Neurotech Notables #26: Feb 2025
Microplastics today, Nanoparticles tomorrow
☀️Happy Friday once again, Neurotech friends 😎
Amidst a whiplash of federal activity with dramatic impacts on the funding, staffing, and general operation of US health agencies, the tech industry, and the world at large, the neurotech show marches on into March.
Going into year two of covering this field, it’s becoming clear to me that this industry draws resilience from how the continued success of traditional businesses is integrating with the relentless upgrades in technology and the emergence of novel modalities, new players, and expanding market applications. Neurotech will help a lot of people. Let’s dive in.
Here’s what happened in the last two weeks:
$150+ in fresh funding, mostly for traditional implanted neuromod companies, but also towards a frontier nanoparticle BCI and other emerging markets, alongside new funding opportunities for founders.
A pair of novel FDA clearances for That Big Med Device Company and an interesting crowdfunded startup, as well as some important regulatory developments across the pond in the UK’s NHS and the EU’s MDR.
A diverse commercial roundup this fortnight, from new clinical milestones in non-invasive and implanted devices, to a novel crypto platform, and various partnerships, acquisitions, exec appointments.
Wheelbarrows of industry activity worth a click. Smell? Sound? Voice? Vision? Check. You want Meta articles about EMG or MEG? The latter is having a moment across this edition, bridging traditional bioelectronics to new market access models. Additional clicks in BCI, spinal stim, ultrasound, life sciences, and more.
Promising research in a number of (wildly different) neuroimaging projects, gender, EMG, spinal cord stimulation, wearables in clinical research, all the neural interfaces.
This weekend, remember: when it comes to the brain, microplastics = bad, plasticity = good, nanoparticles = mouse stage, eeg = dog-friendly, and lastly, that the only thing more fun than wearing neurotech is sharing neurotech.
NANS
Registration Now Open for Neural Interfaces 2025, to be held June 12-14 in Arlington, VA
TTP
How can we enable ultra-low power machine learning for implantable medical devices?
Artificial Intelligence offers implant developers a route to more precise closed-loop therapies, but conventional implementations of AI are too power-hungry to be effectively applied to implanted medical devices. Read more
Funding
Neuromod developer NeuroPace announces $65M offering (Mass Device)
Valencia Technologies Announces Strategic Investment of up to $35 Million and Appointment of James D. Surek as Chief Executive Officer (BioSpace)
Subsense launches with $17M to build a noninvasive brain computer interface (Endpoints News)
Subsense will use this money to test (in mice) two kinds of nanoparticles for conversion of electrical signals into optical ones, and generating signals within brain tissue. Subsense is hopeful for eventual clearance for a market indication for ALS, Alzheimer’s, or Parkinson’s, before they potentially broaden people’s access to “super vision and super hearing, storing their memories in a cloud storage, or connecting the brain to generative AI and LLMs and selling such devices to consumers and clinics.” Bold Storytelling. I reckon this is 10 years from now at the earliest. Many questions. Good Luck with FDA.
Frontera launches with $32M seed investment from Lux Capital, Lightspeed, Bison Ventures, Inspired Capital and Menlo Ventures for video-based digital phenotyping in Autism (LinkedIn)
Neuro Event Labs Oy raises €2.0M investment for commercial expansion in Europe and US market entry of its AI-powered seizure detection device for epilepsy (Neuro Event Labs)
Big Sky Capital invests in UK-based BrainPatch (LinkedIn)
NIREMIA Collective announces investment in Piramidal (LinkedIn)
UKRI's announces new £9 Medical Research proof-of-concept fund (LinkedIn)
U of M Medical School research team receives $1.2M grant to study Tourette syndrome treatment (University of Minnesota)
Applications open for Ontario Brain Institute’s NERVE (Neurotech Entrepreneurship to Validate Emerging Innovations) program (OBI)
As Canada’s largest award for early-stage neurotech ventures, NERVE provides $100,000 in funding, plus 12 months of training, one-on-one mentorship, and commercialization support to help Canadian entrepreneurs launch and grow their brain-related technologies
MedTech Venture Builder application info session open for UK-based MedTech founders (LinkedIn)
PsyMed Ventures outlines favorite investable areas in brain health for fund 2 (PsyMed)
Could Upright PET Scanning Advance Early Alzheimer's Detection? (NYP)
A $6.2m grant to Cornell will explore this. “We anticipate that the supine scanner will be evaluated in a clinical trial in late 2025, and the upright scanner will be ready for clinical trials in late 2026.”
