Neurotech Notables #21: Nov 2024
New Funding Offers, Q3 Filings, Neuralink's Latest Flex, & More
Welcome back to Neurotech Notables, a biweekly roundup of commercial news, views, and curated resources from the neurotechnology frontier.
The holiday homestretch! You’ll find several new funding opportunities and other signal-to-noise stocking stuffers below. Migrating from X to Bluer Skies? See these starter packs for Neurotech and BCI and please say hi.
This edition features Q3 filings, new commercial services firms in the UK, new product/platform launches, health system moves, numerous federal agency initiatives, a mix of new capital, regulatory updates, and fresh reads on NeuroAI, cognitive screening, consumer markets, ethics, and more.
BCI for stroke recovery is heating up. Neuralink’s new Canada registration and prosthetic arm study are getting buzz, but don’t sleep on promising new data from Setpoint, Cognito, Flow, Kernel, and others, either. Enjoy some provocative new research papers and fulsome interviews in Neurotech TV.
Finally: Exciting things are afoot here at Neurotech Futures! Stay tuned for 2024 year-end review, collaboration updates, and what to expect in 2025.
Funding
Synapticure Raises $25 Million Series A to Expand Virtual Care for Patients and Caregivers Living with Neurodegenerative Diseases in all 50 States (PR Newswire)
Openwater receives “$50M non-dilutive from some Shibu Inu coin” (LinkedIn) from Vitalik Buterin, seen on stage here demoing the system.
IDUN receives 2.5m CHF grant from the Swiss government to develop TWS brain-sensing earbuds (Startup Ticker)
Somareality announces oversubscribed €2.6M seed round (LinkedIn)
DANNCE.AI Raises $2.6M in Pre-Seed Funding (FinSME)
Onward receives EUR 2m, 5-year grant to study BCI in restoring movement after stroke (MassDevice | LinkedIn)
AI-Backed Mental Health Startup Jimini Raises $8M from Zetta Venture Partners, LionBird, PsyMed, BoxGroup, Arkitekt Ventures and SCB (BHB)
Nexstim Plc and Brainlab AG initiate collaboration by signing development and distributorship cooperation agreement and agreeing on a maximum of EUR 5.1m equity investment into Nexstim (Nexstim)
5th a2 Pilot awards applications open today (a2)
ARIA launches seed funding call for Scalable Neural Interfaces, due Feb 13 2025 (ARIA | More detail here)
Commercial
Helius Medical Technologies, Inc. Announces Exploration of Strategic Alternatives (Globe Newswire)
Um…so, it appears that Helius’ crackerjack leadership team actually negotiated lower payments from CMS by mistake.
Advanced Brain Monitoring baking off for PE buyout (Axios)
Biohybrid neural interfaces: an old idea enabling a completely new space of possibilities (Science Corp)
👇 Watch the vid in Neurotech.TV
Neura Health now available as new employee health benefit for Koch (LinkedIn)
Jeremy Barenholtz joins founding team at Nudge as Cofounder, President & CTO (LinkedIn)
NeuraSignal Unveils Next Generation System Innovation, Elevating Industry-Leading Performance (NeuraSignal)
Philips, Icometrix unveil AI-powered brain imaging tech (MassDevice)
UroMems Appoints Former Axonics Executive Rinda Sama to Board of Directors (PR Newswire)
Boston Scientific Closes Acquisition of Axonics, Inc. (PR Newswire)
Cortigent announces new system focused on hand/arm movement for stroke patients (SEC)
From parent company Vivani’s 10-Q: “In parallel, Vivani’s management team remained committed to identifying and exploring strategic options for the Neuromodulation Division (formerly Second Sight) that will enable further development of its pioneering neurostimulation systems to help patients recover critical body functions.”
