News

Nearly 200 clinicians, researchers, and neuromodulation industry representatives attended the first World Congress on Mechanisms of Action, held in Orlando, FL earlier this month. The meeting, sponsored Pain Institute, was devoted to elucidating the biological mechanisms underlying electrical stimulation of the nervous system. Elliot Krames, former president of the International Neuromodulation Society, served as cochair of the meeting, along with Eric Grigsby of Neurovations.

The market for surface stimulation systems took a major hit in 2012 when the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services decided to remove reimbursement for transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation systems as a treatment for chronic lower back pain. The decision had an immediate impact on sales at surface stimulation companies like DJO, Dynatronix, and RS Medical. Fortunately, some recent developments in the industry are serving to counteract this negative development.

Australia’s Therapeutic Goods Administration earlier this month posted a notice that, in conjunction with Medtronic Australasia, it has issued a hazard alert for several models of Medtronic neuromodulation devices, including some Activa deep brain stimulation devices and RestoreUltra and RestoreSensor spinal cord stimulation devices. Medtronic Australasia announced it is undertaking a recall for product correction to address problems with the devices.

Recent advances in our understanding of brain processes involved with reading and language learning have created an opportunity for new neurotech strategies for treating reading disorders. About 10 percent of the U.S. population suffers from dyslexia, a condition that makes learning to read difficult. One of the first neurotech firms to target language learning disorders was Scientific Learning, Inc., an Oakland, CA software firm founded Merzenich.

In many respects, the cochlear implant industry has served as a model for the entire neurotech industry. The devices address a neurological disorder that has not been met with other therapies, including drugs, and hundreds of thousands of deaf individuals have had at least partial hearing restored. There is robust competition in the industry, with at least three major players vying for share worldwide.

A newly released market research study from Neurotech Reports, the publisher of this newsletter, projects that the worldwide market for neurotechnology products will grow from $6.4 billion in 2014 to $10.7 billion by 2018. The largest market segment within the neurotechnology industry is neuromodulation systems. Worldwide sales of neuromodulation systems will grow from $3.5 billion in 2014 to $6.0 billion in 2018, a 14 percent compound annual growth rate.

St. Jude Medical, the St. Paul, MN manufacturer of neuromodulation systems, became the number two player in the industry behind Medtronic when it acquired Advanced Neuromodulation Systems in 2005. In the years that followed the acquisition, the team put together stayed in place in Plano, TX and immediately put competitive pressure on Medtronic, a competitor St. Jude had seen before in the cardiac device market.

As the nation gears up for the annual Super Bowl game, it’s worth remembering the role that professional and collegiate football plays in brain injuries, concussions, and other neurological disorders. Although league officials have taken steps in recent years to mitigate head-to-head contact between players and to assess possible concussions before returning a player to the field, much still needs to be done.

Investigators at several research institutions in the U.S. are advancing research into the mechanisms of action of deep brain stimulation. This research is not only helping to improve DBS therapies for different neurological diseases and disorders. It is also leading to the development of new neurotech devices that could be commercialized in the years ahead. Many recent advances in understanding th…

Several hundred neural engineers, clinicians, and researchers attended the 2013 6th International IEEE EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering, held in San Diego, CA earlier this month. Conference chairs were Bin He from the University of Minnesota and Metin Akay from the University of Houston. In a symposium devoted to brain-machine interfaces, Tim Denison from Medtronic gave a talk on translational research tools for investigating neurological diseases.