Commercial
Boston Scientific prices $1.6B European public offering (Mass Device)
Precision Neuroscience Expands Clinical Research in BCI Through Collaboration with Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center (MorningStar)
ICYMI: Precision’s CEO shared their 2025 outlook. What questions do you have about this new epilepsy data partnership?
Stryker Completes Acquisition of Inari Medical (Mass Device)
Heraeus Medevio and CorTec Announce Strategic Partnership in Neuromodulation (Heraeus Medevio)
Neuronostics announces partnership with Nervus to “integrate BioEP technology into Nervus’ EEG systems” (LinkedIn)
BrainChip Collaborates with Onsor Technologies To Power Epileptic Seizure-Detecting Glasses (BusinessWire)
I’m intrigued by the technology and a bit skeptical of the broader clinical integration required for this to gain legs in the market.
Spark Biomedical Partners With Air Force To Launch Trial Testing Innovative Solution to Motion Sickness and Spatial Disorientation (Globe Newswire)
Enrollment Initiated for Phase 2 Clinical Trial in Early Alzheimer's with Sinaptica's Second-Generation Precision Neuromodulation System (Business Wire)
Neuspera Medical Announces Landmark Six-Month Clinical Trial Results for the First Battery-Free Percutaneous Sacral Neuromodulation (pSNM) System for Urgency Urinary Incontinence Management (PR Newswire)
If you had a choice, would you want an “Oreo-sized battery” implanted in your butt? Or a battery-free system? Don’t need to sit on that decision too long.
Salvia BioElectronics Reports First Migraine Therapy Implant in The Netherlands (Mass Device)
“Salvia also has a wearable, external device under development called the “MySalvia” device. It interfaces with the implant to activate the neuromodulation therapy, tailored to the patient’s needs. The company also has an app under development aiming to enable patients to monitor progress and access personalized migraine treatments.” Salvia got FDA Breakthrough in 2020.
StrokeDx Welcomes Bob Colloton as CEO to Lead Commercial Expansion (StrokeDx)
Motif promotes Julie Goode to Vice President of Clinical Affairs (LinkedIn)
SPR appoints Todd Davis as Vice President of Market Access (SPR)
PathMaker Neurosystems Welcomes Pritesh Shah to Board of Directors (Globe Newswire)
LivaNova Reports Fourth-Quarter and Full-Year 2024 Results; Issues 2025 Guidance (BusinessWire)
Family Care Center Opens Louisville Clinic for Therapy, Psychiatry, and TMS (PR Newswire)
“This is its 18th clinic in the state, reinforcing the organization's commitment to providing accessible, high-quality care for individuals, couples, families, and Veterans in Colorado.”
NaviFUS Corp. Leverages Taiwan's Advanced Chip Technology to Lead Non-Invasive Precision Medicine for Brain Disorders (PR Newswire)
NanoVibronix, Inc. Announces Acquisition of ENvue Medical Holdings, Corp. (BusinessWire)
Canary Speech Announces Presence Within Microsoft Booth at HIMSS (PR Newswire)
Tether Continues Development Of BrainOS, Accelerating Evolution Of Human Intelligence (mPost)
🧐 Tether owns Blackrock: “As part of its expanding role in the AI space, Tether also recently shared that Tether Data’s research and development (R&D) team has created an electrocorticography (ECoG) plugin, which interprets neural signals for brain-to-text communication. Early tests have demonstrated its ability to generate syllables from brain activity, with the next step being the development of a system that can form complete sentences.”
JHU and Turing Bio Cooperate in the development of AI-integrated mental health solutions (Maeil Business Newspaper)
Synergia Medical Announces Strong Results for NAO.VNS’s first in-human study to treat drug-resistant epilepsy (Globe Newswire)
“Three months post-implantation, results confirm strong safety, robust device performance, and positive patient outcomes. Synergia plans to now move into a pivotal FDA and CE trial.”
