Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions

I n this episode of the Neural Implant Podcast, host Ladan welcomes Javier Shandy and Nicolas Barabino from Focus, an engineering services company based in Uruguay. They discuss their work in firmware, hardware, and software development for medical devices, emphasizing their specialization in wireless communications and test automation.  They also explain the benefits of contract engineering, the challenges they face, and highlight an exciting project involving an injectable neurostimulator. The conversation covers the history of neurotechnology development in Uruguay, the process and dynamics of working with clients, and the adaptability and innovative spirit of their company. 00:00 Introduction to the Neural Implant Podcast 00:18 Meet the Guests: Javier Shandy and Nicholas Barabino 01:05 Focus: Engineering Services in Medical Devices 02:58 Project Onboarding and Development Process 06:06 Specialties and Expertise in Neurotechnology 09:38 The Journey into Medical Devices 13:41 Uruguay's Legacy in Medical Devices 20:37 Challenges and Advice for Startups 23:05 Flexible Project Management and Cost Considerations 27:51 Conclusion and Final Thoughts

Today's guest is Stephen Ho from Blackrock Microsystems. While we've featured Blackrock guests before, Stephen's appearance today is driven by his podcast, Neurratives, where neurotech-inspired movies are reviewed and discussed.     Top 3 Takeaways: "Our goal for the podcast isn't necessarily to be overly technical, requiring a neuroscience degree to understand. We're often deep in the subject matter and may get a bit jargony, but broadly, we aim to be accessible without pretending to be accomplished neuroscience researchers." “Due to the subject's nature, movies dealing with neuroscience themes often lean heavily towards science fiction. So, I make a conscious effort to seek out romantic comedies, medical dramas, or family dramas as a palate cleanser between sci-fi films.” “I tend to be relaxed regarding accuracy in science and technology in movies, though I do point out inaccuracies when I notice them. However, I don't always see this as detrimental to the movie itself. Some tropes bother me, like percutaneous connectors seen in "The Matrix" and "Ghost in the Shell." They seem impractical and unsanitary.”   2:00 Let's hear about the Neurratives podcast 4:14 What does a normal podcast episode look like? 7:30 What are some notable movies? 10:30 What are your qualifications to talk about neurotech movies? 12:15 Did you ever feel imposter syndrome? 14:00 Will you ever run out of movies? 16:00 Would listening to Neurratives be better before or after watching the movie? 16:45 What should movie directors either start or stop doing for neurotech movies?  21:15 Anything else that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?

Eugene Daneshvar is a University of Michigan PhD graduate working on thin film neural implants but has since transitioned into the legal side of things having passed his bar exam and working with Wilson Sonsini as a patent attorney. This interview took almost 2 years to get done but we're glad we were able to do it!     Top 3 Takeaways: "I think the main thing I'll say is you don't undermine your valuation by not having an informed and intentional patent strategy, and you don't have to go cheap. You know, I feel that you have to bootstrap, but if you work with certain law firms that are very entrepreneurial friendly, and my firm is not the only one, but I think that is a general statement, which is, you know, work with somebody who understands your business model. But then, secondly, work with somebody who understands your technology as well." "I want my clients to understand that I'm building something valuable for them. Let's ensure all that value is captured in the application. If not, it risks not just their business, but also their motivations for it. They aim to translate this information and idea to help a certain subset of the patient population." "Some people cut corners without considering the broader strategy implications. I suggest working with individuals who are willing to learn about the process. We're all part of the same community, and if you're listening to this podcast, you're part of mine. I want the best for you, so don't hesitate to reach out."   0:45 Can you introduce yourself better than I just did?  5:15 Was it your idea from the beginning to do both a PhD and law school? 7:15 Why are patents important in the neurotech field? 11:30 What are some big mistakes you've seen in the neurotech entrepreneur field? 17:30 Is it better to have a strong lawyer or one that knows your field? 21:00 What is the process for a student wanting to spinoff a technology? 28:00 Have you seen deals go badly because of legal issues? 32:45 Is there anything that we didn't cover that you wanted to mention?  

 "Welcome to today's episode! Our guest, Paul Le Floch, co-founder and CEO of Axoft, brings innovation to neural implants. With roots in France and a Harvard PhD, he's leading groundbreaking work. Welcome, Paul!"  Top 3 Takeaways: "It's a good time to ask the question: What if we could develop solutions tailored for this problem instead of borrowing from the semiconductor industry? That's what Axsoft is about. We emphasize developing soft materials that offer better long-term biocompatibility. Additionally, these materials are suitable for micro and nano fabrication and remain stable inside the brain." "The advantage is that when we identify something that doesn't work well, we can modify it because we designed the materials. The key is that we've developed an innovation that functions effectively, but we also acknowledge that it's not the final version of the system. The difference is that we can revisit it at the polymer chemistry level and alter the material's composition, structure, or introduce additives to enhance stability or mechanical properties." "At early stage, there is iteration. There is improvement over time. And at some point you need to take this leap of faith that your technology actually has a good edge, that you have enough, you will have enough resources to make it competitive. And I think we were confident enough about that and about our approach."   0:30 Can you introduce yourself better than I just did? 1:00 Is Axoft a spinoff? 5:00 How do you know your material is better? 9:00 Why did you go the startup route vs the academia route with this technology? 12:30 How do you let investors know that this is a long term startup? 14:00 Why did you choose the dilutive vs nondilutive route? 15:30 What indication is the material best for? 17:00 Where are you guys in terms of the lifecycle? 19:45 How big is the team and what are current challenges? 22:30 Where do you see neurotech in 10 years? 23:45 Anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?  

Today's guest is Christine Schmidt who is a University of Florida faculty member and former department share who works in regenerative neural tissue engineering. Top 3 Takeaways: "We're trying to create scaffolds that can be templates for the body to repair itself, to grow around, and ultimately become natural tissue, seamlessly integrating with the body's own." "Other faculty were discouraging. This is because academia tends to prioritize scholarly pursuits such as papers and grants, often undervaluing applied work and its real-world applications."  "Our clinical collaborator actively participated in the lab alongside Sarah. Together, they would work on batches, with Sarah creating formulations and providing immediate feedback based on the tactile experience. The collaborator would discern whether a material was suitable for surgical use, offering invaluable insights into the practicalities surgeons face." 0:45 Can you introduce yourself better than I just did? 1:15 What is tissue engineering? 5:00 How did you get into this? 8:30 By focusing on entrepreneurial endeavors you were at risk of not getting tenure, how did you still get it? 14:15 Which was more useful for your career, entrepreneurial or academic? 16:45 How was your technology licensed?  22:15 Do you want to talk about your other startup, Alafare? 32:30 You then moved to Florida and then eventually became department chair, why did you do that? 36:45 How did you do the department chair and research at the same time? 37:45 Is there anything else that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?

Welcome to the Neural Implant Podcast! In this episode, the podcast team presents a live panel recording from the Bio L Conference at the International Winter School on Bioelectronics in Austria in March 2024. Hosted by Ladan, the panel discusses various types of neural implants with esteemed guests: Drs . Jonathan Viventi (LCP neural implants), Tracy Cui (PEDOT electrode coatings), Ellis Meng (parylene neural implants), and Ivan Minev (PDMS neural implants). Tune in as they explore the fascinating world of soft implantable electrodes and brain-nervous system interfaces.   Top 3 Takeaways: “In the next five or 10 years, I anticipate that advancements in human neural implants will resemble those we've observed previously. I don't foresee any radical changes in materials or physical attributes. The neurosurgeons I collaborate with prefer implants that aren't excessively flexible or thin to avoid tearing during surgery.” “The first time we delivered an implant to a clinician, these devices were carefully handled by my students. No one dared touch them; they were like sacred objects entrusted to the grad students. When the surgeons got hold of them, they were shocked – bending them in ways we never imagined. Handling these inconsistencies is a crucial aspect to consider, bridging the gap between expectation and reality.” "Everything new is something old that is well forgotten" 3:15 Do all of you want to introduce yourselves? 10:30 What's a good way for trainees to stay on top of everything there is to learn? 13:45 What is the ideal neural implant and what is the 5-10 year plan for developing these? 20:00 Each of you has a different favorite material for neural implants, do you want to talk about that? 29:45 What motivates you in this field? 35:30 How do you take clinical translation into account in your research? 40:15 What challenges or embarrassing moments have you had in your career? ***Audience Questions*** 43:30 What is your experience and challenges in patenting your electrodes and research? 46:00 What's the point in doing research if other companies are able to raise significantly more money than we can? 49:00 How do you address the scalability of manufacturing electrodes? 51:15 How groundbreaking do your ideas need to be to be successful? 54:30 How do you deal with paper submission processes that have gone badly? 58:00 How do you deal with a  double blind review? 59:00 What's the most difficult aspect of supervising graduate students? 1:02:00 When can we expect neural implants that interface with all of the neurons in our brain? 1:06:15 How do you deal with materials that aren't certified for clinical translation?  1:07:45 If you had a magic wand / unlimited funding, what would you do? 