Neuraxis 10-Q: $666.6k revenue over first three quarters, against a net operating loss of $1.65m (SEC.gov)
“Unit sales grew 50% in the third quarter…We now have approximately 35 million lives under insurance coverage”
Neuropace 10-Q: $15.4m profit over first three quarters, against operating costs of $19.6m (SEC.gov)
“As of September 30, 2024, over 6,000 patients have received our RNS System…commercial payors have written positive coverage policies that address over 200 million covered lives in the US.”
But also: “As of September 30, 2024, we had an accumulated deficit of $525.7 million, cash, cash equivalents and short-term investments of $56.8 million, and $59.3 million of outstanding debt”
Livanova’s Q3 results: $140m neurotech revenue (p.10) (Livanova)
Livanova appears to be one of the rare profitable companies to watch.
Spark Biomedical Sets Sights on Global Expansion with New ISO 13485 and MDSAP Certifications (Spark)
Firefly Neuroscience Reports Third Quarter 2024 Results and Provides Stockholder Update (SEC.gov)
NeuroMetrix 10-Q: $587k revenue with $312k profit on the quarter, with $1.5m net loss (SEC.gov)
Medtronic 10-Q: $480m quarterly revenue in neuromodulation, as part of $2.5b total Neuroscience revenue (SEC.gov)
“Neuromodulation (NM) net sales for the three and six months ended October 25, 2024 increased 13 percent and 11 percent, respectively, as compared to the corresponding periods in the prior fiscal year. The net sales increase was driven by the continued launch of both the Inceptiv spinal cord stimulator in the U.S. and the Percept RC deep brain neurostimulator.”
Stryker 10-Q: $3.2b out of $5.5b quarterly revenue from Neurotech/MedSurg (SEC.gov)
Greenbrook TMS 10-Q: $19m quarterly revenue against $19.6m operating costs (SEC.gov)“The Neuronetics Transaction is expected to close during the fourth quarter of 2024”
Electrocore Inc 10-Q: $6.6m quarterly revenue against $8.1m operating costs (SEC.gov)
“The VA/DoD comprised 72.9% of our revenue
Naqi Logix posts Part II and III of offering statement (SEC.gov)
Neurava Announces Strategic Additions to Board of Directors (PR Newswire)
Clerkenwell Health launches Clinical Catalyst for innovators in CNS and psychiatry; applications due Jan 15th (Clerkenwell)
Touchdown Neurotech launches to support UK/EU startups with global go to market services (Touchdown | Linkedin)
Brook Health, Linus Health partner for cognitive care assessment (MobiHealthNews)
Darmiyan Introduces Darmispace, “A Complete Brain Wellness Platform” (LinkedIn) + more from Dr. Kaveh Vadjani
source: LinkedIn
Regulatory & Agency News
Neuralink launches new feasibility trial to extend BCI control using N1 Implant to an investigational assistive robotic arm (LinkedIn)
Health Canada approves launch of Neuralink’s first clinical trial in Canada (LinkedIn)
Route 92 Medical Gains EU and MDSAP Certification for its Neurovascular Stroke-Intervention-Focused Product Portfolio (Globe Newswire)
FDA approves Insightec Exablate Prime for use on Philips systems (MassDevice)
FDA Gives Nod to Icometrix’s Automated Software for ARIA Monitoring (Practical Neurology)
NIA’s Alzheimer’s Disease Research Centers: Tap into four decades of resources (NIH)
Regulating generative AI: FDA’s challenges laid bare by digital health advisory committee (STAT)
Neurotech Harbor launches Pathways Program, a 12-week NIH-supported traineeship (Neurotech Harbor | LinkedIn)
Dec 4 Webinar: Inside ARPA-H’s new Ocular Laboratory for Analysis of Biomarkers (OCULAB) (ARPA-H)
ARPA-H announces Advancing Clinical Trial Readiness (ACTR) Initiative (ARPA-H)
“The core focus is to create the tools, network, and infrastructure necessary for decentralized and on-demand clinical trials.”
