News

Entrepreneurs Confront VC Firms’ Geographic Bias by David E. Griffith, senior editor Financing a start-up company in any field is never easy, but securing the funds to launch a neurotechnology or medical device firm is a truly herculean task. Entrepreneurs face a long road of research and development, prototyping, and testing with little guarantee of a pay off. All of that research, testing, and staffing is expensive, way beyond the means of most individuals.

The BION microstimulator, made , Inc. Advanced Bionics’ Clarion cochlear implant features a behind-the-ear processor Spinal cord stimulation systems, such as this RF-powered device from Advanced Neuromodulation Systems, are used in the treatment of chronic pain Worldwide sales of cochlear implants are expected to reach US$900 million by 2005. (Source: Neurotech Reports) The Freehand implanted hand grasp system for quadriplegics was developed at the Cleveland Functional Electrical Stimulation Center.

Previously Published Company Profiles Company Article Issue 4-D Neuroimaging 4-D Neuroimaging Looks for Magnetic Sense in Neurodiagnostics Market Sep01 Cochlear Ltd. Cochlear Ltd. Lends its Ear to Neural Prosthesis Market Oct01 Medtronic Inc. Medtronic Casts Long Shadow as Neurotechnology Market Gathers a Crowd Nov01 Advanced Bionics Advanced Bionics Looks to Technology for Edge in Neurostimulation…

Electrodes Go Live In the seven years we’ve been publishing Neurotech Business Report, we’ve seen our fair share of technological innovations and promising scientific developments. But rarely have we seen the type of far-reaching and transformative progress in neurotechnology represented , conducting polymer electrodes. As we report in our article on page 1 of this issue, research in this area has moved out of the laboratory and into the commercial marketplace.

BCIs Go for the Scalp The brain-computer interface has been one of the most significant and attention-drawing developments in the young history of the neurotechnology industry. Although there are still a relatively small number of users who have been implanted with a BCI, the field has spawned at least two commercial endeavors—Cyberkinetics Inc. and Neural Signals—and generated an enormous amount of press coverage.

Getting the Picture The growing use of functional magnetic resonance imaging in brain research has caused some researchers and commercial firms to overstate the capabilities of the technology, as NBR senior technical editor Warren Grill points out in his article on page 1 of this issue. In some respects, it’s not surprising that this imaging technique has garnered such a following. The colorful and enticing images produced compelling presentations at conferences and to the media.

Neural Interface Enables Capacitive Stimulation , senior technical editor Establishing one-to-one links between electrodes and neurons—in other words, an exceedingly high-density neural interface—is one of the broad, long-term objectives in neurotechnology. The size of stimulating electrodes is limited charge from the electronic charge carriers in metal electrodes to ionic charge carriers in the tissue, which is related to the surface area of the electrode.

The Next Stage for DBS Though there are many promising market segments emerging in the neurotechnology industry, the deep brain stimulation market is flush with activity in terms of new indications, new competitors, and new scientific findings bolstering the industry. Much of this activity was evident at the 2008 Neural Interfaces Conference in Cleveland earlier this month [see article, p7]. One of…

Neurotech Vendors Advance Therapies for Migraine 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 developer of a transcranial magnetic stimulation device to treat migraine headache, reported completion of its clinical trial.

Psychiatric Support Groups This has been a good month for neurotechnology firms hoping to participate in the psychiatric disorders market. Several vendors presented promising results at scientific meetings such as the American Psychiatric Association, the American Association of Neurological Surgeons, and the Society of Biological Psychiatry annual meetings [see Conference Report, p6 and News Briefs, p4].