Daniel Powell is the CEO of Spark Biomedical , a medical device company based in Texas whose mission is to develop effective, wearable neurostimulation devices. In this episode, he discusses an auricular nerve stimulator to aid in the relief of opioid withdrawal both in adults and newborn infants. Top three takeaways: This auricular, transcutaneous nerve stimulator device works to alleviate opioid withdrawal by stimulating the necessary nerves to kickstart endogenous endorphin release in the bra...
Mar 30, 2020•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast This outbreak of COVID-19 is a very difficult time for scientific research. A lot of experiments are being interrupted and put on pause, and conference travels are essentially not possible. In this episode, Ladan discusses what steps are being taken by government grant-funding agencies to assist researchers during this time. Top three takeaways: Grant-funding agencies such as the NIH and NSF are extending deadlines for grants and experiments, and late applications are being accepted without the ...
Mar 23, 2020•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jeremy Magland and James Jun are researchers at the Flatiron Institute whose work involves spike sorting for analysis of large recorded neuronal data sets. In this episode, at the SfN 2019 Conference, they discuss the Flatiron Institute, spike sorting and the various algorithms involved in it, as well as an open-source algorithm the Flatiron Institute has developed for spike sorting and how it works. Top three takeaways: The Flatiron Institute, a division of the Simons Foundation, uses modern co...
Mar 16, 2020•20 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Pablo Celnik is a professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine. Buzz is a spinal cord injury patient who has recently received implants to help him regain sensory and motor control of his body. In this episode, they discuss the project directed by Dr. Celnik that involves the implantation of a bilateral set of implants that has been effective in helping Buzz regain sensory and motor control. Top three takeaways: Buzz’s implants are unique d...
Mar 09, 2020•27 min•Transcript available on Metacast Jennifer French and James Cavuoto are editors and publishers for Neurotech Reports , a news source whose mission is to provide up-to-date information about the field of neurotechnology that impacts research and venture capital. In this episode, they discuss some updates and recent events happening within the last month in the industry of neurotechnology. Top three takeaways: The 2020 North American Neuromodulation Society Annual Conference was a very informative and successful conference, and th...
Mar 02, 2020•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Charles Lieber , a researcher in the field of chemistry and nanotechnology, has been arrested on charges of making false statements to the US government regarding his monetary ties to China. In this episode, JoJo Platt discusses his arrest, the events surrounding it, and what it could mean for the field and future international collaborations. Top three takeaways: Charles Lieber did not disclose his ties to China while receiving grant money from US government institutions The US Senate believes ...
Feb 10, 2020•21 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Ladan interviews Ritesh Kumar, a poster presenter at the SfN 2019 conference whose research involves restoring bladder functions. Ritesh is a researcher working under Dr. Robert Gaunt in the Rehab Neural Engineering Labs at the University of Pittsburgh. Top three takeaways: The device being investigated and tested is designed to conform to changes in volume in the bladder. The electrodes embedded in the device are aligned with specific functional regions of the bladder to genera...
Jan 27, 2020•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Bryan McLaughlin is the president of Micro-Leads , a medical device company working on implantable therapy for spinal cord stimulation. In this episode, he discusses his research and investigation into medical-grade technologies to treat spinal cord injury, as well as his collaboration with DARPA in this endeavor. Top three takeaways: The electrodes manufactured by Micro-Leads used for spinal cord stimulation target more fibers and have more electrode channels than other electrodes McLaughli...
Jan 20, 2020•12 min•Transcript available on Metacast Brandon Prestwood, an amputee, is a participant in a research program which develops advanced prosthetics and implants to restore sensory function in amputees. In this episode, he discusses his experience as an amputee in this research program, as well as the implanted device he uses to restore the lost functionality of his forearm. Top three takeaways: Medical treatments for amputees can often involve excessive medications, many of which are opioid-based, which can be problematic as it can lead...
Jan 13, 2020•24 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Tim Marzullo is an engineer and co-founder of Backyard Brains , which seeks to develop technologies to make learning about neurophysiology easy and fun. In this episode, he discusses some such technologies at SfN Neuroscience 2019 . Top three takeaways: Backyard Brains creates scientific technology that can be easily used by high school students to learn more about science (and win science fairs😊) Recent technologies have taught us that there is a whole molecular and electrical world within...