BRAIN Initiative NeuroAI Workshop summary by Grace Hwang (LinkedIn)
Related: NeuroAI for AI Safety: A Differential Path (NeuroAI Safety | Arxiv | Thread)
The BRAIN initiative: a pioneering program on the precipice (Nature Neuroscience)
Industry
What Trump can do to boost the US medical device industry: Michael Mager, Precision (Yahoo)
Top 10 rising stars in Digital Neurology (R2GConnect)
mHUB Announces 2025 MedTech Accelerator Cohort (mHUB)
2024 Mental Health Innovation Summit: Disparities to Parity (ABC)
Playbooks: Shaping the Market (and other playbooks) (Renaissance Philanthropy)
Adam Marblestone | Solving Science’s Biggest Gaps (Foresight Institute)
International digital health regulatory pathways (DiME)
Partnership Opportunities May Help Manage Evolving Dynamics in Radiology and Imaging (Kauffman Hall)
Consumer Brain Health—Next Gen Wearables? (Brooks Leitner)
Surrogate Endpoints for Neuroscience Clinical Trials: Challenges & Progress (Brooks Leitner)
Bottom-Up Neurotech: Harnessing Sensation to Treat Psychopathology (Trip Report)
AARP and Leading Research Organizations Announce Risk Factors of Dementia Research Findings (AARP)
Leveraging EEG for ADHD diagnosis and treatment (Naxon Labs)
Bottom-Up Neurotech: Harnessing Sensation to Treat Psychopathology (Trip Report)
Who's Paying for Those Blood-based Biomarker Tests for Alzheimer's Disease? (Neurology Today)
Barrow Partners with Davos Alzheimer’s Collaborative to Implement AI-Based Dementia Testing in Primary Care Clinics (Barrow)
Center for Pain Management to Relocate Avon Clinic to State-of-the-Art Facility in Brownsburg, IN, in Early 2025 (PR Newswire)
Sinaptica: The emerging field of non-invasive brain stimulation in Alzheimer’s disease (Brain)
Brainsway: BrainsWay Reports Promising Feasibility Data Showing Pain Reduction with Deep TMS Therapy (SEC.gov)
Electrocore: Non-invasive vagus nerve stimulation to reduce ileus after colorectal surgery: randomized feasibility trial and efficacy assessment (IDEAL Stage 2B) (Colorectal Disease)
Cefaly: eTNS Neuromodulation Therapy for Migraine Found to Be More Effective in Patients with Specific Most Bothersome Symptoms (MBS) (PR Newswire)
StrivePD: Revolutionizing Parkinson Disease Care Through Data and Personalization (Neurology Live)
Setpoint: Vagus Nerve Stimulation Device Reduces Symptoms of Rheumatoid Arthritis (Setpoint Medical)
Nervonik Completes First-in-Human Clinical Trial of Nerve Stimulation Technology for Chronic Pain Treatment (PR Newswire)
Cognito Therapeutics Presents Early-Stage Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Spectris™ Therapy in Alzheimer’s Disease at ISPOR 2024 (Business Wire)
Startups take note: This is the way. Cost-effectiveness studies are notoriously squishy, but they’re a necessary part of pre-commercial strategy. If you’re waiting until FDA clearance before you think about your cost-effectiveness evidence generation….welcome to the valley of death. Start early!