In today's episode, we're joined by Carles Garcia-Vitoria, a seasoned pain physician with a unique approach to his work. With extensive experience in regional anesthesia and pain management, Carles shares insights gained from his years of practical experience as he pursues his PhD in Spain.  Top 3 Takeaways: "We believe we have the opportunity to target the site of action more effectively. That's why we've founded Spinally, the startup we're currently leading. Our goal is to pioneer intrathecal spinal cord stimulation." "The Dura Mater is highly elastic, closing approximately 80-90% within the first 30 seconds after trauma. Additionally, with improved intrathecal access and emission capabilities, we can utilize thinner implants—reducing implant thickness from 1.3 to 0.5 millimeters. This minimizes trauma to the meningeal sac even further." "We can leverage new fabrication capabilities to minimize implants and achieve highly effective pain relief. Our models, along with others, indicate that we can stimulate deeper layers of the spinal cord with intrathecal electrode positioning, enhancing our ability to listen to deeper neuronal tracts. This advancement is poised to make significant waves in the pain management field within a year." 0:45 Can you introduce yourself better than I just did? 1:15 What advantages of neurotechnology do you see in the pain market?  3:15 What does the pain treatment process using neuromodulation look like? 6:45 How is closed loop stimulation changing your work? 8:30 You're involved in a startup to better listen to the spinal cord, can you talk about that? 11:30 Why hasn't this been done before? 14:00 Where in the startup process are you? 15:30 Where are you getting the leads from? 16:30 You guys are raising money, can you talk about that? 18:30 Crowdfunding for medical devices is new, have you seen these before? 21:00 Is there anything that we didn't cover that you wanted to mention?  

Steve Goetz is now the Chief Technology Officer at Motif Neurotech which is developing a minimally invasive neural implant for the treatment of depression and mental health issues. Steve was at Medtronic for 26 years before moving over to the startup landscape. Top 3 Takeaways:  "Starting a big program that you don't know how to finish is a very expensive endeavor, and so you want to really shake out all the science risk, all the technology risk,  be pretty sure you can execute a thing before you turn on that big engine because it's expensive once you go" "We know stimulation of the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex is very efficacious in treatment-resistant depression.  Our question is, can we develop a cranial stimulator that can do that in the comfort of a patient's home on demand and with a dosing profile that is matched to that patient's acuity and severity that both treats depression and at some point in the future turns into a maintenance therapy that prevents relapse altogether. And what that looks like to us is a pea-sized stimulator that fits in a minimally invasive burr hole that sits on top of the dura, so not brain penetrating,  that delivers this therapy powered externally from a wearable, like a hat or a headband." "For deep brain stimulation, there's a subspecialty of neurosurgery called functional stereotactic neurosurgery with on the order of hundreds of surgeons in the US. There are more that have the specialization to make a burr hole. You go from a few 100 to several 1000 people in the US who can do a burr hole. Over 200,000 burr holes are made in a given year in the US" 1:00 Do you want to introduce yourself better than I just did? 3:00 What was that smaller group within Medtronic? 8:30 What does the organizational structure look like at a place like Medtronic? 11:30 What do those teams look like? 16:00 Is each team working on a project? 18:15 CEITEC Nano Ad Sponsorship 18:45 What is Motif all about? 24:15 What is the success rate of TMS and what do you hope to achieve? 25:15 This isn't brain surgery but it is close to it, what's involved in this? 29:15 Could this surgery be done by a lower-skilled person than a neurosurgeon? 31:00 How does insurance reimbursement look like for Motif? 36:15 Why is this technology possible now?  41:30 Your technology seems bikini-ready 42:45 What is the progress of your company? 45:00 What's the small company vs large company life like? 47:30 How long do big decisions take in a big company? 48:45 How is the pace in a small vs small company? 51:00 What is the perfect recipe for working in a meaningful company vs learning in another company? 53:45 Anything else you wanted to mention? 

Dr Eric Daniel Glowacki is a research group leader at the Central European Institute of Technology (CEITEC) located in Brno, Czech Republic. There he studies neural implant fabrication and materials specializing in silicon, parylene, and polyimide devices. He has also started to designs and fabricate devices on a contract basis for other research groups and companies. And, his institute is the one that has been recently sponsoring the podcast! This podcast is sponsored by CEITEC Nano, check out their Neurotech Device Manufacturing Capabilities here Top 3 Takeaways: "You can just buy stuff on the internet very simple red LED arrays. So you don't have to bother with aiming because you just put this this light source roughly over the area of interest and, and you can hit the target without having to try very hard." "Most of the time we're pretty fast. If someone sends us a design we can print photo masks in a day or two. That's the slowest step." "And it turns out that the beat frequency can actually stimulate neurons. So you can use these high frequency carrier waves to get in. And then use this constructive interference to actually stimulate to stimulate excitable tissue." 1:15 "Mr. Sponsor, do you want to, do you want to talk about you yourself? What your institute does?" 3:00 "Photovoltaic, transcutaneous neurostimulation. What are the details of that? " 5:15 "How does this compare to other wireless ultrasonics, magnetics, anything else?" 8:15 "What kind of light density would you need?" 9:15 What was your career arc? 12:00 Do you want to talk about Polyimide, Paryle and these other materials? 16:15 CEITEC Nano Ad Sponsorship 17:00 "Talk about your services a little bit" 19:15 What does the contracting process look like if someone wants you to make them devices? 21:45 "Can you talk about the price differences?" 23:30 "Have you thought about opening it up to neurotech companies?"  25:30 Do you want to talk about your success despite you having moved around to many institutes? 28:00 "What do you see as the future of neurotech?" 32:15 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"

Dr. Gene Fridman is an Associate Professor in the Department of Otolaryngology Head and Neck Surgery and also has appointments with the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering. His research is in the areas of bioinstrumentation and neural engineering. In this episode we talk about his freeform nerual stimulator which allows for DC and any other waveforms without any electrolytic effects on the electrodes. This opens up many possibilities for neural stimulation. We also talk about his startup Aidar which is like a 'tricorder' all-in-one medical diagnostic tool. This podcast is sponsored by CEITEC Nano, check out their Neurotech Device Manufacturing Capabilities here Top 3 Takeaways: "The reason why they have to use pulses at the metal electrodes is that if you deliver electrical current for too long to a metal electrode that is implanted in the body, what you're going to get is you're going to get electrochemistry, the first thing that will happen is you're going to start forming bubbles because you're going to split water. It's electrolysis. So you clearly don't want to do that in the body. They have to use pulses charge balanced by phasic pulses otherwise, you're going to have these electrons jump across and cause chemical reactions" "By introducing hyperpolarizing current to the peripheral nerve what we're seeing is it's affecting the small caliber neurons much more so, which carry pain much more so than the larger neurons that carry other information. And so we're able to block pain at the peripheral nerve. We didn't know about this. It was a surprise to us."   0:45 "Do you want to introduce yourself better than I just did?" 3:00 Do you want to talk about your device able to talk to both ions and electrons in neurotech? 7:00 Was a DC bridge rectifier the inspiration for this? 9:15 What is possible with these new waveforms? 15:15 "How big is it? And why does it need to be that size?" 21:45 CEITEC Nano Ad Sponsorship 22:15 Do you want to talk about your startup company, Aidar? 24:30 Are you doing any nerve stuff with the 'tricorder?' 26:30 How are you able to manage the time with the startup? 27:45 How did you get the project's initial data?

Kurt Haggestrom comes on to talk about the latest new from Synchron, which has developed the Stentrode as well as the new Synchron Switch. Kurt talks about his new role as Chief Commercial Officer and where the company is heading. ***This podcast is sponsored by CEITEC Nano, check out their Neurotech Device Manufacturing Capabilities here*** Top three takeaways:  1. "The beauty of this approach is that the blood vessels are an amazing place. To be able to put implants and we've, we're leveraging really decades of science and medical devices in say, the coronary space and the heart space. We know that these types of materials heal very well within the vasculature. It's a very novel approach and really scalable because there's a lot of physicians that can do this type of procedure."  2.   "Syncron is developing we're calling it the Synch Switch. So it is an endovascular brain-computer interface system. This system will allow patients who are suffering from paralysis to connect into the digital world, whether it's banking, communication by using a smartphone or computer.  3. "A key part of, I think these types of novel technologies is to think about "how do people afford this when it does get to market?" And with the patients that we're focused on today, many of them use Medicare to be able to afford these technologies. It's critical that we think about our partnership and in working with CMOs to make reimbursement possible for these type of technologies.   [1:15] "Do you want to give a refresher on what Synchron does?" [3:00]  "What are some exciting news that comes out of Synchron?" [4:15] "So what is Chief Commercialization Officer and why is it necessary, especially for a company like Syncron which isn't commercial yet?" [5:45] CEITEC Nano ad sponsorship [6:15] "What's your story arc?" [8:30] How are you navigating reimbursement? [9:30] What is your timeline for commercialization? [10:45] "What are some security protocols, that you're putting into place?" [12:30] "What are some of your biggest challenges nowadays?"  [16:15] How many patients were in your study? [16:30] How large is the target market? [18:15] Does this have other application potentials outside of locked in patients? [19:15] "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"    

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 elicit a response rectus femoris and the tibialis anterior muscles. The study found variability in electrode placement but some commonalities at the T11 level spinal circuit level. Let's catch up with her in our interview. Dimitry Sayenko from the Center for Neurogeneration at Houston Methodist Research Institute gave a talk about Neuromodulation of Spinal Networks to Recover Motor Function: Underlying Mechanisms and Clinical Translations.” His talk discussed the differences in the epidural spinal stimulation clinical trials being conducted at the University of Louisville, UCLA and at EPFL in Geneva Switzerland. There were differences among the labs but he found the key is enabling versus inducing movement with stimulation and argued that the intense exercise regimes from some of these studies is not necessary. Let's listen in on his interview. Takeaways: Electrode placement, along with stimulation parameters plays an important part in the responses to transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation. [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode with an interview by Jen French of Neurotech Reports with Christina Salchow-Hommen at RehabWeek 2019. [1:10] Salchow-Hommen introduces herself and her affilitation with technology for people with impairments for restoration of mobility. [1:38} Discussion of the importance of electrode placement, adjustment of stimulation parameters between the 5 volunteers and patient reported preferences for transcutaneous spinal cord stimulation for people with paralysis. [3:35] Salchow-Hommen discusses the need to better monitor the brain during stimulation and better measurement tools to quantify reported feedback. [4:44] Ladan introduces the episode with an interview by Jen French of Neurotech Reports with Dimitry Sayenko at RehabWeek 2019. [5:17] Sayenko introduces himself and addresses his perspective of how the brain reacts to spinal cord stimulation for the restoration of motor response after paralysis due to SCI. Nearly 80% of spinal cord injuries result in some form of residual function. [6:41] Involvement of the brain with restoration of movement along with neuroplasticity for connections in the brain. [8:28] Coupling traditional therapy with spinal cord stimulation. He finds that the intense rehab is not necessary but the first few sessions are critical. Still the technology has an accumulative effect. [9:45} Discussion of the introduction of electrical stimulation following a spinal cord injury. When to introduce it in therapy. [10:50] Restoration of gait and the timing of stimulation. His lab found timing was not critical. [11:50] The introduction of machine learning into this therapy would be helpful. Sayenko expresses his excitement at RehabWeek.