Regulatory & Public Sector
Medtronic earns U.S. FDA approval for the world's first Adaptive deep brain stimulation system for people with Parkinson's (Medtronic News)
This was a long time coming. What questions or thoughts do you have about aDBS? Related: A Medtronic engineer shares lessons (Medical Design & Outsourcing)
Morari Secures FDA Clearance for MOR™, the First App-Enabled Wearable Patch for Sexual Health and Climax Control (Morari Medical)
This was a long time co- Sorry. Interesting to say the least. One VC I shared this with responded, “I don’t think the sexual pathway will yield the type of returns for something of this nature.” Perhaps this explains their crowdfunding strategy. I welcome any thoughts (and/or PG-13 puns) you’d share.
Cambridge Cognition submits FDA Letter of Intent for Cognitive Impairment Assessments in Schizophrenia (Cambridge Cognition)
Neurovalens Expands Access to Modius Sleep for Veterans Through U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Program (AP News)
Shionogi & Co., Ltd secures Japan approval for ADHD digital therapeutic EndeavorRide, licensed from Akili (Pharma Phorum)
Trump Firings Hit Device Review Office Chief and Technical Experts Across CDRH (Market Pathways)
Will the Entire NIH be Shut Down? (MedCity News)
Trump's NIH Budget Cuts Threaten Research, Stirring Panic (NBC News)
Psychedelics Space Regroups as RFK Jr. Signals Support (BioSpace)
Feb 18: FDA Staff Reviewing Musk's Neuralink Were Included in DOGE Employee Firings (Reuters | Mass Device | Market Pathways)
Feb 24: FDA asks some Fired Employees to Return (Mass Device)
Reflecting on 2024: Advancing Neuroscience Research to Improve Neurological Health (NINDS)
NICE HealthTech programme manual (NICE)
From research to reality: A vision for a research and innovation-powered NHS (Wellcome)
Rapid Technology Assessment: Neurotechnology (UK Government)
The Opinion of Healthcare Professionals About a Proposed European Registry of Neuromodulation for Chronic Pain: An Online Survey (Neuromodulation)
Note of concern regarding the sources of scientific evidence used to justify the Reclassification of Non-Invasive Brain Stimulation (NIBS) Devices without an intended medical purpose into Class III (Brain Stimulation Journal)
Industry
One Mind™ Accelerator Announces Third Cohort of Mental Health Startups (Business Wire)
Congrats to Ampa, Attune, Humanity, Jimini, Sanmai + many more!
AAPM + MIT Hacking Medicine Innovation Challenge Finalists Named, including 3 SCS startups (PainConnect)
Neurosoft Bioelectronics sets record for most electrodes in a soft and stretchable brain interface tested in a human (LinkedIn)
Meta: Introducing Aria Gen 2: Unlocking New Research in Machine Perception, Contextual AI, Robotics, and More (Meta)
Meta's AI-Powered Ray-Bans for the Blind (Wall Street Journal)
Meta’s Brain Typing AI Is Stuck in the Lab (MIT Technology Review)
What’s more, says King, the second a subject’s head moves, the signal is lost. “Our effort is not at all toward products,” he says. “In fact, my message is always to say I don’t think there is a path for products because it’s too difficult.”
Can Mark Zuckerberg Read Your Thoughts? (Cognitive Wonderland)
At-Home Stroke Neurorehabilitation: Early Findings with the NeuroExo BCI System (Sensors)
Neurophet Presented Three Research Abstracts on Personalized tDCS at International Brain Stimulation Conference (PR Newswire)
Feel Therapeutics: Randomized controlled study of a digital data driven intervention for depressive and generalized anxiety symptoms (NPJ Digital Medicine)
Beyond Weight Loss: Can Sleep Data Unlock New GLP-1/GIP Drug Indications? (Beacon Biosignals)
I missed this last July. Beacon is way ahead of the curve. The Neurotech CRO is coming.
