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

This podcast's purpose is to bring together the field of neuroprosthetics / brain machine interfaces / brain implants in an understandable conversation about the current topics and breakthroughs. We hope to complement scientific papers on new neural research in an easy, digestable way. Innovators and professionals can share thoughts or ideas to facilitate 'idea sex' to make the field of brain implants a smaller and more personal space.

Daniel Palanker on breaking physics to found neurotech companies 09/13/2021

Daniel Palanker on breaking physics to found neurotech companies is at Stanford University. He has had many successful technologies spun off into companies or patents including those involving retinal prosthetics, optical imaging and spectroscopy, laser-tissue interactions, and retinal plasticity. Top 3 Takeaways "The [size] limitation for a retinal prosthesis is not in a fabrication side. The limitation is an interface with neurons" Allergan acquired Oculeve but then didn't do much with it seemingly because they already had a more profitable drug on the market "Stanford is industry-friendly, encouraging commercialization, basically making things practical and useful and in Berkeley it's a communist mentality" 1:15 "You've worked on a railroad. Do you want to talk about this a little bit?" 2:00 "I introduced you a little bit, but do you want to describe yourself and your role?" 3:00 "The retinal prosthesis is a very fascinating technology. What's the advantage of this versus something else?" 7:15 "Tell me about the progress of this technology. Where did it start and how far has it progressed in the many years since you've been working on it" 14:00 "It seems there's a curse, on these vision prosthetics companies and the SecondSight and actually Pixium also has stuttered a little bit in the last year or so. Do you want to comment?" 19:30 "You mentioned this sub 40 micron photo detector, do you see a potential for, getting down to the five and the three micron size of that you had mentioned?" 22:45 "Did you want to talk about TrueTear and Oculeve a little bit?" 24:00 "If you suspect [a company buying your tech and shelving it] were to happen the then would you would you go through with that sale or would you continue to develop it yourself?" 25:15 "I was reading you have 70 patents and seven platform technologies... Is this a Stanford thing? Do you have access to great talent or are the projects you're working on especially good at spinning off these companies?" 27:15 "Is there anything else that you're excited about? Any other crazy physics rules that you're gonna be breaking?" 33:00 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?" /episode/index/show/neuralimplant/id/20292425

Donna Hamlin, an executive coach on how to be a better leader in neurotech 09/06/2021

Donna Hamlin, an executive coach on how to be a better leader in neurotech is a corporate executive with thirty years of corporate, governance and strategy consulting experience. She oversees ’s global programs, including its centers and their services. These include: board evaluations, professional certification and training, its global registry of qualified directors, Board Bona Fide®, its strategic partnership programs and its Boardwise center. Top 3 Takeaways "It's really important to know that if we want to be good at our work, then we've got to explore things outside of our normal swim lanes. And when we do that, it gives us a different view or another way" "There's a great exercise called appreciating your vices. If you can identify vices, and then you can go teach some group of people, how to do that vice really well. Then you start laughing at it because you realize how silly it is." "360 is when an executive coach hand picks five to six people that work with that person routinely and you do an in-depth interview about the experience of working with this person. And then you summarize all of that into some themes and sit down with the person to say what we can do to make you a stronger leader as a result of that. And typically in that process, you're getting raw feedback about what that experience is through a third party." 0:30 "How would you describe yourself?" 6:00 "Why creativity? Why leadership? How are those two things connected?" 10:00 "How should one think about approaching being a good leader or being the ideal leader? " 11:30 "Are you limited to a specific type of job based on your predisposition?" 14:15 "You mentioned five different types of, I guess leadership styles. Do you want to go through these and explain what each of them are a little bit?" 21:00 "What are some big mistakes or what's the biggest issue that you see with leaders?" 24:30 "Is there any other exercises that we can do in order to strengthen those muscles of listening more?" 30:00 "Do you have any other more stories how this 360 or this kind of social gaps were changed or improved by having some sort of an outside perspective?" 32:15 "Do you want to talk about your company? What do you do?" 34:30 "Do you have any stories of the most radical transformation?" 37:45 " Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?" /episode/index/show/neuralimplant/id/20291942

