DOLLE COMMUNICATIONS

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    Our Science & Technology services are focused on education and learning ( neurosciences), consumer communications technologies, neurological devices, medical drugs and devices, and energy technologies. Our pioneering efforts in education and learning are supported by our own research and field work with Drum Circles and Rhythm and Music & Art Therapy, including our study of Auditory Vestibular Sensory Threshold. In addition, our skills in fundraising and philanthropy can be invaluable to organizations in the development of learning solutions.

    We own patented technology (DiaCeph Test) for monitoring of the neurological condition, hydrocephalus, and feature our own content and papers on hydrocephalus and CNS shunts. Our founder, Stephen Dolle, is a visionary with respect to artificial intelligence technologies, enabling intuitive communications and public affairs.

    We provide market research solutions and Entertainment services to strategically assist clients with new product launches and brand names, and avenues in the field of entertainment. In the late 1950s, General Electric employed an innovative television program, "General Electric Theatre," which educated viewers on GE's product innovations, while building a brand name. Today, the Discovery and Science television channels host educational programs on Science & Technology, local channels feature product "infomercials," and Fortune 500 companies like Boeing, Hallmark, and Johnson & Johnson sponsor entire television programs. These efforts not only grow a company, but can make an industry. Read more under Entertainment.

    We emphasize product Innovation, but also address legal issues relating to intellectual property and/or products liability. 

    Below, we list our Industry Sectors, Capabilities and Services, and Research & Insights.

Industry Sectors

Capabilities and Services

Research & Insights: Listed Below and Linked at Left of Page

AI Systems, Music and Rhythm, Learning, and The Brain

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is a term broadly used to refer to technology or devices which incorporate "interactive logic reasoning" to assist an individual in carrying out cognitive tasks. There are near endless applications of AI possible with technology today. Much of this was made possible through widespread use of computerized chipsets (eg. Intel), by PC makers (eg. Dell), software makers (eg. Microsoft), and palm devices (eg. Hewlett Packard). AI technologies today are incorporated into everything from automobiles to gaming, multi-media, and communications devices. It is within telecommunications where AI has made the biggest impact today.

It's Orange County Innovation Month in October 2007 and Stephen Dolle, aka "MacGyver," just launched his keynote speaking and new workshop training, entitled Drum Communications and Team Training (DCTT). DCTT focuses on enhancing inter-personal communications, team communications and syncopation, sharpening the mind, health and wellness, and physical coordination.

This multi-media guide on the human brain identifies many common structures. AI systems are able to analyze and archive data as observed and input through the brain. In more sophisticated forms, AI can be integrated to transform everyday human thought into a highly sophisticated framework of archivable experiences, thereby expanding our human capability. There are as yet many functions of the human brain, psyche, and Spirit which we do not understand - and it is technology that is helping us explain these mysteries. AI will help us learn why some individuals after a brain injury or serious illness, seem to develop extraordinary skills and intuition. For instance, cyclist, Lance Armstrong, did not win his first Tour de France until after he underwent an extensive bout with cancer. He writes in his book, "It's Not About the Bike," that the cancer enabled him to reprogram his thinking and acquire new disciplines in his sport. He then went on to win six championships.

Photo of Mariner satellite passing through space en route to Mars.

A question that has confounded scientists for many years is whether "Spiritual sensation" is actually a "6th Sense." Books, movies, and Spiritual writings indicate its existence, yet science has yet to formally confirm it as a sensory function, perhaps as it tends to occur in certain individuals, and to varying degrees. It appears, at least in part, to be the foundation for many of the benefits provided through Compensatory and alternative therapies, and is viewed as pivotal to creative and intuitive abilities of many modern artists, scientists, businessmen, religious and political leaders. 

There are a number of neuro-compensatory techniques that have shown efficacy in enhancing cognitive function, pain management, and overall well-being. These include: biofeedback, yoga, meditation, faith and religious practices, music & art, hypnosis, and vestibular therapy. Each has their strength, and many sub-specialties. Published works detail their benefits and efficacy. Biofeedback and vestibular therapies currently incorporate data monitoring. Yoga and meditation could be integrated into electronic data monitoring. Simple digital recorders can monitor and track progress with these techniques. In consideration of numerous spiritual practices today, technology could also interfere with outcomes by altering the dynamics of free flow of thought and energy. Where memory and cognition issues are present, however, AI's usefulness outweighs these concerns.

