News

Planting our Seeds Industry/university research programs offer an excellent opportunity for the neurotechnology industry to develop knowledge, intellectual property, and commercial products in this new field, as we discuss in on page 1 of this issue. Although there are many potential pitfalls to collaborative agreements confronting unprepared vendors, the benefits to our society and educational system make even unprofitable investments worthwhile in the long run.

Visual Prosthesis Market May Follow Uncharted Path Several recent developments from research teams and commercial developers working on visual prostheses have raised hopes and investor interest in retinal implants and other strategies for restoring vision to blind individuals. But a long road of testing, product cycles, clinician acceptance, and reimbursement issues awaits players in this market segment.

Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago Develops Robotic Walking Aid The Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago has introduced a new technology, known as Lokomat, that may help people with spinal cord injury regain lower limb locomotion. The device consists of a powered exoskeleton robot that delivers power to the hip and knee joints while the user’s upper-body weight is supported over a treadmill. Dr. Da…

The hardware problems with deep brain stimulation electrodes reported colleagues at the University of Toronto represent a temporary setback for the neurostimulation industry. The problems they encountered, though widespread, in no way diminish the promise and the value of DBS therapy for Parkinson’s Disease and other movement disorders. Indeed, as we discuss in our article, identification of the sp…

To Each His Energy Over the years, scientists and philosophers have employed a number of models to explain the functioning of the human body and its various components and systems. At various times, human physiology was understood in terms of mechanical, pneumatic, electrical, digital, or system software models. This always seemed to give rise to the chicken-egg problem of epistemology: does our st…

New Developments Spotlight Optical Stimulation Tools , senior technical editor Artificial electrical stimulation of the nervous system is one of the foundations of neurotechnology. However, the use of electrical currents to stimulate the nervous system presents several challenges. It is difficult to achieve selective stimulation of only the targeted neurons without activating neighboring neurons. Further, electrochemical reactions at the electrode-tissue interface may lead to electrode dissolution or tissue damage.

Editors Pick: Top Three Presentations at Workshop , senior technical editor Direct Brain Interface for Control of a Virtual Robot Dawn Taylor and Andy Schwartz, Arizona State University The motor cortex contains neurons that are activated before and during arm movements, and, as a population, these neurons code the intended direction of arm movement. Over the past 10 years, several groups have reco…

NeuroMetrix Occupies Peripheral Position in Neurodiagnostics Market While several companies competing in the neurodiagnostics market have chosen to concentrate on the central nervous system, manufacturing devices such as electroencephalography or magentoencephalography systems, Waltham, MA-based NeuroMetrix Inc. has set its sights on the peripheral nervous system. The company, founded in 1996 by Shai N.

Neurotech Vendors Seek to Exploit Cortical Plasticity One of the most significant trends in treating neurological diseases and disorders in recent years has been the increasing acceptance of the phenomenon of cortical plasticity. This refers to the inherent capability of the central nervous system to modify existing connections, making them either stronger or weaker, and to form new connections. Co…

Venture Capital Outlook Bright for Neurotech Devices Neurotechnology entrepreneurs and product developers looking for venture capital have a relatively rosy outlook in the years ahead, despite the current economic conditions and the somewhat sparse history of funding for start-ups in this field, according to interviews Neurotech Reports conducted with two dozen VC firms. Our research, conducted sub…