Mendi is not a medical treatment and is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any diseases. However, Mendi can help to strengthen the neural networks of focus and mood that exist in your brain but haven’t been attended to.
Mendi hardware is based on functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technology which, among other things, measures blood flow and oxygenation in the prefrontal cortex (PFC). By employing targeted instructions in our software, we can guide brain activity in the PFC and overtime measure, control and enhance overall brain functioning.
In simpler terms, with Mendi, you are effectively practicing controlling your thought patterns by focusing them on something specific for a short duration of time. Mendi lets you measure in real-time how your thoughts (and various other psycho/physiological processes) alter the state of your prefrontal cortex. The long term goal is to gain more control over this process and unlock the brain health benefits that come with it. You can think of it as a form of meditation, with live visual feedback - where instead of wondering whether you’re doing it right Mendi can show it to you.
If you would like to know more about the technology and its use, here’s a systematic review of fNIRS based neurofeedback. In it you find a summary of all past relevant fNIR research in neurofeedback that has been published and peer-reviewed: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7396619/
Neurofeedback is a promising treatment for ADHD. Recent research showed that as little as 30 sessions of neurofeedback training could be as effective as popular stimulants in managing ADHD symptoms. Practitioners across the world use neurofeedback to treat numerous conditions like attention deficit hyperactivity disorder,major depressive disorder, anxiety disorder, epilepsy and traumatic brain injuries. In The United States The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has cleared a wide range of neurofeedback devices to treat these and other conditions, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention list it as an option in cases of ADHD in children.