News

New Devices Promise Electrical Control of Neural Growth by Warren M. Grill, senior technical editor Electrical activation of the nervous system is used to restore function following neurological injury or disease. These devices, described as neural prostheses or as functional electrical stimulation, use electrical stimulation to produce actions such as muscle contraction, as in motor prostheses, or the perception of sound, as in cochlear prostheses.

Neurotechnology’s Farm System Major-league baseball teams have learned the value of minor-league franchises for developing star players of the future. The neurotechnology industry has a potent farm system of its own, namely the numerous university and private research institutions developing new generations of neural prostheses, neurostimulation devices, and neurosensing electronics. In this issue,…

FDA Panel Recommends Approval of Vagus Nerve Stimulation for Depression Cyberonics, Inc., the Houston, TX manufacturer of vagus nerve stimulation systems, announced that the Neurological Devices Panel of FDA’s Medical Devices Advisory Committee voted 5 to 2 on June 15 to recommend approval with conditions of the company’s VNS therapy “as an adjunctive long-term treatment of chronic or recurrent depression for patients over the age of 18 who are experiencing a major depressive episode that has not had an adequate…

The Value of Neurotechnology Big news comes to the neurotechnology industry only so often. This month, two major events promise to reshape the status of this relatively new industry. The first is Boston Scientific Corp.’s purchase of Advanced Bionics [see article, p1]. And the second was the FDA panel’s recommended approval of Cyberonics’ VNS therapy for treatment-resistant depression [see article, this page], which nearly doubled the value of the company’s stock overnight.

A Two-Way Street In the three years we’ve been publishing this newsletter, we’ve reported on a number of ways in which electronics technology can help the nervous system. In our article on neural-silicon hybrids this month [see p1], we’re pleased to report the nervous system is ready to return the favor. Biologically inspired processors—perhaps even neurons themselves—may soon play a role in the next generation of computational devices.

Neural-Silicon Hybrids Point to New Era in Technology and Warren Grill, senior technical editor Direct interfaces between small networks of nerve cells and synthetic devices promise to advance our understanding of neuronal function and may yield a new generation of hybrid devices that exploit the computational capacities of biological neural networks. There are several research teams in the U.S. and Europe that are currently working on so-called neural-silicon hybrid chips.

The Power Struggle in Neurotechnology Manufacturers of implanted neurostimulation and neuromodulation devices have always been dependent on the power sources needed to operate their devices. They will become even more so as the range of applications for neurotechnology expands and competition heats up. A well designed and reliable battery can make the difference between a successful neurotechnology product and one that encounters problems.

Spinal Cord Community Warms to Neural Prostheses After years of seeming neglect from funding and clinical communities, neurotechnology researchers developing neural prostheses as treatment for spinal cord injury are beginning to see signs that things may be changing. In an article on neural prostheses written April issue of IEEE’s Spectrum magazine, several prominent representatives of the spinal cord injury community voiced support for more funding of this technology.

Repelling the Invasion One of the major challenges confronting the neurotechnology device industry is dealing with the degree of invasiveness—both actual and perceived—that accompanies surgically implanted stimulation devices. As we’ve seen, this issue presents the field with many problems. The cost of the surgical procedure can add significantly to the overall device cost. The complexity of the surgical procedure can be a psychological barrier for many potential users and even some clinicians.

Where the Metal Meets the Membrane Since we launched this publication, our definition of neurotechnology has been, “the intersection of electronics and the nervous system.” Taking this in its most literal interpretation, there can be no more ideal representation of neurotechnology than the neural interface, the junction between synthetic device and living tissue. And that’s the topic of our two lead articles this month (see page 1).