Neurotech Comes to Consumers

by James Cavuoto, editor

To date, growth in the neurotechnology industry has been largely driven by healthcare applications. Although there has recently been a wealth of digital health firms who have endeavored to commercialize wellness products using either wearable technology or software, many of these firms are pursuing a parallel path: marketing a wellness version of their technology—which does not require regulatory approval—to generate revenue while pursuing clinical trials for a medical version of their products.

Recently, however, we have seen a surge of new vendors seeking a pure play in consumer neurotech without an eye toward a healthcare application down the road. Several of these firms were on hand at the recent CES show in Las Vegas earlier this month. Many of these firms have sought to blend neurotech capabilities with traditional consumer electronics capabilities such as Bluetooth-enabled audio headsets or virtual reality/augmented reality displays.

NextSense was one example. “As a breeding ground for innovation, CES is the perfect opportunity to introduce Tone and our inaugural product, Tone Buds,” said CEO Jonathan Berent. By continuously monitoring brain activity, Tone Buds go beyond tracking to actively improve sleep in real time. In addition to providing the expected functionality of a premium wireless earbud, Tone Buds use clinical-grade EEG technology to assess sleep stage and depth with precision unprecedented in a consumer product. In addition, the product has been designed to support all-night comfort in any sleeping position.

San Francisco-based Emotiv also debuted EEG earphones at CES. “The MW20 EEG earphones represent a monumental leap in wearable technology,” said Tan Le, CEO of Emotiv. “Emotiv’s EEG technology and AI-driven brain insights empower users to better understand and improve their personal wellness and cognitive performance. This product underscores our commitment to transforming everyday devices into tools for wellness and personal growth.”

At the 2024 Neurotech Leaders Forum, another consumer neurotech pure play, Los Angeles-based Eno, demonstrated its audio headset with four built-in EEG sensors. The company has developed a smartphone app that allows users to obtain an analysis of the frequency components of their overall EEG signal. The software also promises to enable users to move from one brain state to another using binaural beats inputs to the headsets and patterned video signals presented on the smartphone display.

We believe that approaches such as this will not only lead to a surge in sales of consumer neurotech hardware, but also to the development of a new class of software, or wetware, that exploits the capabilities of these new headsets to detect and elicit useful mental phenomena. One requirement for this to happen, however, is the establishment of standards that make it easier for wetware developers to support different hardware devices with different capabilities. Another requirement is the availability of consumer neurotech test subjects who can perform the role that clinical trial subjects play in the development of neurotech products for healthcare.

To further these goals, Neurotech Reports will soon debut a new web portal to serve as a meeting place for consumer neurotech users and also as a testbed for wetware developers. The new site, to be called brainsconnected.com, will launch in coming months. We invite our readers with an interest in consumer neurotech products to participate with us and play a role in the birth of what we believe will be a thriving new industry.