Dec 16, 2019•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Dr. Allan McCay is a legal scholar working in Australia, and his work involves legal and ethical issues in the field of neurolaw. In this episode, he discusses the legal and jurisprudential issues behind brain-computer interfaces and how their advent and proliferation could affect how crimes are viewed in legal system. Top three takeaways: Brain-computer interfaces may change the way we will need to think about criminal justice and responsibility for crimes Higher courts will need to carefully c...
Dec 09, 2019•30 min•Transcript available on Metacast JoJo Platt is the founder of Behind the Bench , a Neurotech News outlet, as well as a Platt & Associates where she consulted for places like Feinstein Institute for Medical Research . In this episode, she discusses how she developed her network and formed Behind the Bench, as well as recruiting in the field of bioelectronic medicine and what it takes to get hired. Top three takeaways: Platt’s mission is to help promote and coalesce the field of bioelectronic medicine within the greater field of ...
Dec 02, 2019•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast This month's neurotech industry podcast features some highlights from the 2019 Neurotech Leaders Forum that took place November 4-5, 2019 In San Francisco. This is a two -day event focusing on the opportunities, trends and entrepreneur ventures in the industry. Here's what is featured: The Neurotech Reports roundtable was a lightning round session of topics with commentary and input from the editorial team. Topics included: How should the industry respond to negative press? How to ensure reimbur...
Nov 25, 2019•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Avery Bedows and Doug Clinton are part of Loup Ventures , a venture capital firm that invests in frontier technology. In this episode, which is the first of a quarterly series on neurotech news, they discuss recent events regarding investment in neurotech companies as well as growths and developments within the neurotech industry. Top three takeaways: Companies can sometimes look at the value of an investment not just in terms of revenue, but in terms of gaining a strong foothold in an upcoming ...
Nov 18, 2019•36 min•Transcript available on Metacast Joe Bird is a lawyer specializing in patent litigation, and works for the firm Maynard Cooper & Gale. In this episode, he discusses the current lawsuit between Nevro and Boston Scientific for a high-frequency spinal cord stimulation device, he gives a general overview of patent law and how patents are enforced and litigated, and also discusses what this lawsuit means for the neurotech industry. Top three takeaways: Patent litigation is a very unique field of law, with a lot of special rules and ...
Oct 28, 2019•44 min•Transcript available on Metacast Top 3 takeaways Developments in the spinal cord stimulation market for pain heat up with regulatory approval of 2 new devices for the treatment of chronic pain. Medtronic faces competition as Axonics enters the market with their sacral nerve stimulation device for fecal incontinence. Two major announcement for the treatment of paralysis due to SCI; one from DARPA and the other from European start-up venture, GTX medical
Oct 22, 2019•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast This is the first episode of a new monthly series of the neurotech industry round-up. If you don't have time to scan the headlines every day, listen to this podcast to get a summary of the news over that last month. Joining Ladan is Jen French and Jim Cavuoto from Neurotech Reports to review what is drawing attention in the neurotechnology industry. Some of the headlines focused on regulatory approvals of devices in the areas of heart failure, sleep apnea, migraine, and Parkinson's disease, as w...
Sep 23, 2019•18 min•Transcript available on Metacast Steven Plymale is the CEO of MyndTec. He joined the firm in late 2017 and has more than 25 years of experience in the medical device industry. Previously, he was CEO of Profound Medical, bringing the company from a small six-person team to going public in 2015 in an IPO that raised $60 million. Plymale was also with Xltek, now a division of Natus Medical, and Claron Technologies. Milos Popovic is the Director of the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute (KITE) and professor in the Institute of Biomat...
Jun 28, 2019•22 min•Transcript available on Metacast In this episode, Ladan recaps his experience at the Toronto rehabweek and discusses what he did and who he spoke with. Top three takeaways: Rehabweek brought together various fields such as engineering and rehabilitation science, as well as clinicians The aim of the event was to bring together different disciplines working toward the same goal and to find similar key points between them One can learn a lot from talking to people from different fields and gaining a better understanding of the pro...
Jun 28, 2019•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Thierry Keller is a researcher in Tecnalia , a research institute in Spain. In this episode, he discusses some of the neuroprosthetic technologies for upper and lower extremity stimulation and recording that he is working to develop in his institute. Top three takeaways: Multiple stimulation channels, such as on the transcutaneous array, can provide better resolution of functions There needs to be open communication and sharing of knowledge between technology developers, clinicians, and end user...
