News

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).

New Microdevices Enable Fluidic Interface with Brain , senior technical editor and James Cavuoto, editor Neural interfaces for recording information from the brain or transmitting information to the brain are dominated . However, communication between neurons in the brain primarily occurs . A new generation of microfluidic devices promises to offer both electrical and chemical signaling. Ruben Rath…

Mimicking Success The establishment of the National Science Foundation’s Engineering Research Center for Biomimetic Microelectronic Systems [see article, p1], is a great success for the field of neurotechnology. The significance of the new center extends well beyond the $17 million initial award from the NSF. To begin with, the effort represents a strong endorsement of biomimetic approaches to understanding, treating, and eventually re-engineering the nervous system.

Occipital Nerve Stimulation Targets Migraine Market The neurotechnology market for treating chronic migraine and other forms of headache pain has moved closer to commercial viability as several research institutions and manufacturers in the U.S. and Europe have made progress in occipital nerve stimulation (ONS). The market in many ways seems to mirror the advent of the market for spinal cord stimul…

Neural Electronics Vendors Show Wares at Society for Neuroscience Meeting More than 28,000 neuroscience researchers, clinicians, and technologists attended the 31st annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience in San Diego last month. The scientific program, themed “Unraveling the Mysteries, Delivering the Cures,” lived up to its billing, with several neuroscience pioneers and Nobel laureates delivering presentations.

Percutaneous Stimulation a Potential Incontinence Option , senior technical editor Urinary incontinence is a large unmet medical need with debilitating effects. The condition affects an estimated 13 to 15 million Americans, and almost half of the persons diagnosed with urinary incontinence are affected . Urge incontinence is the involuntary loss of urine accompanied void, and is differentiated from stress incontinence.

New Engineering Center Highlights Biomimetic Systems One of the most significant trends in the neurotechnology field in recent years has been the development of “biomimetic” electronic systems that emulate the function of biological neural systems. Such an approach not only offers the promise of building a new generation of neural prostheses, neurosensors, and other devices, it also opens the possi…