David McMullen of NIH on Blueprint Medtech, the program to help neurotech companies grow 08/30/2021

David McMullen of NIH on Blueprint Medtech, the program to help neurotech companies grow is the program officer at the in the National Institutes of Health (NIH). They are launching the NIH Blueprint Medtech (links below) which aims to help incubate growing neurotech companies go from Bench to Bedside. Top 3 Takeaways "We're funding individual projects and trying to help groups in the past have struggled... to get funding and to get all the way to in human trials. The Blueprint Medtech resource is meant to derisk later investment and grants for companies "We saw some great programs... having difficulty when they come in - Can we decrease the activation energy to getting to first-in-human? Can we compress the timeline a little bit Can we spend that money a little bit more wisely and improve some of these outcomes?" 0:45 "Do you want to introduce yourself?" 5:45 "Do you want to describe your job? What do you do and what is the program director do?" 7:45 "Do you want to talk about the Blueprint Initiative?" 9:45 "This sounds almost like a government-led VC, am I off in this?" 11:00 "Do you want to describe the project a little bit?" 13:30 What are some guidelines of the project to fund neurotech companies? 16:30 "Generally, what stage should the company be at?" 18:15 "How do the hubs work? When I think of a hub, I think of a physical, like one location but does it have to be like that?" 23:45 "Do you want to talk a little bit about the motivation for this?" 26:30 "Is there anything that we didn't talk about that you wanted to mention?" NIH BLUEPRINT MEDTECH LINKS -Home website for the Blueprint MedTech program. Overall figure explaining the program on the front page. The site links to the webinars and funding opportunities. Please reach out if you have any questions! INDIVIDUAL PROJECT FUNDING OPPORTUNITIES: October 20, 2021 First receipt date. Multiple receipt dates. Blueprint MedTech Translator (UG3/UH3 - Clinical Trial Optional) Funding Opportunity TitleBlueprint Medtech: Small Business Translator (U44 - Clinical Trial Optional) INCUBATOR HUBS: Only 1 receipt date! October 20, 2021 Blueprint MedTech: Incubator Hubs (U54 Clinical Trial Not Allowed) WEBINARS: Incubator Hub Funding Opportunity (PAR-21-314) Monday, August 30, 2021, 3:00 PM EDT Translator Funding Opportunities (PAR-21-315; PAR-21-282) Tuesday, August 31, 2021 4:00 PM EDT /episode/index/show/neuralimplant/id/20284217

Jon Speer on how Quality Management Software for Medtech companies raised $120 Million 08/23/2021

Dr Aldo Faisal on using eye movements and AI to improve BCIs 08/09/2021

Florian Solzbacher on the $10 million Blackrock Neurotech investment and plans for future 08/02/2021

Thomas Oxley on the best neural device implantation method with his Stentrode by Synchron 07/26/2021

Thomas Oxley on the best neural device implantation method with his Stentrode by Synchron 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 all regions of the brain, that can take information out, that can take information in that are fully implanted, that is easy to put in, and that should open up a new industry to solve problems that haven't otherwise been able to be solved." 2:00 "Do you want to describe the technology?" 5:15 "What is the level of skill required for an implant of a stent?" 6:45 "How did you come up with this technology?" 9:00 "You cold-called DARPA to get funding?" 12:15 "Our device is meant to be encapsulated and so it is a benefit for us, so how did that work?" 15:00 "And then you guys got a breakthrough status in August. Do you want to describe what this is and what that meant for you guys and how you got it?" 16:00 "I'm assuming this potentially helped with the round of funding for Silicon Valley the Khosla Ventures round that you got, do you want to talk a little bit about this?" 20:00 "I have some questions about these first patients. It was done in Australia. Is there a difference or how does that work?" 22:00 "What are the plans for the future?" 25:45 "Do you have any ideas of how to be able to [have payers cover costs]?" 27:30 "We met each other at the bioelectronic medicine forum. Is this something that you've thought about?" 28:45 "I read that you guys have 60 patents. Is that true? And why so many?" Eddie Chang's paper? https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnhum.2021.714256/full /episode/index/show/neuralimplant/id/19863086

