Doctors and Payors
One of the most hotly discussed topics at the recent meeting of the North American Neuromodulation Society was how to respond to recent negative reports about neuromodulation, and in particular, two recent studies published in the Journal of the American Medical Association and JAMA Neurology [NBR Dec 22 p1]. During the opening plenary session at the conference, Anuj Bhatia from Toronto Western Hospital presented a detailed rebuttal to a Norwegian study of SCS published in JAMA last fall.
Wearables Vendors Discuss Reimbursement at Scottsdale Headache Symposium
The Scottsdale Headache Symposium is a leading headache conference dating back to 1970. This year’s conference attendance was record breaking, with 1,200 in-person and 300 remote participants. Noninvasive neuromodulation system vendors were among the vendors participating in the conference. Theranica, which secured a $45 million series C funding round in August 2022, had a significant presence. ele…
German Researchers Develop Improved DBS Algorithm
Deep brain stimulation for treating Parkinson’s disease has proven to be one of the most successful areas of neuromodulation, but several challenges still confront neurologists and neurosurgeons administering the therapy. One such challenge is determining the optical stimulation regimen for patients. A research team at Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin has developed an algorithm that may increase efficiency.
Critical JAMA Article Causes Concern in SCS Market
A highly critical report published last month in JAMA Neurology casts doubt on the effectiveness of spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain. The report has raised concern among SCS vendors and pain doctors, some of whom challenge the findings and the methodology of the report and others who accept some of the criticism as fair game. The article, titled “Long-term Outcomes in Use of Opioids, Nonpha…
New sensing technologies offer benefits for biopharma firms
Since we started this publication a year ago, we have tried to inform our readers on the potential that new neurostimulation therapies offer to the pharmaceutical and biotechnology industries, with respect to neuromodulation that affects end organs and system physiology. But new technologies that deliver stimulation to the body represent just one way how bioelectronic medicine can impact the drug industry.
Biotech Showcase to feature session devoted to bioelectronic medicine
editors Susan Schaeffer, James Cavuoto, and Victor Pikov will take part in a conference session devoted to bioelectronic medicine at the 2023 Biotech Showcase on January 10, 2023 in San Francisco. The session is entitled, “Bioelectronic Medicine: Electrifying Investor Interest.” The session will offer a panel discussion on factors impacting biopharma industry and venture capital investment in bioelectronic medicine.
Medtech Investors Gather with Startups at 2022 Neurotech Leaders Forum
More than 120 neurotechnology industry professionals—the majority of which were in person—participated in the 22nd annual Neurotech Leaders Forum, held in San Francisco, CA earlier this month. The two-day event featured a number of panel discussions relating to neurotechnology commercialization as well as presentations from more than a dozen neurotech startup companies. Keynote speaker at this year’s conference was Mudit Jain, founder and general partner of Treo Ventures as well as the NuXcel accelerator.
2022 in Review
As years go, 2022 was not as lucrative for the neurotechnology industry as some prior years, including 2021. Investor concern about the general state of the economy certainly had an impact on funding activity. But there were still some noteworthy investments in the neurotech space, including a $104 million round for Nalu Medical and a $77 million round for Cala Health. And although the size of earl…
BCI Firms Jostle for Attention as Market Heats Up
and James Cavuoto, editor November 2022 issue Bolstered interest in the space, several vendors of brain-computer interface systems revealed new details about their product and technology directions earlier this month. Neuralink founder Elon Musk assembled a team of key employees to update a mostly adoring audience on recent product enhancements on November 30. Musk said the firm would prioritize work on restoring vision with its N1 wireless cortical implant and R1 neurosurgical robot.
Researchers devise new tools for enteric neuromodulation
Neural engineering researchers are developing a range of new tools and technologies for stimulating the enteric nervous system, a network of peripheral nerves that play a major role in the gut-brain connection. Polina Anikeeva from MIT gave an overview of progress in this area in a special lecture at the Neuroscience 2022 meeting in San Diego, CA earlier this month. In her talk, Anikeeva described…