News

Prevailing Over Paralysis When NeuroMetrix Inc. announced this month that they had acquired the intellectual property rights to Cyberkinetics’ Andara OFS system, it represented a sad ending to what was once a promising neurotechnology industry startup. Given the state of this economy and the troubles that company was having getting its humanitarian device exemption application approved, there’s probably not much that management could have done to keep the company afloat.

Spreading Cortical Depression The announcement earlier this month that Northstar Neuroscience would close its doors [see article, page 1] wasn’t a great shock to most neurotechnology industry observers. The company had been teetering for nearly a year in the wake of its failed pivotal trial of its Renova device for motor recovery from stroke. But the victims from this latest neurotech industry catastrophe extend far beyond the employees and shareholders of the Seattle firm.

Information Sickness One of the greatest challenges confronting the neuro­technology industry in the years ahead is uncovering the mechanisms as DBS exert their effect. This is not only important for the maturation of the clinical modality, but also for the growth of new products, since regulators and insurers are increasingly interested in therapies that are well understood. Mechanisms of action were at the forefront of the recent meeting of the North American Neuromodulation Society [see conference report, p7].

International Neuromodulation Society Meeting Attendees Discuss New Therapies than 500 clinicians, engineers, and researchers attended the 8th World Congress of the International Neuromodulation Society and 11th annual meeting of the North American Neuromodulation Society held in Acapulco, Mexico earlier this month. During the scientific program, numerous presenters discussed new neuromodulation therapies for treating disorders ranging from anxiety and Tourette syndrome to tinnitus and addiction.

Neurotech Industry Participation Grows at Eighth Annual Neurotech Leaders Forum Staff report Attendance topped 100 people for the first time at the 2008 Neurotech Leaders Forum, held in San Francisco October 23-24. The two-day event featured short courses and tutorials on the first day and panel discussions on the second day. On day one, two neurotechnology Ph.D./M.D.s who each recently sold off a startup firm gave attendees their perspective on the process of raising capital and negotiating deals.

Neurotech Reports Announces Winners of Gold Electrode Awards Neurotech Reports’ editors announced the recipients of the 2008 Gold Electrode Awards, given annually to honorees in five categories. The award for best new product was given to Magstim for its new tDCS stimulation product. Nevro Corp., a Palo Alto, CA startup firm developing products for the pain neuromodulation market, received the award for most promising startup.

New Applications Emerge for Light-Responsive Channels , senior technical editor and James Cavuoto, editor One of the most promising new areas of neurotechnology research involves a combination of optical stimulation with genetic engineering techniques to “manufacture” light-sensitive neurons that can be activated without the need for implanted electrodes [NBR Jan07 p1]. These approaches use genetic…

Neurotech Vendors Advance Therapies for Migraine June 2008 The neurotech market for treating migraine took a step forward this month as vendors of new neuromodulation therapies announced promising study results. Researchers affiliated with at least two key players in the market presented data at the American Headache Society meeting in Boston earlier this month. Neuralieve, the Sunnyvale, CA develo…

New Textbooks Focus on Neuroengineering and Neuromodulation Topics Several new textbooks devoted to concepts in neuroengineering and neuromodulation have emerged in recent months and the area is likely to attract other entrants as the number of research and commercial laboratories expands in these fields. Elsevier’s textbook Neuromodulation, scheduled for release in 2009, is a two-volume set featuring contributions from a range of neurotechnology experts.

Neurotech Startup Firms to Present at 2008 Neurotech Leaders Forum Several new and emerging neurotechnology firms will be on hand at the 2008 Neurotech Leaders Forum, to be held October 23-24 in San Francisco, CA. Executives from some of these firms will make presentations during the entrepreneur panel, to take place on October 24 at 1:30 pm. Companies participating in this panel include Biotectix…