Giovanni Lauricella on how to be recruited to a great startup in neurotech 07/19/2021

Kunal Ghosh on the advantages of imaging tools for neuronal recordings & pattern recognition with Inscopix 07/05/2021

Dr Ulrich Hofmann on staying in the mainstream but exploring the fringes of Neurotechnology 06/28/2021

Blythe Karow on alleviating PTSD using a wearable Vagus nerve stimulator 06/21/2021

Nicolas Vachicouras on starting a soft electrode neurotech company in Switzerland 06/14/2021

Anish Kaushal on what Venture Capitalists are looking for in Neurotech Companies 06/07/2021

Dr Silvestro Micera on restoring sensorimotor function using hybrid neuroprosthetic systems 05/31/2021

Dr Warren Grill on how to publish 250 papers in neural engineering 05/24/2021

Eric Chang Discusses NeuroImmunology, Electrophysiology and The Effects of Neural Signals on The Vagus Nerve 05/10/2021

Eric Chang Discusses NeuroImmunology, Electrophysiology and The Effects of Neural Signals on The Vagus Nerve is a Neuroscientist and Assistant Professor at the Institutes of Bioelectronic Medicine and Molecular medicine at the . His areas of interests are Neuro-immunology, electrophysiology, microscopy and bioengineering. In today’s episode, Eric talks to us about his work with the vagus nerve and approaches being used in his lab to understand signalling between the nervous system and immune system. Top three takeaways: We haven't got technology that can image individuals neurons connected to the vagus nerve but in the near future, the tools might evolve to do this. Recording neural signals in different patients lets you see different types of variations across patients and informs how you design treatments based on that person’s neurobiology. “There are the traditional senses that are related to exteroception, like sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. There's a plethora of as I mentioned, interoceptive signals as well that have to do with organ function.” [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and the guest, Eric Chang [1:50] Eric Chang introduces himself and his work. His lab is interested in finding the connection between the nervous system and immune system [3:45] How is imaging different from electrophysiology and what are the advantages and disadvantages of both? [6:10] “So I would say patch-clamp electrophysiology, which is patching a single cell with a glass pipette, is still the gold standard, but the tools are rapidly coming to the fore that are starting to replace that a little bit.” [11:20] Eric talks about some of the challenges with imaging individual neurons connected to the vagus nerve, especially where there is a lot of movement. [12:50] While the technology is quite small now, it’s not so small that it could quite fit into a necklace. Eric believes that somewhere in the next 5 - 10 years, something of the sort will be available. [13:40] “Dr Tracey's work from two decades ago showed the discovery of something called the inflammatory reflex which is that If you electrically stimulate the vagus nerve under conditions of inflammation, let's say acute endotoxemia, then you can reduce levels of circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines” [20:00] Eric discusses some of the tools used to tease apart different signals. [23:05] Eric talks about some future breakthroughs he expects. [27:00] “Yeah. So the nerve innervation exists for protection; it's for survival. We need to know when we're getting close to a fire” [28:00] Eric talks about the importance of understanding pain. [31:00] “There are the traditional senses that are related to exteroception, like sight, sound, smell, touch, and taste. There's a plethora of as I mentioned, interoceptive signals as well that have to do with organ function.” /episode/index/show/neuralimplant/id/19005602

Prof Marom Bikson discusses his work with Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation 05/03/2021

