News

A Fat Market The market for treating obesity is one of the most potentially lucrative opportunities for manufacturers of neurotechnology devices, a point not lost on the numerous venture capital firms that have invested in this space recently [see article, page 1]. In many respects, the obesity market opportunity is greater than that posed by depression, itself a blockbuster for healthcare firms. O…

Gastric Stimulation Startups Attract Financial Backing The market for gastric stimulation systems and other neurotechnology devices that treat obesity has attracted the attention of venture capital firms and corporate investors. VC firms’ appetites were no doubt stimulated by Medtronic’s purchase of Transneuronix last year for $260 million plus incentives [NBR Jul05 p1]. The U.S. Centers for Diseas…

Cognitive Impairment Offers New Neurotech Opportunity Individuals with cognitive impairments represent a growing market opportunity for manufacturers of neurotechnology systems. In addition to building stimulation and sensing devices that detect and treat the neurological disorders causing cognitive impairment, neurotech firms may well be called upon government agencies to help design new assistive technologies that will have application beyond the current market for neurological disorders.

The Supporting Cast As is the case with other new industries, the neurotechnology business depends on support from suppliers in related fields. Perhaps no class of vendor is more important to manufacturers of neurotechnology devices as electronic component suppliers, as we discuss in our article on page 1 of this issue. Over the years, neurotech vendors have come to rely on outside sources of power…

Neurotech Professionals Join Technology to Improve Cognitive Function Workshop Staff Report Nearly 100 people participated in the Technology to Improve Cognitive Function Workshop in Washington, D.C. last month. The event was sponsored Disability Research. This U.S. government entity brings together researchers, policy makers, consumer advocates, and representatives of several different federal agencies involved with disabilities.

Engineers and Mechanisms One of the greatest challenges confronting the neurotechnology industry, as it is for the life sciences industry as a whole, is to uncover the physiological mechanisms place. This is important for a number of reasons, including hastening the regulatory and reimbursement approval process, reassuring clinicians who might otherwise be reluctant to adopt a new intervention, and advancing our basic understanding of nervous system function.

Building a Presence Manufacturers of neurotechnology devices have done a good job lately of establishing a presence at important scientific conferences and industry events. In our view, the entire industry benefits when one or more neurotech firms make their presence known at events that previously lacked significant representation from neuro device companies. We were pleased to see several neurote…

Competition Heats Up in Foot Drop Stimulator Market The market for foot-drop stimulation systems is poised for increased competition with the entry of several new devices. The product category represents one of the more mature segments of the market for neural prostheses based on functional electrical stimulation. Foot drop is a form of lower limb paralysis that often accompanies stroke, leaving the patient with gait abnormalities resulting from the lack of ankle dorsiflexion.

The Age of Neuroprosthetics In the five years that we have been publishing Neurotech Business Report, we have covered several segments of the neurotechnology industry as new technologies have come to fore and funding priorities for them have risen and fallen. This month, we focus on neuroprosthetics, and we highlight several aspects of this field that offer commercial promise and unique solutions to urgent healthcare problems.

A Conscious Industry The neurosensing segment of the neurotechnology industry does not always get as much press coverage and Wall Street interest as do vendors of neurostimulation devices. But in many ways, the technology and market potential of neurosensing firms is just as promising. Neurosensing firms include manufacturers of electrophysiological and magnetoencephalography systems, electrodes, electrode caps, signal processing hardware, wireless monitoring systems, and related hardware and software.