Fair Hearing
The FDA’s recent alert about a possible link between cochlear implants and bacterial meningitis (see article, page 1) may not be the most devastating blow ever to have confronted the neurotechnology industry, but it is certainly a serious matter. In many ways, this crisis presents a test for our young industry; how we respond and bounce back from this situation may well be indicative of our level of maturity.
Waiting for Vision
The prospect of developing and marketing a retinal prosthesis that restores at least some vision to blind individuals is one of the most exciting opportunities ever to confront the neurotechnology industry. Make no mistake—building a functional device will not be easy and the schedule is bound to slip as technical and organizational complications arise. But for perhaps the first time, there is a widspread belief among the neural prosthesis community that it is at least feasible to construct a retinal implant.
DBS Electrode Problems
DBS Electrode Problems Create Neurotech Opportunity and Warren Grill, senior technical editor Deep brain stimulation is rapidly emerging as one of the most promising applications of neurotechnology. Over the last few years, the procedure, which involves surgical implantation of one or more electrodes in the thalamus or basal ganglia brain regions beneath the cerebral cortex, has proven to be an effective treatment for the movement disorders that occur in Parkinson’s Disease or essential tremor.
Responding to Paralysis
NeuroControl Corp.’s decision to drop out of the spinal cord injury market and target stroke instead (see article, this issue) has focused attention on at least two issues that will affect the future growth of the neurotechnology industry. First, and most obviously, the neurotech device industry, like any other industry, is driven by profit. The second, and more subtle lesson is that neurostimulati…
2003 BIO CEO and Investor Conference
Life Sciences Industry Confronts Altered Financial Landscape at BIO Conference A number of new firms in the neurological devices and compounds field participated in the 2003 BIO CEO and Investor Conference, held in New York City February 26-28. Among the participants were Neurobiological Technologies, Inc., of Richmond, CA, Curis, Inc., of Cambridge, MA, Neurocrine Biosciences, of San Diego, CA, and Psychiatric Genomics, Inc., of Gaithersburg, MD.
Directing Magnetic Energy
Magnetic stimulation of the nervous system is a relatively new tool in the arsenal of clinicians and researchers working on neurological and psychiatric diseases and disorders. As we discuss in our article on magnetic stimulation and migraine research [link], this tool offers capabilities and characteristics not available with other neurotechnology tools. And nowhere are these advantages more pronounced than in the human brain, which has been largely inaccessible to researchers and clinicians alike.
Pursuing the Neurome
When the federal government initiated the Human Genome Project in 1990, few people could have anticipated the full range of benefits it would bring to the biotechnology industry. Within a decade, both public and private research teams had made enough progress to hasten the discovery of several new pharmaceutical compounds. The effort also produced a tremendous amount of public awareness and venture capital funding.
Brain Projects
Brain Projects to Reap Dividends for Neurotech Firms In much the same way that the biotechnology and pharmaceutical industries have benefited from the ambitious efforts to map the human genome, work underway at several private corporations and research institutions to map the functional connections of the human nervous system may well prove fruitful for the neurotechnology industry. While our under…
The Last Resort
When radio talk show host Rush Limbaugh announced to the world that he had lost his hearing, many of his listeners and supporters were understandably saddened. Today, Limbaugh’s recovery resulting from his cochlear implant is cause for celebration, not only among the listening public, but the neural prostheses community [see article, this issue]. But as we revel in the success, it’s worth reflectin…
James Cavuoto Editor and Publisher
Political leaders in Washington D.C. are currently at odds over the shape of an economic stimulus to get the U.S. economy back on its feet. Republicans want a stimulus package that includes sizeable tax rebates to corporations, arguing that this leads to job creation. Democrats want a stimulus package that includes sizeable benefits for unemployed people and for lower- and middle-income taxpayers, arguing for compassion.