sister of a young man killed in the attack on her family’s Mississauga restaurant in 2021 took the stand in a Brampton courthouse on Monday to describe the terrifying moments of coming under fire.
B.C. senior prepares to move due to devastating effects of fraud
A Courtenay, B.C., senior is downsizing and packing to move as she comes to accept she can no longer afford to stay in her home, after falling victim to a scam that robbed her of her life savings worth more than $100,000.
MPs to decide on Speaker Fergus' invite flub as Conservatives advance effort to oust him
The federal Conservatives have advanced a motion that will force MPs to vote on whether to oust Greg Fergus as House of Commons Speaker, after MPs' deputy adjudicator ruled Monday that the Liberal member's allegedly errant partisan event invite required urgent attention.
WATCH Alta. man rescues wild foal trapped on steep cliffside
A man's daring rescue of a newborn wild foal that was trapped after falling down a steep embankment was caught on video over the weekend.
Stars roar back to win Game 3 over Oilers
Jason Robertson's hat-trick goal midway through the third period broke a deadlock and proved to be the eventual winner as the Dallas Stars beat the host Edmonton Oilers 5-3 in Game 3 of the Western Conference Final to take a 2-1 series lead.
Kitchener, Ont. woman with incurable cancer pushing province to cover rare cancer drug
A rare cancer treatment could potentially extend the life of an Ontario woman. The problem is, the province won’t approve the pricey drug.
Trial for B.C. man accused of killing, dismembering wife begins
The trial for a Langley man accused of killing his wife began Monday, with the prosecutor laying out a disturbing series of facts agreed upon by both Crown and defence.