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One of the major topics of debate at the 2021 Neurotech Leaders Forum, which took place earlier this month, was the question of whether the recent spate of success that the neuromodulation industry has seen in the last year or two was too much of a good thing. During an editorial panel featuring this editor, senior consulting editor Jeremy Koff, and contributing editor Jo Jo Platt, the panelists an…

Neurotech Reports, the publisher of this newsletter, updated the agenda for the 20th anniversary Neurotech Leaders Forum, which will take place in San Francisco on November 8-9, 2021. The event will also include speakers and attendees who prefer to participate via videoconference. Executives from several new and emerging neurotech firms will present at the conference. These include Brett Wingeier,…

b y James Cavuoto, editor October 2021 issue One of the challenges confronting neural engineers developing enhanced DBS systems is prolonging the effect of the stimulation. This would not only lead to longer battery life and reduce the need for subsequent surgeries, it would also likely improve the efficacy of DBS therapy. A team of researchers at Carnegie Mellon University recently reported in Sci…

Representatives from the neurotechnology industry, clinicians, and academics assembled with 32 students, post-docs, and neurotech entrepreneurs for the 2021 Cleveland NeuroDesign Entrepreneurs Workshop. The weekend event was held on the campus of Case Western Reserve University, which sponsored the workshop along with the Cleveland Clinic. The would-be entrepreneurs were grouped into eight teams of four and tasked with building a startup to address an unmet clinical need.

As we prepare for the 20th anniversary Neurotech Leaders Forum next month, it’s fascinating to look back on how the neurotechnology industry has changed since the first Leaders Forum in 2001. That event, coming just a few weeks after the 9/11 attacks, was attended by about a dozen early neurotech professionals. Chief among the topics discussed at the inaugural meeting were what to call this new industry and what products would and wouldn’t be included.

The patent dispute between Medtronic and Axonics Modulation moved closer to resolution earlier this month as the U.S. Patent & Trademark Office offered decisions on the validity of the Medtronic patents. But the issue of infringement, and financial damages, if any, is still unresolved and awaiting a high-stakes trial that is likely to have a profound impact on the market for sacral nerve stimulation systems.

Nearly 600 pain management specialists from the fields of neurosurgery, orthopedics, rheumatology, neurology, psychiatry, and primary care came together in Las Vegas earlier this month for the Pacific Spine and Pain Society’s second annual meeting. This recently formed society was created to fill a niche in promoting collaboration between interventional pain management and spine physicians. The event, produced , took place at the Aria Hotel, with additional participation from online attendees.

Earlier this month, CMS announced its intention to eliminate the Medicare Coverage of Innovative Technology program, which was seen as the major benefit of the FDA’s Breakthrough Device program. The decision sent shockwaves through the device industry, which has been on edge since the Biden administration announced it would reconsider the program, which was implemented via executive order in the waning days of the Trump administration.

One of the most promising segments of the neuroprosthetics market is the neural integration of prosthetic limbs. First-generation neuroprosthetics from companies like Ossur and Ottobock relied on EMG signals to control artificial limbs. Recently, two different research teams demonstrated alternative means of integrating neuroprosthetic limbs, one relying on magnetic signaling and the other using peripheral nerve stimulation.

The market for spinal cord stimulation systems for treating chronic back pain has undergone a number of transformations in recent years. In an effort to improve pain relief and expand market access, a cascade of vendors have offered paradigm shifts away from the original SCS therapy, which used tonic stimulation of the dorsal column. These have included high-frequency stimulation, DRG stimulation, burst stimulation, closed loop stimulation, and differential target multiplexed stimulation.