Innovative EEG technology for mental health: A breakthrough for astronauts!

Innovative EEG technology for mental health: A breakthrough for astronauts!

On September 18, 2025, a research team from the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE) in collaboration with the TU Ilmenau and eemagine Medical Imaging Solutions GmbH achieved second place at the DLR Challenge Industry in the INNOspace Masters 2025. This award reflects the high level of innovation of a transferable product that can be used in the areas of aerospace and medical applications. The innovation developed includes a dry brain wave measurement (EEG) method that aims to monitor the mental health of astronauts and support neurological applications.

Rising mental health diagnoses, which have increased by nearly 55% over the past decade, shed urgent light on the need for such technologies. An example of the application is the monitoring of psychological status at an Antarctic research station using EEG. EEG with dry electrode sensors is already being used in a DLR parabolic flight campaign.

Mental Health Collaboration

The consortium, led by Prof. Dr. Elsa Kirchner from the UDE, also includes Prof. Dr. Patrique Fiedler from the TU Ilmenau and Dr. Frank Zanow, CEO of eemagine Medical Imaging Solutions GmbH. Their shared goal is to develop solutions that not only enable brain health monitoring, but also promote effective stress management.

A user-friendly and quality-driven design process aims to ensure the team's inventions help improve mental health across the technology space. A large number of new applications in different technological areas are expected with the award-winning innovation.

The connection between work and mental health

Parallel to developments in the EEG area, research into work stress is becoming increasingly important. A study that examined 49 burnout patients and a control group of the same size shows significant differences in brain activity between the groups. This points to the neurobiological basis of burnout syndrome, particularly in relation to the altered resting state networks of those affected.

The results are alarming: the burnout group shows reduced functional connectivity, particularly in the front and middle areas of the brain in the alpha3 subband. These findings could help to better understand the loss of cognitive functions and emotion regulation and to develop targeted treatment methods.

In the context of the modern working world, the concept of technostress has also become established, which encompasses the stress reactions to negative experiences with technology. Increasing digitalization, amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, has increased the use of digital technologies from 36% in 2005 to 57% in 2015. This change brings with it both new challenges and opportunities.

Technostress can have negative effects on mental health, as observed in the existing literature, but at the same time it also leads to better work organization. An in-depth discussion of these challenges is necessary to understand and minimize the psychosocial impact of digital technology in the workplace. Further high-quality longitudinal studies are therefore essential.

Connecting research and technology, as demonstrated at the DLR Challenge Industry in INNOspace Masters 2025, could be the key to improving mental health in challenging work environments. These advances are crucial for both aerospace and medical applications.

Whether through innovative EEG technologies or addressing technostress, modernizing our approaches to mental health will be critical in the coming years to meet the challenges of work in the future.

Advances in EEG technology illustrate how important it is to bring mental health into the focus of technical innovations. It is becoming increasingly clear that staying in the air and mental stability have to go hand in hand.

University of Duisburg-Essen reports about the success of the research team, while PubMed and PMC take a closer look at studies on stress and mental health.