Jun 28, 2019•29 min•Transcript available on Metacast Ursula Costa is the Head of Clinical Affairs at Hocoma AG, an established neural rehabilitation company based in Zurich, Switzerland. She is a licensed physical therapist who has recovered herself from a spinal cord injury as a young girl and then nurtured her passion for neurorehabilitation. She holds a PhD from Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona in Physical Therapy and has held a professorship at the same university. Takeaway: Rehabilitation technology is a tool to help the patient gain maximum...
Jun 28, 2019•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast Bimal Lakhani is the Vice President of Product Development at HealthTech Connex and NeuroCatch, a recent startup targeting the analytics of brain disorder diagnosis and improvements. He is also Associate Professor at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver, Canada. He holds a PhD in Rehabilitation Science. This conversation talks about the company, science behind it and where it is going in the future. Takeaways: We currently do not have a quick mechanism to check out brain health. Clini...
Jun 28, 2019•17 min•Transcript available on Metacast Tom LeBlanc is the Marketing Manager at Bioness, a neuroprosthetics and neural rehabilitation technology company born out of the Alfred E. Mann Foundation. Let’s listen in on his interview. He has several years of experience in marketing and communications within Bioness. Prior to joining them he was in the entertainment industry with the likes of Disney and Warner Bros. He holds an MBA from Pepperdine University. Let’s listen to our conversation with him. Takeaway: Functional electrical stimula...
Jun 28, 2019•6 min•Transcript available on Metacast Debbie Backus is with the Shepherd Center, a rehabilitation hospital located in Atlanta, and is also the president of ACRM, a multidisciplinary organization whose mission is to help improve the lives of people with disabilities, particularly brain and spinal cord injuries. In this episode, she discusses the current technologies used to help patients with movement disabilities, how far the technologies have come, the cost-effectiveness of such technologies, and how those technologies may continue...
Jun 28, 2019•10 min•Transcript available on Metacast Paul Meadows is one of the founding members of IFESS and a veteran in the neurotech industry. He is currently the Chief Technology Officer at Imthera in the development of neurostimulation device for obstructive sleep apnea. The company was recently acquired by LivaNova. Previous Meadows was involved with neurotech development at Advanced Bionics as well as the Alfred E. Mann Foundation. Takeaways: 1. Current technology transfer developments are influenced by peer-reviewed published research. 2....
Jun 28, 2019•7 min•Transcript available on Metacast The Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich’s Robert Reiner was one of the key figures to initiate the Cybathlon in 2016. The Cybathlon is a unique event in the development of every- day assistive devices in which people living with various disabilities compete while using the latest developments. There are six disciplines from advanced wheelchairs to FES cycling. Florian Haufe, a PhD candidate in Dr. Reiner’s lab, fills us in a little more about this premiere event and what the expect i...
Jun 28, 2019•14 min•Transcript available on Metacast David Pitino is a health technology researcher who started the Abilities Research Center in Mount Sinai. In this episode, he discusses innovation in the health tech industry, and how such technology and the industry overall can be improved. Top three takeaways: Communicating with your end user is critically important in solving challenges with medical technologies. One major improvement in most medical technologies is the increase in affordability of these technologies for patients. Improving th...
Jun 28, 2019•8 min•Transcript available on Metacast RehabWeek Exclusive interview the Kim Skinner Kim Skinner is the Director of Physical Therapy at Helius Medical Technologies where she is instrumental in the introduction of the PoNS rehabilitation program. Prior to this she was the Physical Therapy Director and Researcher at the University of Wisconsin, Madison working with sensory processing and neurological disorders. She holds a PhD in Physical Therapy and Health Sciences and maintains her license in physical therapy. We met up with Kim at R...
Jun 28, 2019•15 min•Transcript available on Metacast Vivian Mushahwar is a professor at the University of Alberta in the Department of Medicine, and she is in the division of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation . She has a bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering and a PhD in bioengineering, and has completed two postdoc positions in rehab medicine and neuroscience. In this episode, she discusses some of the technologies she is researching and developing with regards to nerve stimulation and walking/standing. Top three takeaways: Neural stimul...
Jun 28, 2019•23 min•Transcript available on Metacast Narrative Salchow and Sayenko Dual interview episode: Christina Salchow-Hommen from Charité Universitätsmedizin in Berlin, Germany. Her presentation at RehabWeek2019 was titled “Characterization Of Optimal Electrode Configurations For Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation.” The talk presented her findings from a small trial which included 5 participants living with spinal cord injuries. In the trial, they were trying to find the optimal placements and size of surface stimulation electrodes to e...
Jun 28, 2019•13 min•Transcript available on Metacast