Buzzies

In Buzzies, we’re designing bilateral stimulation tappers which will serve as therapeutic devices that originated in a therapy called eye movement desensitization and reprocessing (EMDR). A bilateral stimulation tapper is a device that will vibrate in an alternating manner on either side of the user’s body (in our case handheld), which will trigger the biological mechanisms associated with REM sleep. Research suggests that bilateral stimulation is useful in stress management and emotional regulation. While this technology exists, it’s largely unavailable to the people who need it most because of its high price point. This committee developing our own tappers that we’ll be distributing to local high schools and Ohio State students. In order to fund this project and reach as many people as possible, we’re working with a $25,000 grant from the Ford Community Challenge.

Currently, our committees are working on finalizing the motor and casing designs, finishing and cleaning up the physical breadboard, creating a working virtual circuit, and continuing to do academic research on bilateral stimulation. Once the final designs of the devices are approved, we will be distributing an estimated 200 tappers to students at OSU and the Counseling and Consultation Services at OSU. 600 tapper kits will be distributed across central Ohio High Schools to host workshops to assemble the kits.