News

Neurotech Network to Unveil Public Awareness Campaign for Industry Neurotech Network, the Tampa, FL nonprofit organization, announced plans to launch a public awareness campaign to help promote the neurotechnology industry. Jennifer French, executive director of Neurotech Network, announced details of the campaign on October 26 at the Neurotech Leaders Forum in Newport Beach, CA. The goal of the new campaign is to target three major challenges facing the industry: reimbursement, market access, and awareness.

Neurotech Reports Announces Recipients of Gold Electrode Awards Neurotech Reports, the publisher of Neurotech Business Report, announced the winners of the 2007 Gold Electrode Awards. The awards were given out at the 2007 Neurotech Leaders Forum on October 25-26 in Newport Beach, CA. The award for best new product went to Cleveland Medical Devices, Inc. for its Kinesia product, a wearable wireless…

Human Nature vs. Humanitarian Behavior When the FDA initiated the Humanitarian Device Exemption for manufacturers of medical devices intended for a relatively small market of potential users, it was with compassion in mind for individuals suffering from a disease or disorder that is not juicy enough to attract traditional medical firms in our profit-driven economy. And so it should have been no surprise when the Boston Globe reported earlier this month that Cyberkinetics Inc.

New Studies Boost Outlook for Brain Fitness Market , senior technical editor The rapid growth of the aged population and age-associated cognitive decline have led to an explosion of interest and activity in potential therapies to avert adverse changes in cognitive function. The idea is not entirely new. For example the late Lawrence Katz of Duke University and Manning Rubin published an exercise manual for the brain back in 1998, Keeping Your Brain Alive: 83 Neurobic Exercises.

Awakening Interest The dramatic recovery of a 38-year-old traumatic brain injury patient in a minimally conscious state following a pioneering DBS procedure [see article, p1] represents more than just an awakening of one individual. In many respects, the procedure, and the intense media coverage that followed the release of the scientific paper in Nature earlier this month, signifies a jolt of public consciousness for a patient community and a market opportunity that has been somewhat dormant in the past.

Ali Rezai to Keynote 2007 Neurotech Leaders Forum in Newport Beach, CA Ali Rezai, director of the Center for Neurological Restoration at the Cleveland Clinic, will be the keynote speaker at the 2007 Neurotech Leaders Forum, to be held October 25-26 at the Radisson Hotel, Newport Beach, CA. Rezai is one of the leading functional neurosurgeons in the world and was among the first in the country to perform deep brain stimulation surgery.

Task Force Addresses Access to New Neurotech Therapies A newly organized task force representing clinicians, health service providers, payers, and neurotechnology vendors is seeking to expand the availability of neurotechnology devices for individuals with neurological and psychiatric disorders. The National Task Force on Consumer Access to Emerging Neurotechnologies held its inaugural meeting earlier this year and recently published a whitepaper specifically targeted to severe depression.

Sharing the Task The founding of the National Task Force on Consumer Access to Emerging Neurotechnologies is a promising development for the neurotechnology industry, as we report in our article on page 1 of this issue. Though the group’s formation was no doubt inspired by a series of negative events surrounding Cyberonics’ struggle to gain market approval and reimbursement for its vagus nerve stimulation system to treat refractory depression, we are heartened nonetheless efforts of the new organization.

Friend at the Gate Although the focus of this publication since our first issue was published in 2001 has been neurotechnology devices that mate electronics technology with nervous system function, it is impossible to ignore the presence of neuropharmaceutical companies in many of the same market segments in which device companies compete. As Warren Grill points out in his article on page 1 of this…

Cutting the Wires Advances in wireless communication have had a profound effect in recent years, as cellular phones, WiFi Internet access, bluetooth devices, and other innovations in electronics have led to a more connected society. As we report in our article on page 1 of this issue, wireless communication will have a significant effect on healthcare in general, and neurological devices in particular, in the years ahead.