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 stimulation can be used as a neuroprosthetic for everyday tasks or as a rehabilitation device to gain voluntary movement. [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode with an interview accompanied by Jen French of Neurotech Reports with Tom LeBlanc from Bioness on the exhibitor floor at RehabWeek 2019. [0:58] Tom introduces himself and his role in Bioness. [1:08] LeBlanc discusses the legacy Bioness device, the H200, for upper extremity functional electrical stimulation and the target populations. The device has various programs. [3:05] We move our discussion to the lower extremity device, the L300. LeBlanc describes the devices and the product extensions. It uses functional electrical stimulation with imbedded sensors and smart algorithms.

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 in the 2020 competition. Takeaways: 1. Showcase of technology for people with disabilities in the spirit of competitive sport. 2. Competitive challenges center around tasks for people with physical impairments in every-day life and the use of assistive technology. [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and joins the conversation with Florian Haufe and Jen French at RehabWeek 2019. [1:16] Haufe tells about how he became involved in the Cybathlon and what the event is about. [2:09} Discussion of the different competitive disciplines at the event and the tasks in the competition highlighted the exoskeleton discipline. [3:31] Haufe explains the scoring technique for the disciplines. [3:51] Haufe further describes the initial event that took place in Zurich in 2016 with competitors from academia and industry. There were 6 disciplines and over 5000 attendees. [5:40] What makes up the team is the pilot or end user/athlete along with a technical team that can range from students to licensed engineers to hobbyists. [7:10] Haufe describes the overall goal of the event. Giving people with impairments a platform for the use of assistive devices in the spirit of competition, allow technology developers to show what their latest inventions can do and increase public awareness are the goals of the event. [9:24} Here are the details about the 2020 event and how to get involved. Go to https://cybathlon.ethz.ch/cybathlon-2020.html

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. Learn from the past so we don't repeat in the future, applies to neurotech applications. 3. We still have technology challenges in such areas as cybersecurity and battery technology as well as systemic in clinical technology adoption. [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and joins the conversation with Paul Meadows and Jen French. [1:02] Paul Meadows describes his involvement and various positions with IFESS since the inception of the organization. [1:46] Discussion of his view of the evolution of IFESS over the years. [2:35] Meadows describes the importance of peer-reviewed publications and the need to review past research. [3:43] There are obstacles for technology adoption such as clinical physical therapist curriculum. [3:58] Meadow's outlook for exciting developments in the next 5 years in miniaturization, packaging and user-friendly interfaces. This is accompanied by identified risks such as cybersecurity. [5:52] Identifying that there is some basic science that is limiting technology advancements such as battery technology.

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 users in order to maximize the positive impact of an implanted device The point of research is not just to discover new things, but to be able to obtain conclusive results through repetition and testing   [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and Thierry Keller, who gives an overview of his background and research experience [3:30] When a product does not meet the needs of its end user, then it will fail. However, other needs, such as industry and stakeholder needs, must be taken into account. [5:20] Research is not just about finding, but to be able to repeat and obtain conclusive results. [8:00] Keller explains the transcutaneous array technology with multiple stimulation channels that Tecnalia is developing [11:50] It is possible to learn how a patient perceives stimulation using this device, such as whether there is a tingling or touch effect, by changing stimulation frequency [14:30] In addition to stimulation, the device also has the ability to record an electromyogram to allow the patient to command an upper extremity [17:30] Keller discusses an electrode similar to a MUX sense for lower extremity sensing and stimulation [20:30] Keller mentions that a similar type of electrode for upper extremities, with 32 channels that provide better resolution of functions, which can allow for wrist activation for lifting the hand and finger flexion [22:00] Keller discusses what IFESS is, its history and its missions [25:00] We need to spread knowledge about electrical stimulation to young researchers as well as therapists/clinicians and end users [28:00] Networking between technology developers and end users is very important

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 Biomaterials and Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. He is also the co-founder and director of the MyndTec. Popovic's decade of research and randomized clinical trials with stroke and spinal cord injury populations led to the development of the MyndMove device. Takeaways: Multidisciplinary teams help to build a successful rehabilitation institute. Translation of rehabilitation technology is not easy but it can be fun. It is important to harness neuroplasticity in the body and the brain to achieve successful long-lasting outcomes in rehabilitation. [0:00] Steven Plymale and Milos Popovic introduced themselves to kick off the conversation with Jen French from Neurotech Reports and Ladan. [0:35] Milos Popovic describes how RehabWeek 2019 ended up being hosted in Toronto, the first time the event was held in North America, and the plan his team put together [1:32] Popovic describes his career journey from a nuclear engineer to director of an innovative rehabilitation research center and entrepreneur. [3:33] Discussion of the building of the rehabilitation institute in Toronto Health Network with a team of 90 people and the importance of working directly with patients. [4:58] Popovic describes the translation of technology from lab to the marketplace particularly in functional electrical stimulation and human clinical trials to a start-up company. [6:24] Steven Plymale describes how he was introduced to MyndTec and his initiation into a small, struggling start-up company. Hear how he was convinced that electrical stimulation is not voodoo science [7:50] Plymale and Popovic describe the MyndMove device.. Discussion ensues about the impact on upper extremity rehabilitation and the involvement of the brain, the melody of the neural activity, and how this therapy capitalizes on the neuroplasticity in the brain. [12:02] Plymale discusses the current stage of MyndMove in the project development spectrum including regulatory approvals, raising capital investment, and pricing model. [15:26] What is the target market for the MyndTec neural re-education device? Plymale also talks about their pursuit for clinical partners, their strategic focus and the economics of the medical device as an early stage venture. [18:06] Steven Plymale talks about his career journey in the medical device industry and how he enjoys start-up ventures. [19:25] Popovic concludes talking about what excites him at RehabWeek and the potential relationships building from this meeting.

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 the industry and technology is more important than monetary gain.   [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and David Pitino [0:45] Summary of opportunities and barriers in the technological and innovation space [3:30] It is important for developers to speak with the user of their technology [4:45] Pitino discusses his partnership with Not Impossible Labs and how they “solve absurdities”, gives example of person who cannot afford eye-tracker technology [7:30] Impact is not measured in monetary value but in how industries are improved and how technology is made more affordable for patients

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 stimulation below levels of injury can greatly improve standing and walking performance in patients with spinal cord injury. A good understanding of neuroscience/neurophysiology combined with knowing how to stimulate to best treat spinal cord injury will lead to the best outcome for treatment. Collaboration between researchers and product users can lead to simpler products and solutions.   [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and the guest Vivian Mushahwar, who gives an overview of her background and research interests [3:30] Spinal cord spasticity consists of uncontrolled contractions which pose a problem for patient mobility. Plasticity can be induced in nerves through electrical stimulation, and this is used to treat spasticity. [6:30] Vivian's project involves putting fine implants in spinal cord, stimulate networks below level of injury, to help with standing and walking [9:15] Tissue is being deformed whenever it is stretched/strained, particularly muscle, and people shift posture/position constantly to prevent muscle deformation [11:30] The SmartyPants technology is designed to contract muscle periodically to prevent deformation which could lead to pressure ulcers [15:00] The SmartyPants technology has been stalled due to intellectual property disputes, and this is upsetting those who invested in the original technology [18:00] Deep vein thrombosis is a condition that could lead to deadly blood clots, and is caused by insufficient movement. Similar to SmartyPants, Vivian is working to develop a sock to prevent the formation of DVT [19:50] Simultaneous arm/leg cycling in exercise after spinal cord injury can double the improvement in walking [21:30] Engaging in communication and collaboration between different departments and the product users can lead to simpler solutions

