Coffee Conversation with Steven Plymale and Milos Popovic at Toronto Rehabweek 2019
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
Release Date: 09/05/2023
Florian Solzbacher on the $10 million Blackrock Neurotech investment and plans for future
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
is the Co-Founder and Chairman of which has the Utah Electrode Array, the only FDA-approved neural implantable device. Blackrock Neurotech recently closed a $10 million financing round, led by Christian Angermayer's re.Mind Capital with participation from Peter Thiel, German entrepreneur Tim Sievers, and Sorenson Impact's University Venture Fund II. Top 3 Takeaways "In the end, you have to have the drive. It has to be a passion. And then you will find a way because very often in life, you will find that, just when you need it, all that you really need is one door opening at the right...
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Thomas Oxley on the best neural device implantation method with his Stentrode by Synchron
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
is a neurosurgeon who is also the founder of Synchron which makes the . Instead of requiring invasive brain surgery for implantable neural devices, they are able to use stents such as those used in cardiology to collect neural signals Top 3 Takeaways: Stentrode implantation it's one of the simplest stent procedures. Got a $40 million Series B funding round from Khosla Ventures thanks to the success of in-human studies as well as the potential to piggyback off of existing hospital technologies "We see an avenue for a range of products that do not require open brain surgery that reaches...
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Giovanni Lauricella on how to be recruited to a great startup in neurotech
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
Giovanni Lauricella is a Vice President of the Mullings Group which is a Medical Device Technology recruitment firm. He helps startups in the neurotech space find talented people from the most experienced down to the entry-level positions. Top 3 Takeaways: "Always pull on your network, always pull on that trust factor because people go to work for people. That's what they do, especially in startups and especially really early-stage startups" "If you want to be headhunted, make yourself available to be found, build your LinkedIn profile. Let us find you, there's tools and platforms...
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Kunal Ghosh on the advantages of imaging tools for neuronal recordings & pattern recognition with Inscopix
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
is the founder and CEO of which uses imaging tools to understand the brain in both health and disease. Top Three Takeaways: Miniscopes were invented out of a need for tools that have the ability to monitor and record large-scale neural circuit activity Imaging tools have the advantage of scale, single-cell resolution, longitudinal recording capabilities, and labelling for specific cell types Inscopix technology has enabled over 150 scientific papers 0:45 "Do you wanna introduce yourself a little bit?" 5:00 "Why you did choose an imaging technique instead of,...
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Dr Ulrich Hofmann on staying in the mainstream but exploring the fringes of Neurotechnology
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
is a Professor at the in Germany working on some of the cutting edge and newest things in the field of neurotechnology. Top Three Takeaways The 8 micron limit for not causing a foreign body response might actually be closer to 1 micron Magnetoelectric nanoparticles might be the solution towards getting to the dream of having a 0 dimensional neural probe Neural Implants seem to activate those genes found in brain tumors 3:00 "You're working in Freiburg, which is bottom southwest corner of Germany, but I actually just found out that you don't live there. Where do you live?"...
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Blythe Karow on alleviating PTSD using a wearable Vagus nerve stimulator
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
is a medical device veteran who is now the cofounder and CEO of , a medical device company making a wearable Vagus Nerve Stimulator to help with the problems brought about by Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Top 3 Takeaways Not only veterans but first responders often get PTSD and 1/9 women will have it at some point in their lives Stimulating the auricular (ear) branch of the Vagus nerve has fewer side effects but with a calming effect on the body Diagnosing and curing PTSD is very difficult and subjective 1:15 "Do you want to introduce yourself and the technology?"...
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Nicolas Vachicouras on starting a soft electrode neurotech company in Switzerland
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
Nicolas Vachicouras is the cofounder of which is focusing on utilizing a novel soft electrode material in neural implants. The company comes out of Switzerland and has partnerships with the Stephanie Lacour lab and the Wyss Center 1:45 "Do you want to talk a little bit about yourself and your work and Neurosoft?" 4:30 "What's the benefit of soft versus hard implant?" 7:00 "Is the foreign body response, something that happens in ECOG as well, does the body react poorly to that?" 9:45 "So your guys device also doesn't have MRI artifacts. What is that? How is that and why is it...
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Anish Kaushal on what Venture Capitalists are looking for in Neurotech Companies
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
is an analyst at Amplitude VC which is looking at investing in neurotech companies. In this episode we talk about what they look for when investing into a company 1:30 "Do you want to introduce yourself a little bit? " 10:30 "How is venture capital different in med tech versus Silicon Valley?" 14:15 "So you guys do, would you say that you guys put more research upfront into investments vs Silicon Valley-style investors?" 16:30 "Due Diligence for, six months or a year, what are you doing during that time? What takes so long?" 21:30 "If somebody wants to be like the best candidate, what...
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Dr Silvestro Micera on restoring sensorimotor function using hybrid neuroprosthetic systems
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
is a professor at École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) in Switzerland focusing on developing neural interface implantations in patients. In particular, the following research fields are currently investigated: robotic systems for neurorehabilitation experiments for the investigation of neural control of movement development of neural interfaces with the central nervous system (CNS) and the peripheral nervous system (PNS). development of hybrid neuro-prosthetic systems 1:15 “Do you want to explain your work?” 2:25 “You guys are very much into the compliant...
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Dr Warren Grill on how to publish 250 papers in neural engineering
Neural Implant podcast - the people behind Brain-Machine Interface revolutions
is a professor of biomedical engineering at duke university. He is the chief scientific officer of Managing director of NDI Healthcare fund. He is the cofounder and chief scientific officer of Deep Brain innovations and His research interests are in neural engineering and neural prostheses including design and testing of electrodes and stimulation techniques, the electrical properties of tissues and cells, and computational neuroscience with applications in the restoration of bladder function, treatment of movement disorders with deep brain stimulation, and multi-joint limb movement. He has...
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.