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In recent issues of this publication, we have described a number of alternatives to electrical stimulation as potential neuromodulation modalities, including optical, magnetoelectric, ultrasonic, and iontronic technologies. Recently a team of researchers at MIT has developed a new technique that involves mechanical stimulation. Neural cells are known to respond to mechanical effects, such as pressure or vibration.

DARPA’s Revolutionizing Prosthetics program, launched 15 years ago, represents one of the most successful government technology programs of all time. As we opined in this space 10 years ago [NBR Jul10 p2], the program not only succeeded in developing a next-generation prosthetic arm for soldiers returning from battle with missing limbs resulting from their injuries. Together with DARPA’s HAPTIX and…

The market for implanted neurosensing devices is driven in large part , including presurgical planning and seizure monitoring. In recent months, several research institutions and commercial firms across the globe have made progress at developing long-term implantable seizure monitors. These new devices could take the place of patients’ seizure diaries, which neurologists currently rely on to record and count epileptic seizures outside the clinic.

Venerated universities around the world achieve their success by design, luck, hard work, investment, and circumstance. Those universities maintain their stellar reputations only research, impactful individuals, and substantive programs that produce outstanding results. The Stanford Biodesign program is one such example. Recently renamed The Stanford Byers Center for Biodesign, the relatively young program has produced outstanding results.

As was the case a year ago, when Elon Musk first unveiled Neuralink’s technology to the public [NBR Jul19 p1], his webcast update earlier this month caused a bit of a stir in the brain-computer interface community. New at this year’s talk was a description of a disc-shaped implant called the “Link,” which would sit flush with the skull, replacing the bone that the firm’s neurosurgical robot would extrude.

and James Cavuoto, editor July 2020 issue Vendors of implanted neuromodulation systems have turned increasingly to new smartphone apps to enable patients to exert more control over their therapeutic regimens. The apps also offer clinicians an increased opportunity for remote medicine at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has made office visits less tenable. Last year, Boston Scientific introduced…

About 70 neurotechnology industry professionals participated in the first annual Neurotech Commercialization Workshop, which took place on the Zoom platform earlier this month. The event was targeted at neurotech startups and existing neuromodulation device firms developing new product technologies. During the workshop Neurotech Reports editors James Cavuoto, Jennifer French, Jeremy Koff, and Jo Jo…

As is the case with all forms of DBS therapy, success with DBS for obsessive-compulsive disorder depends heavily on the accurate placement of electrodes and requires millimeter-level precision. The optimal stimulation target for OCD has not been determined definitively. But a team of researchers in Germany recently reported progress identifying the optimal target. Medtronic’s Reclaim DBS therapy received FDA approval in 2009 via the HDE pathway.

In times of economic uncertainty such as this, entrepreneurs and executives launching new products or new companies need to be certain they are maximizing their chances of success. This is one reason why our editors created the online Neurotech Commercialization Workshop [see Conference Report, p6]. In one of the afternoon breakout sessions at the first annual event, this editor led a session devoted to analyzing recent clinical trial failures in the neurotechnology industry.

In recent years, one of the most significant areas of research in biomaterials for new neural implants has been graphene. Researchers in Europe and North America have made steady progress developing devices with higher spatial resolution using the material. There is now at least one commercial startup in this space. INBRAIN Neuroelectronics, a spin-off of the Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Na…