We have explored techniques in Music and Art Therapy and Drum Circles in general health and cognition, and found both to act as a catalyst to learning and better health. We are writing specific application protocols using Drum Circles to improve non-verbal communication in business, sports, and social gatherings. Percussion instruments, such as the djembe drum, induce healing also through Spiritual means. Performing of music & art improves spatial, analytical, and free-thinking cognitive skills, as well as stimulates interest and comprehension in learning (enhanced anticipation factor). These modalities aid those suffering from neurological changes associated stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, hydrocephalus, dementia, Alzheimer's Disease, and other disorders. The following audio files aid the brain and human spirit: Evening Solstace, drum circle audio 1, drum circle audio 2,and Neuro-Pop Research. 

We have published the results of our own study on Auditory Sensory Processing and cognitive function, that found a striking relationship between waveforms of audible rhythms and brain function. Our study further explored controlled uses of rhythm to therapeutically desensitize and help compensation in the brains of those most affected by sensory overload. Our findings can help schools understand the challenges that children face in education in grades K through 12, and similarly which employers face in training its work force. Published studies implicate the pressures of modern living and over-exposure to PCs, audio/visual players, electronic gaming, and noise on sensory processing/limitations of the brain.

The TV program 60 Minutes aired a February 2005 feature, "Brain Rangers' Fight Iraq Stress," on the U.S. military's latest efforts in Iraq to thwart "post traumatic stress disorder" among troops in battle. Our own Neuro Compensatory Study evaluated the relationship and efficacy of vestibular therapy in headache, neuro-hypersensitivities, and cognitive deficits associated with hydrocephalus. These complaints often involve the hippocampus segment of the brain, and are also seen in post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our research concurred the benefits of various alternative therapeutic and biofeedback therapies.

Examples of widely used AI communication devices includes mobile phones, PDA's, digital audio recorders, digital cameras, watches, and wearable devices. We previously lobbied Hewlett Packard's PDA division and others to explore additional AI applications with PDAs and mobile phones. Ongoing research on "assistive technology" applications today continues at the Trace Center in Wisconsin and the Coleman Institute in Colorado. Today, mobile phones have taken the technological lead in hand held AI applications. Microsoft and Apple continue to introduce new AI devices and software platforms. Only a small portion of users understand AI device features, which requires one to "think" in the decision structures employed by the applications. For more information on this topic, visit our AI Technology section.

In the future, AI will aid people in everyday tasks, help those with brain deficits, and enhance mental skills performance in professional athletes, firefighters, police, and military personnel. Future implantable pain management devices will also be able to read pain physiology, and tailor a measured response to each type/degree of pain.

We help companies and organizations through public speaking, consulting, and public information campaigns.

Our DiaCeph Technology: Non-Invasive Monitoring of Hydrocephalus

The DiaCeph Test is a neurological software device for non-invasive monitoring of CNS shunts and hydrocephalus. The device samples specific clinical parameters, and translates these via a series of algorithms into indicators of shunt performance and intracranial pressure (ICP). It can help detect early onset of CNS shunt malfunction, provide shunt performance data, help in selecting the most physiologic shunt, and help in determining the best pressure setting in programmable valves. It also helps identify the specific system components that may need surgical revision. Regular use of this device enables it to function as a disease management program by archiving detailed data on patient status over a period of time. It is intended for use by patients, family members, care givers, medical office staff, physicians, and researchers, and for patients who are able to respond to queries.

This device was designed by Mr. Stephen Dolle to bring progress to the use of CNS shunts for hydrocephalus. He observed a void in the availability of "efficacious diagnostic technology" for CNS shunt malfunction and valve matching. The DiaCeph Test has been described as a visionary approach to understanding in-vivo performance of CNS shunts. The technology remains current, with no technology yet filling this diagnostic void. Our updated paper, Shunt Selection Model, discusses the latest practices and our protocol with the DiaCeph Test and in-office ICP shunt tap.

Innovation and Communication Needs in Transportation and Energy

The continued rise in the costs of fossil fuels has begun to squeeze U.S. consumption, and motivate the transportation, manufacturing, and housing sectors to evaluate other energy alternatives. This spans new propulsion systems, vehicle designs, mass transit, energy efficient housing, office space, and industrial buildings, satellite living quarters, and energy efficient appliances and equipment. 