Optoceutics Uses Light Stimulation to Heal the Brain (Startup Health)
“Flow” tDCS for Depression Treatment in a Community Mental Health Team (CMHT) Service (Open Journal of Depression) and Crisis Resolution & Home Treatment (Open Journal of Psychiatry)
Kernel - A functional neuroimaging biomarker of mild cognitive impairment using TD-fNIRS (medRxiv)
See also Kernel’s most recent newsletter
Epiminder Announces 5-Year Milestone of Long-Term Continuous EEG Monitoring Implant (Epiminder)
The Digitized Memory Clinic (Nature Reviews Neurology)
This all looks great...so, who’s paying? (source)
Neurotech.TV
The Age of Neural Engineering (Science Corp)
Upcoming Webinar on Dec 5: The Role of Technology in Mental Health -(IEEE)
The Thrill and Threat of Mind Hacking | Posthuman with Emily Chang (Bloomberg)
Brian Murphy from Cumulus Neuroscience on Scaling Brain Health with scalable neuroscience solutions (Shot of Digital Health)
Motif Neurotech | Company Overview 2024 (Motif)
Jamie Strauss of Precision Neuroscience (Web Summit)
Mark McAuley & Susan Boehnke – Patient-led Research, Patient-Centered Care and Neuroscience Education (Stimulating Brains)
Apple’s video on their Airpods Hearing Aid feature (X)
Society
United action is needed to prioritise brain health (Lancet Neurology)
The Senses We Take For Granted (Cognitive Wonderland)
You can reduce your risk of dementia. Here's how to get started (NPR)
“To calculate your brain care score, you rate yourself on 12 different risk factors ranging from diet, alcohol consumption, smoking, sleep and the amount of exercise you get. Your blood pressure, blood sugar, cholesterol and body mass index are also incorporated. Social and emotional factors are woven in as well, including sense of purpose, stress management and social connections. Each response is given a point value, and the higher your score the better.”
Aligning Visual Prosthetic Development With Implantee Needs (tvst)
Fresh methods of enhancing athletic performance make use of cutting-edge technology, but do they give an unfair advantage? (Digital Frontier)
How to be a multidisciplinary neuroscientist (The Transmitter)
Team from Pitt’s Rehab Neural Engineering Labs Takes Home a Gold Medal in the 2024 Cybathlon (Pitt)
How to improve your brain health — without shelling out £600 for the newly-launched scan (The Standard)
Billable units of attention: Why workplace neuro-surveillance matters for lawyers (LSJ)
Likes, Loops, and Limbic Systems: Unveiling the Neurological Impact of Social Media (NeurotechX)
Principles and Priorities for Responsible Innovation in Neurotechnology for Canada (CJNS)
Dr. Katherine Bassil interviews professor Nita Farahany (Neuroethics Today)
Why are sales so hard to resist? It's your brain, on discounts (NPR)
“The human brain has essentially evolved to feel first and think next.”
Research
Eighty-six billion and counting: do we know the number of neurons in the human brain? (Brain)
Editorial: Neural interfaces for sensory input (Frontiers)
The Future of Biohybrid Regenerative Bioelectronics (Advanced Materials)
Consciousness Might Hide in Our Brain’s Electric Fields (Scientific American)
How Optogenetics Can Put the Brakes on Epilepsy Seizures (UCSF)
Hearable devices with sound bubbles (Nature Electronics)
Utilizing Recordings From Human Brain To Understand Brain Function (Mount Sinai)
Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Combined With Repetitive Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation for Depression
A Randomized Clinical Trial (Jama)
“We used a Magstim Rapid stimulator (Magstim Ltd) for the rTMS treatment, with all patients receiving 10-Hz stimulation via a figure-8 coil on the left DLPFC. Each session included 40 trains (1600 pulses) with 4-second intervals and 26-second intertrain breaks. Treatments were delivered at 110% resting motor threshold from Monday through Friday for 2 weeks.”
Noninvasive targeted modulation of pain circuits with focused ultrasonic waves (Pain)
Eye movement disorders: A new approach to preliminary screening of Parkinson’s disease (IBRO Neuroscience)
Difficult to Treat Depression: Focus on Approach, Algorithms, and Access (Psychiatrist.com)
A continuous pursuit dataset for online deep learning-based EEG brain-computer interface (Nature Scientific Data)
Chisco: An EEG-based BCI dataset for decoding of imagined speech (Nature Scientific Data)
Mayo Clinic researchers develop new AI tools to reveal seizure hotspots, improve patient care (Mayo Clinic | Nature Communications Medicine)
Elevated Mood Induced by Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation: A Video-Recorded Case Report (Tremor)
Endocisternal interfaces for minimally invasive neural stimulation and recording of the brain and spinal cord (Nature)
“Different navigation pathways can be taken to guide catheter electrodes to reach different therapeutic targets.”
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