Onward: Safety and Effectiveness of Multisite Transcutaneous Spinal Cord Stimulation Combined With Activity-Based Therapy When Delivered in a Community Rehabilitation Setting: A Real-World Pilot Study (Neuromodulation | Press Release)
'Everyone cried': Paralysed woman describes walking after pioneering treatment (Perspective Media)
Afference hands-on: a ring giving magical haptic sensations (Skarred Ghost)
From Body to Brain Scanning: Bios and MYndspan Open a Neko-Style Brain Centre in London (Sifted)
Issue No. 323: Brain Gains (Insider Fitt)
Analysis: Globus Acquires Nevro — What This Means for the Future of Spinal Cord Stimulation (LSI)
5 Neurotech Trends to Watch in 2025: From Paralysis Recovery to Prosthetics That Feel and Beyond (R&D World Online)
For epilepsy, it’s Personal: Australian patients prescribed AI-informed epilepsy medication as part of a nationwide RCT (Alfred Health)
European Brain Surgery Robeauté Start-Up Seeks US Expansion (Bloomberg)
Epilepsy AI tool detects brain lesions doctors miss (BBC)
Kernel: A compact time-domain diffuse optical tomography system for cortical neuroimaging (MIT Press Direct | LinkedIn)
Augmental: Q4 2024 update (Augmental)
No More Meds? The Tech Tackling the Depression Epidemic (Health Tech World)
SpineX: Effects of spinal stimulation and short-burst treadmill training on gait biomechanics in children with cerebral palsy (Gait and Posture | LinkedIn)
Deepson Bio: Innovative Ultrasound Treatment for Normal Pressure Hydrocephalus and Alzheimer's Highlighted at Korean Society of Brain Neuromodulation Therapy Winter Conference (BusinessWire)
This UT Dallas Tech Breakthrough Could Help Veterans Overcome PTSD (Dallas Innovates)
Araya Inc publishes NeuroTech Guidebook Volume 2, focused on Neurotech Developers (Brains.link | Press Release)
The Focused Ultrasound Foundation Designates Columbia University as a Center of Excellence (Newswise)
100 Great Neuro and Spine Programs | 2024 (Becker's Hospital Review)
Towards accredited clinical training in brain stimulation: Proceedings from the Brain Stimulation Subspecialty Summits (Brain Stimulation Journal)
HKS: Launching the Building Brains Coalition: Reimagining Brain-Healthy Spaces (Globe Newswire)
Kimberly Ha: When is the right time to come out of stealth? (LinkedIn)
📅 Neurotech Events Calendar
Here is a list of upcoming conferences, meetings, webinars, and other opportunities.
The Neurotechnology Scholars Foundation launches to empower the next generation of researchers and innovators. (LinkedIn)
Cleveland Neurodesign announces European Program in Switzerland (Cleveland Neurodesign)
Center for Neurotechnology & The Law announces Course in Neurotech Law, launching in October (LinkedIn | CNL Neurotech & Law Symposium Event)
CCC Announces April Workshop on Defining the Role of Computing Research in Neural Interfacing in Washington, DC (CCC)
Dana Foundation launches new “Opportunities in Neuroscience & Society” hub, with over 49 internships, fellowships, and career-building opportunities (Dana Foundation)
Society
Rising Microplastic Levels in the Brain: A Growing Concern (Being Patient | Dr. Glorioso's Substack)
Cross-Disciplinary Collaboration on Neural Organoids (Dana Foundation)
Neuromodulation perception by the general public (Nature Scientific Reports)
How Do Our Brains Make Decisions? The International Brain Laboratory Is Closing In on Answers (Simons Foundation)
Neurostimulation to improve cognitive flexibility (Science Direct)
HBA Support calls for national action in the UK on screening and treatment inequality in familial brain aneurysms (NeuroNews)
Humane, Which Raised $230M Shuts Down After Horrendous Reviews (SF Gate)]
Is health-tech entering its ‘influencer’ era? (Second Opinion)
China-Made Medical Devices Are All Over US And The Feds Are Worried (CNBC)
A journey through the hyper-political world of microchips (Guardian)
Depression trials are missing what matters most to patients (Dilara Bahceci) 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
How to Teach Students About Science Funding (The Transmitter)
Science Must Step Away From Nationally Managed Infrastructure (The Transmitter)