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 to grow in the future. Top three takeaways: Organizations such as the Shepherd Center and ACRM serve to help and rehabilitate patients who have suffered injuries resulting in movement disabilities, and research technologies and novel interventions to restore mobility in these patients. Technologies such as FES and exoskeletons that are used by patients with movement disabilities are in their early stages, and are expensive to manufacture. If medical technologies can be shown to present a benefit to patients and their well-being, they may be further developed to improve cost-effectiveness, functionality, and ease of use.   [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and IFESS, the sponsor [0:28] Debbie Backus is introduced [0:44] Debbie talks about the mission of the Shepherd Center, and about the types of patients that the organization cares for [1:36] Debbie discusses ACRM, the services it offers, and how the organization started [2:52] Debbie talks about the technology involved in rehab medicine, and how it has grown over the years [4:11] Debbie talks about the way technology solves problems, and how when designing technologies to solve clinical problems, the problems are not always solved in the best way initially. [4:52] Debbie discusses certain challenges with technology, such as cost effectiveness. She discusses her own research into the effectiveness of FES cycles, and how certain components may be too expensive for patients to afford. [5:22] Debbie discusses how if it can be shown how such technology presents a clear benefit to patients, then perhaps more cost-effective options can be developed. [6:11] Exoskeletons designed for patient mobility are discussed, and they are likened to old-fashioned computers which would take up a whole room. It is discussed how as the technology improves, it will become more practical and economically feasible. [7:28] Debbie discusses FES bikes, and how once a patient is evaluated and is deemed fit to ride one, they should be able to go to a gym and use one [7:49] Real bikes are discussed for these patients, rather than stationary ones [9:38] Debbie discusses her impression with ACRM being involved with rehab week for the first time

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 potential not a tool to do the motion passively. Technology coupled with rehabilitation aids in the achievement of neuroplasticity and physical recovery. [0:00] Jen French of Neurotech Reports introduces Ursula Costa from Hocoma at RehabWeek 2019. [0:37] Hocoma AG was the initiator of the RehabWeek concept. Costa explains what the event means to them and connecting with clinicians. [1:27] Through the lens of a physical therapist, Costa talks about her personal story of recovery from a spinal cord tumor and how that motivated her to study physical therapy. [2:37] The line of Hocoma products focus on neural rehabilitation. They have introduced robotics into the field as well. Costa walks us through some of the technology and the challenge of clinical adoption. [3:45] Costa discusses the principle of neuroplasticity and intensity in rehabilitation and how technology can help assist in the rehabilitation process. [4:51] Costa talks about the excitement for the future of rehabilitation and the mindset change about efficiencies of technology and personalization of rehabilitation.

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 RehabWeek and had a conversation about the company, the rehabilitation science of the PoNS device and where it is going in the future. Takeaways: Harnessing neuroplasticity in rehabilitation stimulation must be paired with an activity. Clinical interfaces need to intuitive and easy to use for the clinician. How is your brain today? Can we bring people to check their brain health like they check their smartphone? [0:00] Introduction and Jen French from Neurotech Reports kicks off the conversation RehabWeek exhibit floor at Helius Medical. [0:25] Kim Skinner introduces herself and Helius Medical and new PoNS device. She worked in the initial research for the device. [1:12] Description of the PoNS device components, how it works and the target indications and clinical application of mild to moderate brain injury with chronic balance deficits. They designed a 14-week rehabilitation program harnessing neuroplasticity. [4:10] Further discussion about application of the technology to other indications that have balance issues. Their initial focus is on the brain injury population, but more research needs to be done on how this can benefit other populations. [5:18] Discussion of the design of their clinical trials and some of the challenges associated with that both in the clinical and at home. They have a training template that can be individualized for each patient. [6:39] Skinner further describes the training protocols and when to stimulation to maximize outcomes couples with balance training and movement exercises to prime the brain. [8:26] The stimulating device goes onto the tongue rather than skin. How does that feel or taste? She also talks about the stimulation pattern and parameters as well as [9:53] Discussion of the 143 electrode array design and how they mapped the tongue to figure out the stimulating rate. [12:19] The visual substitution device was the predecessor of this device and how it evolved out of the University of Wisconsin, Madison. [13:16] Skinner talks about where the PoNS device is currently available with a prescription and how they are working on availability in the US, Europe and Australia. It is currently approved in Canada through the HeuroCanada clinics.

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. Clinical interfaces need to intuitive and easy to use for the clinician. How is your brain today? Can we bring people to check their brain health like they check their smartphone? [0:00] Jen French from Neurotech Reports kicks off the introductions on the RehabWeek exhibit floor. [0:33] Bimal Lakhani describes the new venture of NeuroCatch to meet the need to get a comprehensive matrix of the brain in the clinical setting, in otherwords the “vital signs” of the brain. [2:33] Lakhani talks about the NeuroCatch platform technology as a neurodiagnostic tool and their strategy for hardware industry partnerships. [3:33] Description of the target areas for NeuroCatch and the gap in clinical need and the focus of their current research including concussion and other brain injuries. [5:04] How is your brain doing today? Lakhani also describes the device and what it does. [7:08] The walk-through of the software tool interface for an EEG evaluation and the keep it simple approach. [11:19] The NeuroCatch device is approved for clinical use in Canada. Lakhani describes the other markets on their radar. [11:53] Discussion of data collection and cybersecurity along with their relationship with clinical partners. [1:26] What is the target market for the MyndTec neural re-education device? Plymale also talks about their pursuit for clinical partners, their strategic focus and the economics of the medical device as an early stage venture. [12:36] Description of HeuroCanada partnership and clinical adoption in rehabilitation setting. He also talks about the parent company, HealthTech Connex, and their relationship with Helius Medical. [14:25] Lakhani discusses the next steps for NeuroCatch and their future focus for people to be conscious of their brain health.

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 progress occurring with neural implants [0:00] Ladan opens the episode discussing the experience at rehabweek [2:00] Ladan's guest Jen describes what the conference was about and who it was targeted for, as well as some people that were interviewed [4:30] Ladan discusses the benefits of running his podcast and getting the opportunity to interview big names in the field of neural implants

Pawel Soluch is a returning guest who goes over his work at Neuro Device, then his consulting at NeurotechX Services, and now finally he talks about the Medtech Coaching program that he is launching with me! This is a sponsorship for Medtech Coach Top 3 Takeaways: Pawel and I (Ladan) are launching the Medtech Coaching program which will be aimed at helping medical device executives gain success in their businesses Coaching is different from consulting in that we do not generate anything for you but instead help you to become the best medtech executive you can possibly be In addition to group coaching we will also be offering individual coaching and also a retreat in January 2024 0:45 Do you want to reintroduce yourself 2:45 Do you want to talk about Neuro Device? 5:15 Do you want to talk about your work as a consultant? 7:15 Do you want to talk about your experience in my original group coaching? 9:15 What's the difference between coaching and consulting? 12:00 "Who is this for and who is it not for?" 15:00 What was the return on investment for the group coaching that you attended? 19:15 What does the individual coaching look like? 23:00 What does the retreat look like? 24:30 What's the role of trust in the meetings? https://medtechcoach.com/

Dr Mounya Elhilali did the keynote talk at the NER Neural Engineering conference in Baltimore in 2023. I was able to sit down with her and talk to learn more about her auditory processing selectivity research. Top 3 Takeaways:  Nurses especially can get used to beeping and alarms which can be dangerous for patients. "Under anesthesia, you see some basic responses, but they are different than when you engage the, let's say, an animal in an awake state, and then when they are awake and actually behaving and engaging with the system" Audio recordings can be tuned to remove ambient noise but they need to be perfectly calibrated to distances between microphones. 0:45 "Do you want to describe your work a little bit?" 3:00 Can you talk about the Cocktail Party Problem? 4:30 How are alarms and beeping override our attention 8:30 How do you gather your data, what kinds of devices? 10:00 What is the role of awake vs non-awake states in auditory processing? 11:15 How did you get into this? 13:00 How are you involved in the translation of the science? 16:15 Why are recordings harder to hear than in real life? 17:15 Is there anything we didn't talk about?

Suraj Mudichintala is a Senior Associate at Action Potential Capital which is GSK's bioelectronic medicine venture fund. Top 3 Takeaways: "Our fund is different in that we invest actually directly off of GSK's balance sheet. So we're what's called an evergreen fund where we don't actually have a fund size" "The way that I think about it is that a VC is really paid to allocate capital but really is really paid to think. You really have to think about what is the next space or the next technology that could disrupt a space? And because of that, it's a much you often have to take a much more longitudinal view. And it takes a lot of patience and tracking a space oftentimes for years" "When you reach out to a VC having a pitch, first of all, sending a non-confidential pitch deck is mandatory, I think. And that deck is essentially where we're making the first decision as to whether or not to do a call with you" 0:45 Do you want to introduce yourself better than I just did? 1:15 "Do you wanna talk about Action Potential, what it is, who it was formed by, and the investment thesis?" 2:30 Do you want to talk about the expansion of the AP investment thesis? 4:30 What does traditional Venture Capital look like and how is it different in that you are funded by GSK? 6:15 What do the positions within a VC firm look like? 7:45 How has it been for you going from Analyst to Associate? 8:45 What does your due diligence look like? 11:45 "A lot of VCs have a target size range, be it seed or angel or, maybe larger institutional stuff. But it sounds like you guys don't really have that?" 12:45 "How did you get into this space?" 14:45 "So how does consulting compare to the VC life?" 18:45 "What would you suggest is the best way to get your attention?" 24:00 What are some tips and tricks to reaching out to you? 27:00 What was the worst pitch deck you ever saw? 28:30 " Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"  

