News

Paying the Pauper The neurotechnology industry, like the entire medical products industry, depends greatly on the outlook for health insurance reimbursement. As we discuss in our article on page 1 of this issue, when it comes to reimbursement, there is no greater force than the U.S. Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). This agency’s decisions and policies impact far more than the 40 million elderly and disabled Americans who participate in Medicare.

Following Our Heart Since the inception of the neurostimulation device industry, many market observers, analysts, and investors have compared the emerging market for implanted neuro devices to the growth of cardiac devices 20 years ago. One of the most recent people to make that comparison is Alan Levy, CEO of Northstar Neuroscience and keynote speaker at the 2005 Neurotech Leaders Forum [see article p7].

Closing the Loop Implanted neurostimulation systems currently on the market have seen considerable commercial and clinical success with tens of thousands of users. Nonetheless, most of the systems available today suffer from one notable shortcoming: the lack of closed-loop feedback that influences the delivery of subsequent stimulation signals. As we report in our article on page 1, several neurotechnology firms and research institutions are now looking at closing this loop.

State-of-the-Art Neurotech Presented at 2005 Neural Interfaces Workshop The 2005 Neural Interfaces Workshop, held September 7-9 in Bethesda, MD, offered attendees an excellent opportunity to observe the state of the art in neurostimulation technology. As it did in 2004, the event combined the annual Neural Prosthesis Workshop—now in its 36th year—and the DBS Consortium. This year’s workshop include…

Expanding Our Borders Very often, a new industry can be defined does not encompass as well as what is included within its borders. Such was our philosophy when we launched Neurotech Reports in 2001 and has guided our editorial mission as we enter our fifth year of publishing. From the outset, we excluded two sizeable and well established markets: the cardiac pacing and the neuropharmaceutical industries.

New Report Examines Neuropharm and Neurotech A newly published market research report devoted to the neurotechnology industry takes a comprehensive look at the market potential for the industry, including the neuropharmaceutical sector, which the authors say generated $87 billion in revenues last year. The report, titled The Neurotechnology Industry 2005, was published , CA. Though the authors’ vie…

Bringing Stimulation to the Surface The deep brain stimulation market segment continues to be one of the most promising areas of the neurotechnology industry. Even as this segment matures, however, several research teams and commercial firms are looking at an alternative technology that may make DBS obsolete some day and that is epidural cortical stimulation. As Neurotech Business Report senior tec…

Sacred Ground Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has been one of the most successful product categories that the neurotechnology industry has seen. However, it is in the interest of DBS manufacturers to take heed of potential complications that may tarnish the reputation that these devices have earned in recent years. As senior technical editor Warren Grill points out in his article this month [see p1],…

A Sensible Opportunity While much of the excitement in the neurotechnology industry has come from the stimulation side of the neural-electronics interface, we’re pleased to report on some interesting developments in neurosensing applications. As we report in our article on page 1 of this issue, manufacturers of neurodiagnostics systems have identified the market for psychiatric disorders as a growth opportunity.

Neurosensing Vendors Target Psychiatric Market Manufacturers of neurodiagnostic systems have begun to look at neuropsychiatric disorders as a new market opportunity for their systems and services. The initial goal appears to be the development of neurosensing devices that could be placed in psychiatrists’ offices to help them diagnose disorders such as depression and Alzheimer’s disease and identify the most appropriate form of therapy to treat those disorders.