News

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…

New Polymers Promise to Enhance Neural Interfaces Several new polymeric biomaterials are promising to enhance the functionality of existing neural interfaces, which are largely based on metals. At least two commercial firms have begun offering electrodes and other components of neural stimulation and recording systems that have mechanical, electrical, and functional properties not found in metal electrodes.

Delayed Investment It’s not yet clear to what extent the economic crisis that hit our economy in the last month will affect new industries such as the neurotechnology industry. But it’s likely that startup firms and established players alike will see some drying up of capital sources, at least for the near term. Though many economists consider healthcare to be one of the sectors that will be relati…

Texcel Medical Delivers Stimulation Components for Neurotech Firms ial director In the development of new implantable medical devices, Texcel LLC of East Longmeadow, MA has an impressive record for innovative design and manufacturing solutions. With a strong core competency in neurostimulation and neuromodulation, Texcel offers medical device companies confidential contract services, including prod…

Neural Engineers Convene in Cleveland for Neural Interfaces Conference More than 500 neural engineering professionals, clinicians, and students attended the 2008 Neural Interfaces Conference in Cleveland, OH earlier this month. The conference is a spinoff of the NIH Neural Prosthesis Workshop, which in later years was combined with the DBS Consortium meeting. After skipping a year in 2007, the meet…