Balint Varkuti is the CEO of CereGate which unlocks new capabilities for existing neuromodulation technologies using software. Top 3 Takeaways: "the brain is naturally wired for pattern perception for learning, and that's really what we do. We send signals that the brain very quickly can pick up." "You do not need to exclusively be focused mentally, consciously on interpreting these signals. Rather it becomes second nature. Our favourite analogy is saying it is like braille for the brain." "With hardware, you sometimes have simply the disadvantage that you are married to the time point when you started. So if you started a long time ago, you started with that technology and you have a whole regulatory documentation that's building on that. So fundamentally pivoting in hardware down the road almost becomes impossible." 0:45 Do you want to introduce yourself? 3:00 What is special about the software that hasn't already been done? 11:30 The brain is plastic and the software is changing so how does it work with these two systems fighting? 13:30 How can this approach be used to treat Parkinson symptoms such as Freezing of Gait ?" 14:15 Can you read braille? 15:30 "How fast does a patient learn to use this?" 19:00 " How can a company work with you?" 21:15 You guys have been in stealth mode for 4 years, why did it take 4 years and do you have any success stories so far? 23:45 "Do you wanna talk about the regulatory pathway and how it was how to do a software versus a hardware solution?" 27:00 How did your background in behavioral sciences shape your outlook to the company? 30:15 You didn't mention coding in your background, can you talk about starting a software company without much coding experience? 31:30 You have 25 people involved in the company but doesn't seem that you have raised much money, why such a big team? 35:15 "What does the next four years look like? What's on your horizon?" 37:00 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"

Kevin Tracey returns to the podcast to give an update about his work at the Feinstein Institutes and the work at SetPoint Medical. Top 3 Takeaways: "Two years we discovered that a drug called Famotidine, which is sold as a generic drug Pepcid AC is actually a pharmacological or a drug-based vagus nerve stimulator. And we proved first in mice that famotidine placed directly in very small amounts placed directly in the brains of mice activates the vagus nerve. And this in turn turned off cytokine storm, which of course is a big problem in Covid 19" "A company that I've co-founded, Setpoint Medical, is currently deep into clinical trials in the United States called ResetRA, which is on clinical trials.gov or on the SetPoint website for rheumatoid arthritis patients. And that trial is enrolling many patients up to, I think 250 patients will be studied according to the websites and we're hoping that goes very well. And we're hoping, I'm hoping that leads to FDA approval for vagus nerve stimulation in the US in the coming days or coming in the coming months" "I think we're very close now to vagus nerve stimulation becoming a reality for millions of patients. And I, I hope, and I see a time when patients have the. Of  choosing vagus nerve stimulation as a simple, safe therapy instead of dangerous, expensive drugs with black box warnings that are minimally effective." 0;30 "Do you wanna introduce yourself and talk about some of your work, especially as neuromodulation pertains to the immune system?" 2:45 "So the last time when we talked it was 2020. So pandemic, everything was upside down. But then you were telling me before we started recording that it was also especially busy for you at that time. So what were you up to around then?" 6:00 What were the quantitative takeaways of the Famotidine Covid trials? 8:15 "Why didn't it become standard practice?" 11:00 "You're saying the famotidine has this effect on the vagus nerve. Does this mean we no longer need vagus nerve stimulators? Can we just take Pepcid, AC?" 15:00 Do you want to talk about the Bioelectronic Medicine Summit? 17:30 What were some of the highlights of the Summit?  19:30 "You mentioned some interesting results. Is that something you can share now or is that something that we should be on the lookout for?" 21:30 "You were also featured recently in the Wall Street Journal and New York Times, what was that like and what were the articles about?" 23:15 "So what's exciting you now for 2023 and what's on the horizon for you for the next few years?" 27:15 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"

Israel Gasperin is the founder and CEO of Zentrela which uses wearable EEG caps to quantitatively measure cannabis experiences. Top 3 Takeaways: "The reason why the government funded us was to use this for safety and law enforcement" "The combination of features that AI is finding is something that we haven't really focused on studying and trying to understand. It's a black box today that, is accurately and objectively characterizing the  psychoactive effects, but we don't exactly know what they mean." "Based on this neuroscience-driven research proving the onset time of the beverage, within two weeks [the company] increased their sales by 7% and they achieved record volume cells after. So what we did, or they did, was to educate the retailers to speak about their product based on this scientific publication, rather than, providing their subjective opinion" 0:45 Do you want to describe yourself better than I just did? 1:00 "We're talking about marijuana, we're talking about getting high. What are you measuring or what's the reasoning behind this?" 11:00 " You're saying that you can tell if people are high or not. What kind of confidence do you have and, what shows up in high people's brains?" 14:15 Do you want to talk about one of your success stories working with a company?  22:45 "How many people have you had come through your labs and run through your system?" 24:00 "Of the 20,000 sessions, how many are yours?" 27:45 "You've been working on this for six years. What do the next six years look like?" 32:15 "What are some challenges?" 35:45 "Is there anything that we didn't cover that you wanted to mention?" https://www.linkedin.com/in/israelgasperin/?locale=en_US 

Colin Kealey is the President and CEO of NeuroSigma which is commercializing the Monarch eTNS System, the first non-drug treatment for pediatric ADHD cleared by the FDA.  Top 3 Takeaways: NeuroSigma is commercializing the Monarch eTNS system, a wearable medical device that stimulates the trigeminal nerve on the forehead, as a treatment for neurologic and neuropsychiatric indications. The Monarch eTNS System is FDA cleared as a treatment for pediatric ADHD, ages 7 – 12. Clinical trials in this population show a response rate of 50% with a only mild side effects observed in clinical trials to date. NeuroSigma is also developing its eTNS technology for other indications including epilepsy and depression and is currently running two large double-blind randomized controlled trials in ADHD to expand the label into adolescents, and for using the device as adjunctive therapy.   0:45 "Do you want to introduce yourself better than I just did?"  7:15 What is the efficacy of your device? 8:45 "What are some typical side effects of pharmaceutical ADHD treatments and what are some typical side effects of your guys' treatment?" 16:45 That was the pharmaceutical side effects, how about the neurostimulator side effects? 20:00 How does it work sleeping with a wired system? 21:45 "Were you guys able to cross-reference with any other sleep metrics to see if the quality of sleep diminished or maybe even increased?" 24:30 What's the protocol for using this device? 26:30 Could adults use this also? 28:30 Will college students use this as a study aid? 29:30 "What does your funding look like?" 35:15 How will you prevent Chinese knockoffs? 38:30 " Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"  

Craig Mermel is the President and Chief Product Officer at Precision Neuroscience which is a company looking to commercialize Brain-Computer Interfaces using a minimally implantation method and a soft electrode device. ***This podcast is sponsored by Iris Biomedical, check out their Neurotech Startup Services here*** Top 3 Takeaways "The combination of both the nature of our thin film and the surgical innovations that we bring enables us to bring cortical surface neurotechnology to patients in a minimally invasive fashion." "Having 10 times the amount of money at an early stage before you actually solve some of the key problems can be a problem because it pushes off some of the hard questions you have to ask yourself." "We're thinking ahead to the future where you have tens of thousands, hundreds of thousands, or millions of interfaces. The amount of damage you do will become a limiting factor at some point." 0:45 Do you want to introduce yourself better than I just did? 1:30 Why did you leave Apple and Google? 2:30 What is Precision and why is it special? 6:00 What's the funding look like? 8:00 "Why hasn't this been done before?" 10:00 Are you thinking about licensing out the technology? 11:15 Iris Biomedical ad sponsorship 12:00 What's your role now in Precision?"  12:45 "What are some of your biggest challenges?" 15:30 You guys raised $12M, why specifically this number? 19:00 "What are some, best practices or traps to avoid?" 21:45 Let's do a deeper dive into your work at Google and Apple  27:30 How would you compare working at Google and Apple vs being in a startup? 29:15 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"  

Lothar Krinke is the CEO and Board Member of Newronika which is an adaptive Deep Brain Stimulator company looking to improve patient outcomes in things like Parkinson's and Essential Tremor. ***This podcast is sponsored by Iris Biomedical, check out their Neurotech Startup Services here*** Top 3 Takeaways: "the one thing we do need to address is really the cost. The cost driver of Deep Brain Stimulation isn't the manufacturing of the system. Now, that's not cheap either it's certainly less than $10,000. How expensive is brain surgery, particularly functional brain surgery? How expensive is it to have all the pre-operation preparation? So I think the field needs to think about how we can lower the cost of Deep Brain Stimulation to make it available to not hundreds of thousands of patients, but literally millions of patients." "I don't think AI or even machine learning has been sufficiently applied in our space. People do it and they talk about it, but if you look at other fields, even EEG, use of AI or machine learning are much more penetrated." "In my mind it is almost unconscionable that only 15% of patients that could benefit from Parkinsons, from DBS do. So somehow we need to have a battle cry. We need to have the responsibility to make this therapy available to more people. And the way to do that is less invasive more automation and lower cost" 0:45 Do you want to introduce yourself better than I just did? 2:15 "Why is Deep Brain Simulation so exciting for you?" 3:15 "Can explain what Deep Brain Stimulation is and what it's a treatment for?" 5:30 "How did you get into the field?" 6:30 Iris Biomedical ad sponsorship 7:15 You thought earlier that DBS was too invasive but now changed your mind, why? 8:15 What are the biggest impediments to DBS? 12:15 Why is the Newronika DBS better than the alternatives? 14:30 Why is adaptive DBS better? 16:30 "What are some of the biggest challenges right now at Newronika?" 20:30 You are in Minneapolis, West Virginia, and Milan, how are you able to travel so much? 21:30 "Why aren't you in Gainesville? I was surprised how big the DBS field is here." 22:15 "For people starting out in the field, do you have any advice?" 25:30 " What's a big mistake or wrong direction that you see researchers or people on your field going down?" 27:45 "Could you explain the beta and gamma waves?" 32:45 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"