U.S. government funded centers and private industry have been undertaking core research on energy alternatives and renewable sources for some time. But, it was in 2005 that consumer and industrial demand reached a critical threshold, only to reveal that the newer sources and technologies were not sufficiently available. Government and private industry are scrambling to catch up with demand, and an "innovation void" exists in the marketplace. True innovation not only requires crucial market research, product development, and ingenious planning, but top level public affairs and communications to attract the necessary capital and industry partners. These complex technologies lend themselves to misinterpretation and miscalculation. So the "product message" must be clear and understandable. Dolle Communications can meet the complex communications needs of these emerging companies.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is a sophisticated cooperative effort between the U.S. Department of Energy and the University of California at Berkeley. Their site features advanced multi-disciplinary research and technology projects, with an emphasis in energy. The facility is one of about 50 or so like it in the U.S. Discoveries that come from such facilities today will make possible the new product technologies for tomorrow. A substantial portion of the Berkeley Lab's research also incorporates forms of AI. Those who are able to bring leadership and vision to their research projects will become pioneers of the 21st Century.

CNS Shunt Technology: Management of Hydrocephalus 

Our site hosts leading research, diagnostic technology, and regulatory affairs insights on CNS shunts used in the treatment of hydrocephalus. This condition results when excess cerebral spinal fluid (CSF) accumulates inside the brain. It occurs in-utero, and can follow brain tumors, cysts, trauma, meningitis, adolescent changes, and older age. The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke provides medical information and links on hydrocephalus and other neurological disorders. A great deal of our neurosciences content is applicable to brain injury and neurological disorders, such as migraines, Alzheimer's Disease, dementia, Parkinson's Disease, and learning disabilities. You can navigate these application through the Neurosciences, Music and AI Research links below. 

CNS shunts have been in routine use since the late 1950's. It's only been in the last 15 years that any significant advances have come in CNS shunt technology. During the 1970s and 1980s, ASD and SCD anti-siphon shunting devices were introduced, but were later discovered to pose mysterious quality assurance and performance issues. Mr. Dolle summarized those in a 1996 FDA Petition. His efforts then led to the FDA's 1999 STAMP Conference, where he authored a FDA Guidance Paper on CNS Shunts. He guided much of the Food and Drug Administration's recent modernization in its oversight of CNS shunts, and invented the 1st ever home monitoring device for people with CNS shunts, the DiaCeph Test. 

The FDA has, at times, stood in the way of progress to new CNS shunt technology, and only began regulating these devices in 1976. Outdated policies have imposed unfounded obstacles on new technology, leading to higher medical costs. More recent auto-regulating and programmable shunts have brought renewed hope to user neurosurgeons and patients, with the biggest advance being the programmable (Hakim) shunt introduced by Johnson & Johnson/ Codman. A form of hydrocephalus, known as normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH), also received special media attention in 2004 in a TV program aired by 60 Minutes II, "Saved From Senility."

See our November 2005 updated paper, Shunt Selection Model, with lots of new content and designed to aid neurosurgeons in pre-surgical shunt selection, selecting the most physiologic pressure setting in programmable shunts, and numerous other applications.  Enlargement of the ventricles, which occurs in hydrocephalus, can also exert pressure and interfere with the function of the hippocampus of the brain, critical in memory. These complaints can mask as shunt malfunction or valve mismatch, and be misleading to neurosurgeons when revising a shunt. These neurological changes are best evaluated separately by PET (positron emission tomography), fMRI (functional MRI) imaging, or possibly neuropsych testing.

We present favorable results from our own study on Neuro-Compensatory Mechanisms, as an aid in managing chronic neurological complaints seen in hydrocephalus and many neurological disorders, including post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Our study focused on mechanisms known to stimulate the hippocampus. Our paper also correlates well with CNN's March 27, 2005 "Memory" Series of PTSD and the hippocampus. Read the full CNN Program Transcript.

Machine Tool Book: "William Lodge: A 19th Century Entrepreneur"

In a retrospective look at technology and innovation in the late 19th Century, a new book, William Lodge: A 19th Century Entrepreneur, by the late W. L. Dolle, Jr., examines the life and career of William Lodge who guided major advances in the machine tool industry in the 19th and 20th Centuries and helped Cincinnati earn the title of "Machine Tool Capitol of the World."

In summary, we believe Science and Technology is an invaluable aid in the human experience, and that we must also continue to weigh its benefits against trade-offs in human and planetary resources. Over the last 150 years, it has enabled extraordinary advances in health care, transportation, energy, housing, education, communications, personal well being, and quality of life. Our vision and comprehension on these topics is an invaluable resource to developing companies. 

For more information, contact us via email, web form, or U.S. mail.