News

Walking Around the Obstacles The effort to build and market a neural prosthesis that restores walking to individuals paralyzed never been easy. In case it’s not difficult enough to solve the engineering problems involved with designing a multichannel, multisite stimulation system that replicates physiological processes that are still not fully understood, research teams and commercial ventures must confront naysayers within their own ranks and unbelievers within the clinical communities and the public at large.

Neuro Devices Find Their Place in Surgical Market , senior financial editor and James Cavuoto, editor Neurotechnology devices such as implanted deep-brain stimulation (DBS) systems and spinal cord stimulation systems have delivered a wealth of new therapeutic advances to clinicians in neurological and neurosurgical specialties. In recent years, manufacturers of neurosurgical equipment have returned the favor, developing devices that improve the process of implanting neurostimulation systems.

Delivering the Stimulation For better or worse, manufacturers of neurotechnology devices have a strong dependence on their colleagues in the neurosurgical equipment business, as we discuss in our article on page 1 of this issue. This is particularly true for manufacturers of deep-brain stimulation systems, for several reasons. First, no matter how well designed and well tested the system is, if the…

Neurotechnology CEOs to Make Case for Funding at 2003 Leaders Forum The CEOs and founders of several start-up and more established neurotechnology firms are preparing to present their case for investment and business partnerships during the 2003 Neurotech Leaders Forum in San Francisco, CA on September 9. The entrepreneurs and executives are expected to argue that the climate is right for neurotechnology investment and that the market opportunities created are well served .

A Depressing Market The market for treating depression represents one of the most promising applications of current and future neurotechnology devices. As we discuss in our two page 1 articles this month, both vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) and repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) are being targeted at the condition. It doesn’t take a lot of market research to see the potential market opportunity here.

Our Plastic Society The phenomenon of cortical plasticity is no foreign concept to researchers and professionals in the neurotechnology field. As we discuss in our cover article this month [p1], there is considerable commercial potential for neurotech firms working in this area. Considering the enormous number of neurons in the central nervous system and the great extent of redundancy in neural systems, it should be no surprise that the brain has the capability to reroute, rewire, or repair itself.

Sensing Movement The quest to restore movement to those who have lost it—or some portion of it—to neurological diseases and disorders is as daunting as it is noble. Many of the first generation of neural engineers and functional electrical stimulation researchers concentrated their attention at the site of the dysfunction, or at the neural fibers that control the affected muscles. While this strate…

Scratching the Surface The market for surface stimulation products and systems, which includes TENS devices targeted at pain control and neuromuscular stimulators designed for rehabilitation and exercise therapy, has generally been regarded as an ugly stepsister of the neurostimulation field. Although application of electrical energy to the skin predates implanted or percutaneous stimulation , many…

Neural Signals Moves from BCI Pioneer to Commercial Vendor ial director Neural Signals, Inc. of Atlanta, GA, was founded in 1987 R. Kennedy to develop a brain-computer interface that would give a paralyzed patients the ability to communicate with the external world and to control external devices. Kennedy, who holds both an M.D. and a Ph.D., personally funded the company’s initial development of a novel implantable device for detecting and transmitting signals from the cerebral cortex.

Neural Signals Executive Comments on Market for Phrenic Nerve Stimulation Philip Kennedy, president of Neural Signals, Inc. and a pioneer in cortical control of neural prostheses, comments on NBR editor James Cavuoto’s publisher’s letter “A Breath of Fresh Air,” published in the March 2003 issue of Neurotech Business Report. I read with interest your editorial on the stimulator. This is an area I have been very interested in since an ALS patient of mine died.