Damiano Giuseppe Barone is a neurosurgery clinical lecturer at the University of Cambridge and fellow at The Walton Centre in Liverpool, UK. He is interested in tackling basic and translational challenges for the development of the next generation of neural bioelectronics. ***This podcast is sponsored by Ripple Neuro, check out their Neuroscience Research Tools here*** Top 3 Takeaways: "My favorite procedure is the procedure that works and you see the patient after that is is a changed patient."  "You come out from medical school like age 23 or 24. Then you get to a general medical program which in the United Kingdom lasts 2 years in and then you get to the residency, which is 8 years. And then 10 years after you are age 34 practicing the neurosurgeon. I personally took what is called an 'out of programme for research/. So basically I halted my neurosurgery residency. I stepped out and I stepped in a PhD program while still covering what is called the on-call rota, which is basically doing emergency work in neurosurgery just to keep my clinical skills going." This added a few more years of training to the list. "Quality of life procedures, to be offered to the patients, will have to have a 70 to 80% improvement to justify the risks the patient will have to go through." 0:45 Do you want to introduce yourself better than I just did? 2:45 You spent 20 years in training for this, did you know this at the outset? 4:00  "What's it like to get only a few hours of sleep for years?" 5:00 Why did you choose to go the PhD route as well? 7:45 What's it like to be digging around in the body? 9:45 Sponsorship by Ripple Neuro 10:00 "What's your favorite procedures and what's your least favorite procedures?" 12:15 "What percentage of patients see improvements?" 14:30 "What are some, risks other than it not working, what are maybe some damage or maybe even death is that a possibility?" 16:45 "It's much more dangerous to have, a large device versus a small device. Is that kinda what you've seen?" 18:45 "Have you been involved in electrode design or device design?" 19:45 "What are you working on now?" 25:00 "What are the next steps?" 28:00 "What would you recommend or what kind of advice do you have for people considering this?"

Jon Sakai is the Head of Commercialization at Cionic, a wearable neurostimulator sleeve for those with neuromuscular disease ***This podcast is sponsored by Iris Biomedical, check out their Neurotech Startup Services here*** Top 3 Takeaways: "There isn't any individualized training that needs to happen. What needs to happen is the identification of which muscle groups need support and have those turned on and programmed in intensity appropriately." "We were able to improve door sub selection and inversion in more than 90% of our participants." "There's nothing like getting an appreciation for a problem like the acuity of a problem when you just watch someone for five minutes struggle with something that's probably unimaginable if it's a condition that you're not familiar with." 0:45 "Do you want to introduce yourself better than I just did?" 2:45 "There are algorithms that go behind it and it can actually predict how you're walking. How does that work?" 3:45 "Is there a learning process for the algorithms?" 5:00 "Do you guys use hydrogels as well? And how do you have gels inside of your leggings?" 5:45 Iris Biomedical ad sponsorship 6:30 "What kind of improvement is there?" 8:30 How can your algorithm predict the end of a walking cycle before it has started? 9:15 What was it like getting FDA approval? 9:45 What are the next steps for the company after raising your next round of funding? 10:30 How is this going to be sold? In clinics, prescriptions, or normal retail? 11:45 What is Head of Commercialization and how does one get that role? 14:45 "You guys have been around for four years. What do the next four years look like?" 16:30 "What are some big challenges that are facing?" 17:30 "If you had unlimited funding, what would you do?" 18:30 What is some career advice you have? 22:45 " Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"

Hannah Claridge is the Head of Neurotechnology at TTP which is a consultancy that helps neurotech companies create the next generation of medical devices. ***This podcast is sponsored by Iris Biomedical, check out their Neurotech Startup Services here*** Top 3 Takeaways: "I think consulting is really fantastic for the variety that it offers you. Not just in terms of seeing problems, but also working with different types of companies, different types of technologies, and having different day-to-day activities as well" "There have been cases where we've worked with very small companies where the company is composed of two or three founders whose sole role is the concept of the idea and the thinking behind what's the business case, and then gathering in the funding and passing that funding through for us to carry out the product development work. Now that's pretty unusual in most cases." "You need to be able to balance the efficacy of treatment with the side effects that are usually created. And if you go too far in one direction or the other, then that treatment stops being helpful. So if you stimulate too strongly, and the effect might be really effective but if the side effects are too strong, then patients aren't going to tolerate that." 0:45 Do you want to introduce yourself better than I just did? 1:45 "Let's talk about clinical translation, what does that entail?" 4:45 Iris Biomedical ad sponsorship 5:45 "What's a typical contract length and what does it look like from beginning to end?" 9:00 "It really sounds like you guys do everything. You could just take an idea and then bring it almost all the way to market" 10:15 "Do you wanna share the neurotech projects you've worked on?" 11:15 "What's a common problem that you see?" 17:15 "How does a company recover, like from having so much help to not having any help? Is that typical too?" 19:45 "What does your day-to-day look like? What are you usually doing?" 22:30 What's a typical pathway into the career of consulting? 25:15 "If you had unlimited funding or if a company had unlimited funding, what would you do?" 28:00 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"

Lindsey Jardine is a clinical project manager at Boston Scientific which had acquired Farapulse, a cardiac ablation medical device company she was working in. She runs clinical trials for medtech companies and had done so for neurotech companies as well. ***This podcast is sponsored by Iris Biomedical, check out their Neurotech Startup Services here*** Top 3 Takeaways: "One of the most difficult things that I've found while you're actually running the study, is making sure those devices are getting to the sites, which is depending on where your manufacturer is" Hiring a Contract Research Organization (CRO) or hiring clinical trial specialists in-house depends on what the plan for the company is, whether it will be acquired or do an IPO "My biggest problem with startups is wanting to do too much. Because if you're trying to develop eight things at once, you're not gonna get there and you're gonna run outta money. And that's how I see a lot of startups fail" 0:45 Do you want to introduce yourself better than I just did? 1:15 "What is a clinical trial?" 2:45 "How do medical devices maybe neurotechnology, compare to pharmaceuticals?" 4:15 "What's a timeline?" 6:00 "Where does the time get used up and then where does the money get used up?" 8:45 Iris Biomedical ad sponsorship 9:15 "Let's talk about budgets and how they vary, why they vary" 11:30 "What does your day-to-day look like?" 17:45 "How did you get into it?"  21:45 What would be the formal path to get into clinical trials? 26:15 "What's a common mistake for startups?" 29:30 "Do the big guys have a speed advantage?" 31:00 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that, that you wanted to mention?"

Dan Brounstein is Chief Strategy Officer at Saluda Medical where he is using his 15 years of Spinal Chord Stimulator experience to help deliver closed-loop pain relief directly to the spinal cord. ***This podcast is sponsored by Iris Biomedical, check out their Neurotech Startup Services here*** Top 3 Takeaways:  "We're stimulating with milliamps and we're trying to measure in microvolts, and we always use the analogy trying to listen to a pin drop next to a shotgun shot" "There's a lot of literature on loss of efficacy? It's just a therapy issue. When you deliver open-loop therapies blind across a neural target, you're ultimately going to create, over-stimulation in a lot of times under stimulation. On top of that, over time things change" "Patients come in between four and five times a year on average in perpetuity with open loop systems" 0:45 " Do you want to introduce yourself and the company better than I just did?" 6:00 "Your guys' device reprograms on its own? And then what signals does it take in and how does it change the stimulation patterns based on that?" 9:00 Iris Biomedical ad sponsorship 9:45 "What is your input and output for your guys' device?" 11:45 "In February of 2023, you guys got FDA approval for this. Do you wanna talk a little bit about this?" 14:15 "Is it like 5% better than open loop or is that something that's gonna be coming out published later?" 17:00 "Is there another indication?" 18:15 "The last I guess seven years for you has been very exciting. Is there anything on the horizon for the next seven years?" 20:15 "You guys have 300 people and have raised 200 million. What's it like working in such a big company" 22:45 "Is it getting too big for you?" 23:45 "What advice do you have for people in your situation?" 26:00 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"

Dr Angelique Johnson is the founder and CEO of MEMStim which is a leading global medical device outsource manufacturer (MDO) serving the neurostimulation market, based in Louisville, KY. ***This podcast is sponsored by Iris Biomedical, check out their Neurotech Startup Services here*** Top 3 Takeaways: "Our true competitors are actually not microfab but actually hand assembly, manual assembly" "I'm an accidental entrepreneur- the more I pitched, the more I thought about the business idea, the more I talked to actual customers the more I realized like, Hey, there's actually a need and we actually have a pretty good revenue model for meeting that need." "Kentucky actually matches investment and grant dollars depending on where your grants come from." 0:45 "Do you wanna introduce yourself better than I did?" 2:45 How did you make 3D cochlear device out of 2D microfabrication? 4:40 "Tell me about the founding of MEMStim" 8:00 Are you guys moving away from MEMS and towards 3D printing only? 9:00 Is the future 3D printed soft materials? 10:15 Iris Biomedical ad sponsorship 11:00 "Who are your customers right now?" 13:45 "What does the design process look like?" 16:15 "Have you helped companies get through ISO certifications and FDA approvals?" 18:30 "Do you guys do the implantable pulse generator or do you just do the electrodes?" 21:00 "Are you guys also prepared to ramp that up into actual production?" 22:45 "Do you have any advice for how you've survived for so long? 29:45 "What are the last five years that looked like and what are the next five years look like?" 31:00 "You're based in Kentucky, Louisville. Is there any reason for that?" 33:15 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"  

