Neuromodulation Professionals Come to New York for NANS Summer Series
More than 600 clinicians, research scientists, and industry representatives gathered in Times Square New York City for the inaugural summer series joint meeting between the North American Neuromodulation Society and the NY Neuromodulation Society. “It is two cultures coming together,” said event co-chair, Marom Bikson. “The merging of the cultures is both on the technical and clinical sides. Our su…
Noninvasive Stim Makes Progress Treating Psych Disorders
The psychiatric disorder market remains one of the most promising, if elusive, segments of the neuromodulation industry. Though potential DBS therapies have captured much attention, noninvasive therapies continue to offer a shorter path to profitability. Last month, TMS pioneer Neuronetics cashed in on an IPO that raised $107 million for the company. And tDCS vendor Soterix Medical this month tweeted positive results from a schizophrenia trial.
Pitt Researchers Seek to Prolong Life of Brain Implants
July, 2018 issue One of the major challenges confronting neural engineers who develop new implanted brain stimulation and recording devices is dealing with the response of brain tissue surrounding the implant. The long-term performance of brain implants depends on the degree of inflammatory response and anything researchers can do to mitigate this response will extend the life of the device. A pair…
Psychiatric Options
The psychiatric disorder market remains, in our view, the last and greatest frontier for the neurotechnology industry. And while there has been significant progress in deep brain stimulation, cortical stimulation, and implanted vagus nerve stimulation as therapies to treat psychiatric disorders, the path to commercialization has proven to be far shorter for noninvasive neuromodulation therapies that treat psychiatric disorders.
Clearing the Hurdles
Implanted electrodes in the human brain represent one of the most critical components of a neuromodulation device—and one of the most crucial areas of research and development in the neurotechnology industry. As we report in our article on page 1 of this issue, dealing with the response of brain tissue surrounding a neural implant remains a key challenge. But many other challenges confront neural engineers, neurosurgeons, and commercial firms seeking to improve implanted brain stimulation and recording devices.
The Question of When
In the 17 years that we have published this newsletter, one of the greatest therapeutic successes we have witnessed has been deep brain stimulation. The therapy has helped hundreds of thousands of patients with a variety of neurological disorders and much progress has been made in device design and implantation. Still, one major unresolved issue about DBS concerns timing. How soon in the progression of a disease or disorder should a patient begin a DBS regimen?
UCSF Team Demonstrates Adaptive DBS for Parkinson’s
In recent years, neural engineers and clinicians have begun to investigate closed-loop neuromodulation systems that modify stimulation parameters based upon feedback from neurological signals or neuromuscular response. Saluda Medical has made progress with its closed-loop spinal cord stimulation system for chronic pain. In 2005, a Canadian firm called Medtrode sought to develop a closed-loop DBS platform [NBR Jul06 p6] but commercial progress stalled in subsequent years.
Enemies from Without
Commercial firms and research institutions developing implanted neurostimulation systems have had years of experience dealing with challenges emanating from within the body, such as tissue encapsulation, lead migration, electrode breakage, and battery failure. But now the industry must be ready to confront two additional threats from the external world: cybersecurity intrusions and environmental influences.
Surgical Precision
Among the most intriguing announcements at the recent AAN meeting in Los Angeles [see conference report, p7] was a discussion of a new precision medicine initiative , director of the National Institutes of Health. Speaking , D.C., Collins described a bold new effort, called the All of Us research program, to get 1 million Americans to participate in a study of the relationship between genomic and environmental factors contributing to diseases.
Investors and Entrepreneurs Meet for First Bioelectronic Medicine Forum in NYC
Investors, entrepreneurs, and funding agencies gathered in New York City earlier this month for the inaugural Bioelectronic Medicine Forum hosted . The event highlighted a new and growing segment of the neurotechnology industry which is projected to grow to more than $7 billion by 2022, according to The Market for Neurotechnology: 2018-2022. Attendees discussed funding opportunities, regulatory and reimbursement issues, new economic and pricing models, and other issues confronting the industry.