Neurotechnology Developments Shaped by Researchers and End-Users (University of Cambridge)
Neurotech.TV
Pod: #20 Non-Invasive Neurostimulation for Sleep: Neurovalens CEO Jason McKeown (Dynamic Neurotech)
Pod: How Did Rapid Remission from Depression Become the New Standard of Care? (Frontier Psychiatrists)
Jennifer French on the need for more stories of failure in neurotech (Modev)
CES Interview With Ryan Field From Kernel (CES)
Bia Neuroscience announces Beta (Bia)
Research
The Last Two-Author Neuroscience Paper (The Transmitter)
New Research Identifies a Key Player in How Your Brain Ages: The X Chromosome (Simons Fdn)
New review maps the impact of reproductive hormones on neurological health (Brain Medicine | Summary)
Spinal Stimulation Restored Muscles Wasted by Rare Genetic Disorder (NPR | Nature)
Cervical spinal cord stimulation for treatment of upper limb paralysis: a narrative review (Journal of Hand Surgery)
A prospective controlled study of a wearable rhythmic vibrotactile device for tremor in Parkinson’s disease (Clinical Neurophysiology | Comments from Michael Okun)
Stimulating mice brains with focused ultrasound changes behavioral responses to pain (NIH)
Eye movement deficits in Multiple Sclerosis: Characterizing executive problems as the disease worsens (Multiple Sclerosis and Related Disorders)
Wearables: An Essential For Decentralized Clinical Trials (Clinical Tech Leader)
Closed Loop Wearables: Tightening the Gap Between Insight and Action (Brooks Leitner)
Sensitivity to change of quadriceps and hamstrings muscle wearable electromyography outcomes during a professional soccer match (Journal of Sports Sciences)
Federated Learning-Enhanced Edge Deep Learning Model for EMG-Based Gesture Recognition in Real-Time Human-Robot Interaction (IEEE Xplore)
Andreas Horn announces new Institute for network stimulation at the Universitätsklinikum Köln in Cologne (LinkedIn)
Bio-inspired electronics: Soft, biohybrid, and “living” neural interfaces (Nature Communications)
Decoding speech intent from non-frontal cortical areas (Journal of Neural Engineering | Summary)
Fabrication of thin-film electrodes and organic electrochemical transistors for neural implants (Nature)
Advances in Implantable Neural Interfaces (IOP Science)
Pusan National University Develops One-Step 3D Microelectrode Technology for Neural Interfaces (PR Newswire)
Deep Brain Stimulation for Brain Injury Rehab: Do Benefits Continue After Neurostimulation Stops? (Cleveland Clinic)
Shared pathway-specific network mechanisms of dopamine and deep brain stimulation for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (BioRxiv)
Duke professor develops HoloSNS, a new kind of brain mapping for surgeons (Duke Chronicle)
Harvard Team Built a CMOS Chip to Map 70,000 Synaptic Connections Between 2,000 Rat Neurons (MSN)
Minimally-invasive common-path OCT system for neurosurgery applications (Optica)
To access internal luminal organs such as gastrointestinal or intravenous tracts, an endoscopic OCT has been developed with custom side viewing catheters to provide volumetric scans. The proposed system can detect blood flow, which is important for identifying and avoiding blood vessels during surgery, thereby reducing the risk of intraoperative hemorrhage [4]. Additionally, the system’s real-time tissue contrast capability can significantly improve the accuracy of procedures such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) implantation or brain biopsies.
Non-invasive canine electroencephalography (EEG): a systematic review (BMC Veterinary Research)
I wonder what is a better signal: EEG for Fido’s head, or a wearable for his tail. My only bone to pick with this study is the ethical issues. No canine consent? Jokes aside: Dognosis Technologies is a real company.
Great roundup as always, Naveen. The pace of neurotech advancements is truly impressive especially the growing intersection between AI and non invasive devices. Subsense's nanoparticle approach sounds like a fascinating frontier though the timeline and regulatory hurdles will be key. Curious to hear your take on how video based phenotyping like Frontera's might reshape early diagnostics in the coming years.