Dr John Seymour is an Associate Professor at UT Health in Neurosurgery and at Rice University where his lab works on electrophysiology studies, biophysics modeling, and applying machine learning models to decoding of neural activity. A major project in our lab is focused on developing a long-term brain-machine interface for the treatment of aphasia or locked-in syndrome. ***This podcast is sponsored by Ripple Neuro, check out their Neuroscience Research Tools here*** Top 3 Takeaways: "Your job as the engineer is to create a high resolution map of a crowd's vocalization during some live event, the rules are, you only get the place, say 10 or 20 devices throughout the stadium but only on these devices. At some point you realize more and more microphones on these poles are going to generate redundant information and they won't help us in our challenge to map the vocalization of this massive stadium. People have a very good intuition for sounds and we all understand sound is directional. Neural signals act the same way." "A rough rule of thumb is if the substrate diameter is on the order of magnitude of the source size, then there is good directionality in that situation." One day neural devices will be based on the patient's anatomy and will be printed on-demand to match the patient 0:45 "Do you want to introduce yourself better than I just did?" 2:45 "Geographically, how close are Rice and UT health?" 3:15 "You're saying the future of neural implants is additive depth electrodes. What does that mean?" 13:45 Sponsorship by Ripple Neuro 14:15 "What's the solution, to try to make them directional?" 16:30 "So you basically need your collector to be as small as possible?" 18:30 "So by finding the right size of the electrode and the substrate diameter you're able to have directional electrodes?" 22:45 "What's the advantage of your technology? What does it change?" 28:00 " If you had unlimited funding, what would you be able to do with it?" 33:00 What kind of differences of electrode design would you expect patient to patient? 34:45 "These few years ago, you said you were at Rice before, exclusively, and then now moved to both UT Health and Rice. What's that been like?" 42:00"Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"  

Andre Mercanzini is the Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer at Aleva Neurotherapeutics which has worked in directional Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) device leads for Parkinson's and other diseases. ***This podcast is sponsored by Iris Biomedical, check out their Neurotech Startup Services here*** Top 3 Takeaways:  "We realized during that time that the intervention that could benefit the most from the miniaturization technologies was by far and away, deep brain stimulation." "MEMS allowed us to align every single electrode into its position, have it almost prewired and decrease the amount of touch time that an operator would have to spend on the device as they're manufacturing it, which, which gives us a price advantage as well."   "My advice to PhD students postdocs, physician inventors, and professors working on neuro technologies is that you have to work on something that will make a major change in patient outcomes. It cannot just be incremental. If it has any signs of only being incremental, it will be very difficult to get funded. It will be very difficult to get your early adopters to sign up and use or test your device. It's always a difficult metric to determine what that means. Is it a 20% improvement in symptoms? Is it a 40% improvement in symptoms? Is it treating a disease that is not treatable today? That is really the major choice you have to make as an entrepreneur in your own technology is whether your work will make a significant change in patient outcomes." 0:30 "Do you want to explain what Aleva does a little bit and a little bit of your background?" 3:30 "What would you say that is a special thing in Lausanne that maybe other places could copy or are not able to copy?" 5:00 "Let's talk about Aleva" 6:45 "Iris Biomedical ad sponsorship" 7:15 "What's DBS and how did Aleva get started? You were saying this spun out of your PhD work. What did that look like then? And maybe how has it changed now?" 13:15 "Why is having directional leads was such a design problem?" 16:45 "What has the evolution been in the last decade, and then maybe what's future directions?" 20:30 You raised $70 million to get through the regulatory pathway, this seems like alot, couldn't you do it with 5 or 10 million? 23:30 Surgeons often like to stick with what they know, do you know if there would be a demand for what you are making? 25:45 Do you want to talk about wearables and how this fits in with your company? 29:00 "What advice do you have for people who want to follow in your footsteps and want to, create, raise $70 million and do you have to be in Switzerland to do this?" 31:45 "You've raised a lot of money and so is that good or bad and aren't you worried about being diluted too much?" 34:00 " Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"

Vailiki Giagka is an Assistant Professor at TU Delft and Research Group Leader at Fraunhofer IZM in Berlin where she conducts research on the design and fabrication of active neural interfaces. ***This podcast is sponsored by Ripple Neuro, check out their Neuroscience Research Tools here*** Top 3 Takeaways: "Water vapor is not dangerous for neural devices, it will not cause your metals to corrode, as long as it remains in the form of vapor. The moment it condenses into liquid water and you have ions in there, is when corrosion can start, and that is the beginning of the end" Conformal polymer coatings have been implanted in bodies for decades but we lack means to prove upfront the amount of time a certain coated device would last in the body "Our aim is not to create startup ourselves, but it is really to help this ecosystem by supporting companies working on this" 0:30 "How do you work in Berlin and the Hague in the Netherlands at the same time? 2:30 "Why especially neural device packaging?" 5:15 "What's the size of your guys' device or packing?" 7:15 "Do you want to, do you wanna describe the neural implant network mesh a little bit more and how does it work and why is it necessary?"  9:15 Sponsorship by Ripple Neuro 9:45 "So let's talk about maybe conformal coatings. What is it, how does it work? Why is it necessary?" 19:00 "So what are some rough numbers, is one method better than the other, and then how many years of simulated life can one survive versus the other?" 21:45 "So how do we test it? How do we do the accelerated testing to be able to simulate a human lifespan?" 25:00 "So now you also work on the wireless power delivery, wireless transmission. How is this, how does this work? Why is this important?" 31:00 "Neurons fire with electrical signals and you're using ultrasound. So how does that work? Why is it able to work?" 32:00 "How does the power usage compare with electrical or ultrasound cuffs?" 33:30 "Let's talk about your graphene work." 37:30 "These three areas that you're working on, these all seem like very good candidates for, a spinoff company or some kind of, patents. Have you thought about this?" 42:00 "If you had unlimited funding, what would you do?" 43:45 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"

Dr Jacob George is an assistant professor at the University of Utah where his NeuroRobotics lab seeks to augment biological neural networks with artificial neural networks and bionic devices to treat neurological disorders and to further our understanding of neural processing. ***This podcast is sponsored by Ripple Neuro, check out their Neuroscience Research Tools here*** Top 3 Takeaways: "I'm 28 years old. So very young still getting stuff set up and really kickstarting it. The average age that NIH states for someone to get an R01 is somewhere around 47 years old and they really wanna change that. They wanna get people into science earlier. And so that's the mechanism that I went through and so very fortunate to have that funding to kick start stuff."  "The idea is, you had a stroke, you wake up in a hospital, you get the fitted with this bionic arm that helps you move immediately. So it's like nothing happened. And as you're doing these things in your real world life, all of a sudden. You don't need the exoskeleton anymore because your hand's back to use because you have rehabilitated yourself." "A one-off grant is great, that's luck, if you get one thing that's luck, but repeatedly, being successful in funding starts to show a pattern of success that is more and more unlikely that it was just luck." 0:45 "Do you want to introduce yourself?" 2:30 "You're also a pretty new professor. How old are you also?" 4:30 "How did you get into this field?" 6:15 Sponsorship by Ripple Neuro 7:00 "Do you want to go in a little bit more in-depth about the different aspects of your research and maybe we could start with the Luke arm." 13:45 "So what does the training look like for the patients?" 17:00 "That calibration sounds tedious. How long is it?" 19:45"Is glial scarring also a problem in the peripheral nervous system or is it worse, better? How does it compare to the central nervous system?" 21:00 "Do you wanna talk a little bit about exoskeletons?" 25:45 "Which one do you love more, invasive or noninvasive?" 30:30 "What's especially motivating you to deal with this specific patient population?" 33:00 "Do you have any tips for people who might want to fall in your footsteps of being a young professor?" 36:45 "How similar is your training between, what you're doing at the PhD, working at the bench versus, being a professor and, needing to find those dollar bills?" 39:45 What specific exercises would you recommend for finding funding? 44:45 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"

Ana Maria Porras is an Assistant Professor at the University of Florida working on human-microorganism interactions and science communication especially in different languages.  ***This podcast is sponsored by Ripple Neuro, check out their Neuroscience Research Tools here*** Top 3 Takeaways: "Sometimes we see science communication as a way to convince more people to work in STEM but I think it's important beyond that. It's important that you understand the basis of how we do science and why we do science" "We think of science communication as what's happening when people go viral. But you can do a ton of great science communication in your immediate community. With your family, with your friends, with people in your community around wherever it is that you live." "Sometimes you learn a ton of stuff and then you realize it was all the wrong stuff. I think science communication is like any other scientific discipline. There are scholars, there are best practices. There are people who have been doing the research." So just like in any other scientific discipline, it's like important to acknowledge that there's like a whole ton of work that other people have done so that we don't always have to go and reinvent the wheel." 0:45 "Do you wanna introduce yourself better than I just did?" 1:30 "What exactly do you study and why is it important?" 4:45 Sponsorship by Ripple Neuro 5:00 "Let's talk a little bit about your experience with science communication. Why is it important?" 10:30 "Let's talk about the science communication and different languages" 13:15 "What's the reception been like?" 15:45 "For people who want to learn a little bit more about science communication, what do you recommend?" 19:00 "Are the science communication groups helpful or how much of what percentage of what you've learned has come from that versus just doing it?" 21:15 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"

