Ion Channel Kinetics
Ion Channels Offer Possible Biotech/Neurotech Synergy , senior technical editor, and James Cavuoto, editor Since the beginning of the neurotechnology industry, the field has defined itself with electronic devices to stimulate or record from neural tissue. The biotech industry, by contrast, has defined itself with chemical and genetic engineering methods of modulating the behavior of cells, tissues, and organs.
2002 Neurotech Leaders Forum
Neurotech Leaders Forum Brings Together Investors and Entrepreneurs Nearly 60 neurotechnology executives and financial professionals met in San Francisco on October 3 to discuss a number of management and funding issues confronting the industry at the Second Annual Neurotech Leaders Forum. The event was sponsored , with platinum sponsorship from Quallion, LLC. In a well received keynote address, Wa…
Spinal Cord Injury Market
NeuroControl Exit Leaves Hole in Spinal Injury Market The market for functional electrical stimulation and neural prostheses was dealt a shock recently when NeuroControl Corp. announced that it would no longer market products targeted at persons with spinal cord injury, and will instead concentrate on products for treating stroke. The decision, which came in the wake of significant staff reductions…
Christpher Reeve
Christopher Reeve’s Media Presence a Mixed Blessing for FES Researchers Renewed media attention to Christopher Reeve, the actor/director who became paralyzed , has presented a rare flash of publicity to functional electrical stimulation researchers. But not all the attention is focused on areas of great promise in the treatment of SCI and some of the information being disseminated is scientifically unproven or questionable.
Measuring Market Excitability
There is a wealth of good news in our report on the outlook for venture capital funding for neurotechnology firms. Our report indicates that VC firms actively involved with the healthcare and biomedical industries are very receptive to funding neurotech start-ups. Although the amount of funding for manufacturers of neurodiagnostic and neurostimulation firms has to date been dwarfed biotech, genomic, and pharmaceutical firms, there are finally signs that this situation is about to change.
Riding the Waves
The electroencephalograph, or EEG, has been the boon and the bane of neuroscientists and bioengineers for decades. Scientists have scoured strip chart recordings for any clue of neurophysiological function. Engineers have studied the “inverse problem” of localizing within the skull the source of electrical potentials measured at the scalp. Clinicians have compared patients’ EEG data with healthy subjects in an effort to uncover what’s wrong with an individual.
Brain Fingerprinting
Brainwave Sensor Touted as Tool in Counter-Terrorism An Iowa firm called Brain Fingerprinting Laboratories, Inc., is positioning its EEG-based brain-state analysis system as a potential tool in the fight against terrorism. The device, consisting of a headband sensor, EEG amplifier, and computer-based signal processor, attempts to detect whether a subject or suspect has had prior association with specific words, images, or other stimuli.
Stimulation and Impedance
Regulatory agencies like the Food and Drug Administration play an important role in any society. Consumers depend on an informed, impartial, and reasonable regulatory agency to protect them from events and contingencies that are beyond their control and expertise. Even the most conservative free-market crusader in the U.S. would most likely choose the FDA-approved slab of beef over a black-market steak brought in from Tijuana.
IFESS Conference
Functional Electrical Stimulation Field Converges in Cleveland The spirit of a new industry and the promise of groundbreaking medical technology was in the air in Cleveland at the sixth annual conference of the International Functional Electrical Stimulation Society meeting in June. The five-day event, themed “Envisioning a New Century of Breakthroughs,” highlighted six “millennium” papers on key a…
Biocontrol Corp. Profile
Biocontrol Corp. Looks to Break Into Computer Peripheral Market BioControl Systems, Inc., the South San Francisco neurotechnology firm that developed the BioMuse neural interface system, has set its sights on the mass market for computer input products. Although the company has sold more than 100 of its $20,000 BioMuse systems to corporate, government, and private research institutions, company fou…