News

New Depression Research May Yield Novel Therapies February 2012 New research into the brain mechanisms leading to clinical depression may pave the way for new therapeutic approaches to treating the disorder. In particular, increased understanding of the brain networks and pathologies in neural communication that accompany depression offer hope for pinpointing new neuromodulation strategies. Clinica…

New Tools, New Knowledge One of the keys to the development of the neurotechnology industry is advances in basic neuroscience, including enhanced understanding of the structure and function of the human brain. As we have witnessed many times over the years, advances in basic science have led directly to improvements in neurotech tools and therapies such as deep brain stimulation or EEG sensing. The…

New Blood for Neurotech For the last eight years, the neurotechnology industry has been dominated , publicly held medical firms: Medtronic, St. Jude Medical, and Boston Scientific. Much as they did in the cardiac device market in the previous decade, these three behemoths have divvied up the neurotech device space, maintaining their share of clinicians and patients with spinal cord stimulation systems.

Informed Content As the range and complexity of neurotechnology products expands, it is becoming more important for vendors of neurotech devices to educate their customers about the capabilities of their systems. Most vendors have produced product literature and documentation that provide clinicians with the technical information they need. But this information is often too technical for potential patients and end-users.

2011 In Review As 2011 comes to a close, it’s worth taking a look back at significant events in the neurotechnology industry during the year. This year marked the beginning of our second decade publishing Neurotech Business Report and as was true 10 years ago, the pace of new product development and promising research continues to be impressive. One of the more interesting themes during the year was the growth of the consumer neurotech space.

The Dawning of Neurogenesis Neural implantation offers a dramatic new tool for researchers and clinicians to restore normal brain function to individuals suffering from a variety of neurological diseases and disorders, as we detail in our article on page 1 of this issue. The field of controlled neurogenesis— directing the growth of new neurons in the brain from within—offers a potential route to ne…

Industry Veterans and Newcomers Come Together at 2011 Neurotech Leaders Forum Staff report About 60 neurotechnology industry executives, investors, and entrepreneurs gathered in San Francisco earlier this month for the 11th annual Neurotech Leaders Forum, produced , the publisher of this newsletter. Keynote speaker Kip Ludwig, newly appointed director of neural engineering at the National Institute…

Modulating the FDA As it was at previous events, the tardiness with which the FDA approves new devices was a major topic at this year’s Neurotech Leaders Forum [see Conference Report, p7]. One potential pathway around this problem that came up this year is marketing neurotech devices to consumer and alternative markets so that FDA approval is not necessary. For example, Magneceutical Health, which…

Noninvasive VNS Device Emerges from Europe , senior technical editor Vagus nerve stimulation for the treatment of medically refractory epilepsy—about one third of cases—was pioneered by Cyberonics, Inc., and over 60,000 patients have received implants worldwide. Now, Cerbomed, a private medical device company in Erlangen, Germany, is pursuing a noninvasive approach to treating epilepsy. The company…

Market Ripe for Nonmedical Neurotech Applications Numerous neuroprosthetic devices are currently being developed U.S., Europe, and Asia. Most of these startups are pursuing a well-established strategy of building a device to treat a specific neurological disorder. Getting a device to market through this strategy involves a lengthy process toward FDA approval and hospital/doctor-mediated reimbursement by Medicare.