Giacomo Valle is a post-doc researcher at ETH Zurich working in the Neuroengineering Lab to find tools for neurologically disabled amputees and diabetic persons. They look at how to decode from devices and what that would look like for the development of new devices. ***This podcast is sponsored by Ripple Neuro, check out their Neuroscience Research Tools here*** Top 3 Takeaways: "We're working on the sensory feedback restoration in people where there is a sensory loss due to neuropathy. The limbs are there there is sensory loss due to the degeneration and neuropathic degeneration. And then with electrical simulation is possible to provide sensation back," The secret to having an H-index of 17 as a Post-Doc is to have a passion for what you do an to work long hours with great people Simulations can take a long time to set up and one bad variable can mess up a week's worth of work but gives you flexibility to work anywhere; Animal work means you can't take vacations but you can do more experiments; Patient work is rewarding because you develop bonds with them but sometimes are limited by experiments 0:45 "Do you want to introduce yourself?" 3:30 "How does your work work?" 6:15 "What kind of devices do you use and what kind of bandwidth is involved?" 9:00 Sponsorship by Ripple Neuro 9:30 "You do seem to have a lot about computation and modeling. What role does this play in your research?" 13:00 "How good are the simulation predictions?" 19:30 "5 or 10 years down the line, what would your research lead to?" 22:45 "You have an H index of 17, which is crazy for a post-doc. What's your secret?" 25:45 "You've worked with patients, computational work, and animal work. You have these three perspectives of research, which is the easiest, which is the hardest, what are the advantages and disadvantages of all of those?" 30:30 "What do you think will be some future breakthroughs in this work and what does the future look like?" 33:15 "How much longer before you get implanted?" 34:45 "If you had unlimited funding, what would you spend it on?" 37:30 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"

Jotthe Kannappan is an associate at Intuitive Ventures which is all about converging robotic systems, digital tools, and clinical needs in search of new ways to understand, diagnose, treat and manage disease. ***This podcast is sponsored by Iris Biomedical, check out their Neurotech Startup Services here*** Top 3 Takeaways: "It's not about rejection. It's about enabling the best possible fit between an entrepreneur and an investor who is able to who's able to really do what the company needs for them" "The typical things that stand out are really well clearly articulated message again about an unmet medical needs is something that comes across really strongly in a first interaction with a VC" "It's a common pitfall to be a technology that's searching for a need as opposed to a need-driven technology." 1:00 "Do you want to talk about the thesis of Intuitive Ventures?" 2:30 "How long has Intuitive Surgical, the parents company been around? And do you want to talk about some of your investments so far?" 4:15 "What's your guys' thoughts on neurotechnology and brain-computer interfaces? What's attractive about neuro technology or maybe not attractive?" 6:00 "When a company might want to come to you and is looking for funding, what what are you looking for?" 8:45 Iris Biomedical ad sponsorship 9:30 "It sounds like the companies you invest in are a little bit further stage, or do you invest in early stage as well?" 10:15 "What's exciting for you guys at the moment?" 12:30 What percentage of people do you reject? 15:15 "What other tips or tricks are there to and you get your attention and maybe get a successful interaction out of it?" 17:15 "What are some of your biggest challenges?" 18:45 "If you had unlimited funding, what would you do with it?" 23:15 How do world political issues like the Covid pandemic and Ukraine-Russia war affect the investment landscape? 26:15 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?"

Benjamin Stecher runs a blog called the Tomorrow Edition where he talks about his battle with Parkinson's disease. He has been implanted with a Deep Brain Stimulator an is also on the patient advisory board of Rune Labs where he gives them a perspective from the patient's point of view. ***This podcast is sponsored by Ripple Neuro, check out their Neuroscience Research Tools here*** Top 3 Takeaways:  "It got to the point where the Livadopa medication on-off fluctuations were so impairing to my daily life that I had maybe like an hour where I felt normal per day" "But to compare it to the medication now, it's night and day. It brought my baseline to the point where I felt more or less normal. Now I'm still not completely normal, things need to be optimized, but it's night and day compared to what it was before. It's very easy now for me to have these moments where I even forget that I have this disease at all " "There's nothing in my brain that anybody can point to and say, okay, this is what Parkinson's disease is. I don't believe that Parkinson's Disease exists" 1:00 Do you want to talk about your background? 2:45 "You were pretty young when you were diagnosed with Parkinson's disease. Do you want to talk about that?" 3:30 "What was the timeline of the disease?" 6:15 "You decided to crack your skull open and then put something in there. What was that kind of decision like? And then what were the results of that as well?" 7:30 Sponsorship by Ripple Neuro 7:45 "What's it been like and maybe how does it compare to the medication and was the results immediate?" 9:15 "You have an adaptive DBS implanted. Do you want to explain what this is?" 14:15 "Let's talk about your blog Tomorrow Edition" 15:30 "Let's talk about your work at Rune labs" 17:30 "Let's talk about your book to Brain Fables" 23:00 "If you had a magic wand, what would you be doing and what kind of improvements would you want to do?" 27:15 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?" benjaminstecher@gmail.com

Dr Melanie Ecker is a professor at the University of North Texas focusing on smart polymers for biomedical applications. She has worked on conformal and biocompatible neural devices to study the electrophysiology of the enteric nervous system. ***This podcast is sponsored by Ripple Neuro, check out their Neuroscience Research Tools here*** Top 3 Takeaways: The neurons in the gut-brain axis have not been investigated much by neural probes because of the softness of the intestines "The beauty about the intestines is in comparison to the brain, our probes, the electrodes don't need to be that tiny" The key to recruiting lots of good student volunteers is to bring donuts to group meetings! 1:00 Do you want to introduce yourself and talk about your work? 2:30 "What are shape memory polymers and how does it relate to neurotechnology?" 4:30 What were you working on in the Voit lab and what are you working on now? 9:30 Sponsorship by Ripple Neuro 10:30 Are traditional neural probes too stiff for the intestines? 17:15 What are the conductive components of the flexible interfaces? 19:15 Do these conductive polymers last long in the body or are they dissolved quickly? 20:45 "If you had unlimited funding, what would you do?" 23:15 Do you have any tips on how to recruit so many students? 24:30 "Is there anything that we didn't cover that you wanted to mention?"

Dima Gazda is the CEO and founder of Esper Bionics which is a company that makes a prosthetic arm that gains abilities overtime with you. They plan to use this 'simple' neurotech solution to springboard them solve other larger neurotech problems. ***This podcast is sponsored by Iris Biomedical, check out their Neurotech Startup Services here*** Top 3 Takeaways:  We are building an ecosystem and will be building more products in addition to the robotic arm. Next will be a better user control system and then a robotic leg A physician can only add about 3000 patient-years of life but an engineer and entrepreneur can add millions because their inventions can impact more people Neurotechnology will be as big of a change for humanity as cars and computers were 0:30 Do you want to introduce yourself? 4:45 "So what is more difficult than a prosthetic arm that has many degrees of freedom?" 7:15 "Do you want to describe the device?" 8:30 "Does that improvement of control work only for a single user?" 10:30 How has the Russia-Ukraine conflict affected you as you are from Ukraine? 12:15 "Have you had any agreements with any governments like the Ukrainian government to recover injured soldiers?" 13:30 "What are some what are some of your biggest challenges?" 14:45 Iris Biomedical ad sponsorship 15:30 "Do you have any timelines?" 17:15 Do you want to talk about the number of lives improved by being an engineer versus being a physician? 22:00 What's the technology that would add a billion patient lives in the next 10 years? 29:00 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?" Contact dg@esperbionics.com

Lindsay Hartland partners with Neuromodulation Device company Owners, Leaders, and Investors across the US & Europe to source the talent they need in order to succeed with Hanison Green Ltd. ***This podcast is sponsored by Iris Biomedical, check out their Neurotech Startup Services here*** Top 3 Takeaways:  Sometimes it's better to not hire somebody but rather have a part-time position or even have them work for free in exchange for shares or honor "The main challenge any company will find when looking to grow their business is the best people tend to be working in jobs that they quite like. There's a talent shortage. There's not enough people to go around." "I used to assume that when you've got to get somebody more money, it's not. Most person's main driver is job fulfillment. They want to get up each morning and feel good about what they're going to work for and what the company's striving toward. Are they being developed, is there growth within that company? Money is important to all of us, but it's not the main driver." 0:30 Do you want to describe yourself? 3:00 "Why is this important for any startup to recruit?" 5:00 "How do you know who's a good person?" 7:15 Do you help early stage companies figure themselves out too? 9:45 "What's your opinion on that, hire a consultant versus hiring an employee?" 12:30 Iris Biomedical ad sponsorship 13:15 "Let's say hypothetically, I want to earn 250k how would I do that?" 15:45 "What's the mechanics of all this, of this poaching business that you're in?" 21:15 Do you sometimes find these leaders of companies in academia or in other fields or is the switch hard to make? 24:15 "How do you make money?" 30:15 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about?"  

Anuj Bhardwaj is the CEO of SecondWave Systems which is a wearable ultrasound noninvasive therapy especially for suppressing chronic inflammation and pain signals. ***This podcast is sponsored by Iris Biomedical, check out their Neurotech Startup Services here*** Top 3 Takeaways:  "We're going to use a disposable coupling component that a patient uses to adhere this and couple it to the body for 18 minutes while they remain in a reasonably sedentary condition. They would do that once a day." "The cost of the healthcare system is often between one to $200,000 per year for patients that take biologics like Enbrel. So that's a huge burden on the system" "My advice to other companies like us would be to look at the SBIR program. We're very strong advocates of it. It's really been the main engine that launched us. I'd advise looking at NIH, BARDA, and others too. Then consider if they fit within the mission of what a company is doing and apply." 0:30 "Do you want to describe yourself and your technology?" 2:30 "Let's talk about the technology, who's it for?" 9:15 Iris Biomedical ad sponsorship 10:15 "You're not using electricity, but you're using ultrasound, which is something that's a little bit more rarely used. Why are you using this and how does it work?" 12:15 "What kind of treatments would you guys be able to provide?" 15:30 "So what fraction of the $100,000-$200,000 / year Rheumatoid Arthritis costs would you guys represent?" 16:30 Do you want to talk about the FDA approval process for a wearable? 18:15 Do you want to talk about your sources of funding so far? 22:30 "What is one of the biggest challenges in this work?" 25:00 "Are you looking for people to join or are you looking for anything in particular?"