News

Neurotech Reports, the publisher of this newsletter, announced that the third annual Neurotech Commercialization Workshop will take place on July 28, 2022. The one-day event, which was held on-line only in 2020 and 2021, will take place in New York City in 2022, in conjunction with the Neuroergonimcs/NYC Neuromodulation conference, although there will be an option for on-line participation. The wor…

About 85 professionals from the bioelectronic medicine industry participated in the 2021 Bioelectronic Medicine Forum, held online earlier this month. The fourth annual event will return to New York City in 2022. Keynote speaker at this year’s event was Murthy Simhambhatla, CEO of SetPoint Medical. He started ’s definition of bioelectronic medicine: “Stimulating nerves and tapping into the body’s i…

Readers of this publication have been exposed to a number of new and promising forms of neuromodulation that exploit novel anatomical targets or unique stimulation paradigms. As we report on page 1 of this issue, several new neuromodulation approaches for treating pain have emerged recently, including subwave neuromodulation, chemogenetic neuromodulation, and HD-SCS. While previous generations of new SCS paradigms have demonstrated clinical, if not financial success, these newest approaches have yet to be proven.

Venture capital professionals helping to build the bioelectronic medicine industry shared their insights on the investments climate at the 2022 Bioelectronic Medicine Forum held in New York City earlier this month. A panel discussion with three venture capital professionals active in the space brought out some valuable insights for startups established firms alike. The session was moderated Jennifer French.

In recent years, neural engineering researchers have developed novel methods of neuromodulation that exploit optical or optogenetic forms of stimulation, while other have pursued ultrasound approaches. A team at Boston University is now exploring optoacoustic technology as a new neuromodulation modality in an effort to combine the best attributes of both technologies. The optoacoustic process involves pulses of light that are converted into acoustic waves at ultrasonic frequencies.

One of the first commercial applications of functional electrical stimulation was foot drop stimulation, to address gait abnormalities caused post stroke or other neurological disorders. Several neurorehabilitation firms in Canada, Europe, and the U.S. emerged offering either surface or minimally invasive neurostimulation devices. Recently, a team of clinicians and neural engineers in Washington state developed a new approach to foot-drop stimulation.

Contents Dry eye device therapies staged for a comeback Olympic Ophthalmics and Oyster Point are pursuing neuromodulation therapies despite Allergan’s device exit. Closed-loop VNS for heart failure has untapped potential Startup firm Ceryx Medical is using respiratory sinus arrhthmia as a key input in their system. New indications loom large for bioelectronic medicine Two industry veterans and an NIH representative offered advice on finding new opportunities.

The market for brain-computer interface systems has expanded considerably in recent months as new vendors have entered the space and existing players have moved to solidify their positions. Investor interest remains strong despite—or perhaps because of—tech entrepreneurs’ investment in companies like Blackrock Neurotech, Kernel, and Neuralink [NBR Jul21 p1]. One new entrant in the BCI space is a Po…

The market for spinal cord stimulation systems treating chronic back and leg pain has advanced dramatically over the last 20 years. In the beginning the market was dominated , Medtronic, offering one basic form of therapy, tonic dorsal column stimulation. Since that time, not only have new competitors entered the market, but a steady stream of new paradigms has emerged, including DRG stimulation, h…

Ultrasound has recently emerged as a viable method of stimulating autonomic nerves. Currently. Two major medtech manufacturers—GE Research and Medtronic—are testing the waters, as are several academic research groups. Ultrasound’s advantages are readily apparent. It avoids a risky surgical procedure for implanting stimulating electrodes on delicate autonomic nerves and instead can deliver energy wirelessly from the skin surface.