Coffee Conversation with Steven Plymale and Milos Popovic at Toronto Rehabweek 2019
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
Release Date: 06/28/2019
Steve Goetz: Revolutionizing Mental Health Treatment as CTO of Motif Neurotech
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
is now the Chief Technology Officer at 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...
info_outline
Eric Glowacki on cutting edge neural implant fabrication
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
is a research group leader at the Central European Institute of Technology () 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 Top 3 Takeaways: "You can just buy stuff on the internet very simple red...
info_outline
Gene Fridman on his freeform stimulator allowing for more neural stimulation possibilities
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
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...
info_outline
Kurt Haggestrom on Synchron's Stentrode and Synch Switch
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
comes on to talk about the latest new from , 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 *** 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...
info_outline
Pawel Soluch on launching the Medtech Coaching program with me
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
Pawel Soluch is a returning guest who goes over his work at , then his consulting at , and now finally he talks about the program that he is launching with me! 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...
info_outline
Mounya Elhilali on her auditory processing selectivity research
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
did the keynote talk at the . 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. ...
info_outline
Suraj Mudichintala on investing in bioelectronic medicine companies with Action Potential Venture
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
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...
info_outline
Balint Varkuti on turning neuromodulation technologies into Brain-Computer-Interfaces using software by CereGate
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
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...
info_outline
Kevin Tracey returns to the podcast to give an update about his work at the Feinstein Institutes, the field of bioelectronic medicine and exciting vagus nerve clinical trials underway
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
returns to the podcast to give an update about his work at the and the work at . 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...
info_outline
Israel Gasperin on measuring cannabis effects quanitatively with EEG with Zentrela
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
is the founder and CEO of 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...
info_outlineSteven 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.