By Jeremy Koff, senior consulting editor
June 30, 2026 | Now that Neurotech Reports is part of Cambridge Innovation Institute, a much larger publisher and event producer in the healthcare industry, one of the advantages that comes our way is access to numerous industry events and their participants. This editor was fortunate to have attended the recent Medtech MVP conference in Minneapolis, MN earlier this month [see article, p5].
One of the more memorable moments from the conference was Medtronic CEO Geoff Martha’s advice that medtech firms must think beyond individual devices and toward broader ecosystems. That comment is especially relevant to neuromodulation, where therapies have historically been developed around discrete implantable or wearable devices. In pain, movement disorders, epilepsy, sleep, migraine, and other neurological conditions, the next generation of systems is increasingly likely to depend on patient selection tools, device-generated data, digital workflow support, remote monitoring, and payer-aligned outcome tracking.
Martha also pointed out that the pharmaceutical industry doesn’t have the healthy pipeline in neuroscience that medtech can offer. For the neurotechnology field, that observation reflects a broader reality. Many of the largest unmet needs in medicine—chronic pain, Parkinson’s disease, stroke disability, sleep disorders, psychiatric disease, migraine, Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative conditions—remain only partially addressed by drugs. Device-based approaches may therefore play an expanding role, but only if companies can solve the commercial, clinical, reimbursement, and operational challenges that have slowed adoption compared to pharma uptake.
Boston Scientific senior vice president Charlie Attlan pointed out some of the issues startup firms experience after being acquired by a large strategic. That perspective matters for neurotechnology startups. Strategic interest in neuromodulation assets remains strong, but acquirers are increasingly focused on timing, evidence, integration risk, reimbursement readiness, and whether a technology fits into a larger platform strategy. Founders may need to engage strategics early without assuming that early interest will translate into a near-term acquisition.
Neurotech startups can also learn from the recent example of Noctrix Health’s acquisition by medtech giant ResMed, which was driven in part by Noctrix’ workflow efficiency. For neurotechnology companies, the lesson is important. Many neuromodulation companies focus heavily on clinical efficacy, device design, stimulation parameters, and regulatory clearance, but underinvest in the operational systems required to scale therapy in the real world. Noctrix suggests that in markets involving home use, chronic disease management, payer documentation, and direct patient support, operational infrastructure may be as important as the device itself.
For the neurotechnology sector, the implication is clear: the next wave of value creation will not come only from stimulating the right nerve or building a smaller implant. It will come from building companies that can translate neural engineering into reimbursed, data-enabled, patient-centered systems that strategics can scale.