Prof Marom Bikson discusses his work with Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation is a Biomedical Engineer. He is a Professor at the City College of New York City and also the co-director of the . Marom has been at the City College of New York for over 15 years. He has a B.Sc in Biomedical Engineering from John Hopkins University and a PhD from Case Western University Cleveland. He cofounded . Marom's research group studies the effects of electricity on the human body and applies this knowledge toward the development of medical devices and electrical safety guidelines. In today’s episode, Marom talks about his work with Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation and how it works. He also talks about his work with NC Neuromodulation and Soterix Medical Top three takeaways: Transcranial means, through the cranium. And the thing that you're stimulating is targets inside the cortex. So you're trying to identify targets centrally that you think that you can activate. To lead to different therapeutic outcomes. TDCS works by the application of direct electrical current to electrodes placed on the scalp. “A lot of times when we think about TDCS, we think about changing the sensitivity. And then the question comes in with a sensitivity to what. Often TDCS is combined with other forms of therapy, like behavioural therapy, or physical therapy [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and the guest, Prof Marom Bikson [1:50] Marom introduces himself and his work [2:30] Marom discusses the wave of persistent COVID symptoms that are referred to as neuro COVID and talks about some of the work he and his colleagues are doing around it. [4:50] Marom describes how Transcranial Direct Current Simulation work. “ transcranial means, through the cranium. And the thing that you're stimulating is targets inside the cortex. So you're trying to identify targets centrally that you think that you can activate. To lead to different therapeutic outcomes.” [6:00] Marom discusses papers documenting the use of TDCS in different therapeutic areas such as depression and pain. [7:45] Currently, there is no FDA clearance for TDCS in the US so most of the work now happens in clinical trials. [10:10] TDCS works by the application of direct electrical current to electrodes placed on the scalp. [13:40] “A lot of times when we think about TDCS, we think about changing the sensitivity. And then the question comes in with a sensitivity to what. Often TDCS is combined with other forms of therapy, like behavioural therapy, or physical therapy.” [16:20] Marom talks specifically about his research and some of his breakthroughs. [20:50] Marom talks about his company, Soterix medical; the background for starting the company and what kind of problems they are solving [27:40] Marom discusses NYC Neuromodulation which he co-founded. “NYC neuromodulation has now run. I think about five times the last time was an online version. The two times before that we worked with other organizations, the North American neuromodulation society was partnered for one and neuromodulation of science was partnered for another.” [33:50] So what are some Big pieces of advice that you would say to other neural engineers? “ If you're loving what you're doing, then that probably means you're on the right path.” /episode/index/show/neuralimplant/id/18952829

Dustin Tyler Discusses Neural Interfaces and The Wealth of Difference Sensation Offers Prosthesis Users 04/26/2021

Dustin Tyler Discusses Neural Interfaces and The Wealth of Difference Sensation Offers Prosthesis Users is a Kent H Smith professor at the and the Director of the Human Fusions Institute. He has a secondary appointment as the principal investigator at the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veteran Affairs Medical centre. His expertise and interests include directly connecting humans and technology over the neural system to improve human performance and capability. His areas of work include clinical trials of Class III medical devices with emphasis on neural interfaces; acute and chronic pre-clinical studies in small and large mammalian models, and computational neuroscience. In today’s episode, Dustin talks about his work with brain-computer interfaces and some of the exciting breakthroughs he has seen in the past 10 years. Top three takeaways: "Most people think brain-computer interfaces are whole brain implants, but in reality, they are more correctly cortical interfaces, which is only a small part of the brain. Peripheral interfaces are also brain-computer interfaces and generally engage all of the brain." "In an experiment, Dustin and his team found that simply by adding sensation, and hence engaging human-in-the-loop control, participants had more success performing delicate grasping and manipulation exercises." "So we have augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR), and the next advance forward is NeuroReality. And, what I mean by that is that we're actually connecting directly technology to the human nervous system." [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and the guest, Dustin Tyler [2:00] Dustin starts the conversation by explaining what the term ‘Brain-computer interface’ really means and introduces us to his work focus on the peripheral nervous system [4:00] Dustin discusses some of the differences between the sensory and motor neurons; breaks down the mechanics behind what’s happening in the nervous system to stimulate sensation; and some of the breakthroughs of switching from non-human primates to clinical work. [11:50] Dustin shares some of the other success that his research team have had with amputees and other patients [14:40] “It's unlikely is that the nerve itself just stops responding to electrical stimulation. Based on a long history of activity, that's unlikely, but we couldn't rule that out.” [17:00] Dustin describes an experiment where participants with prosthesis were asked to remove the stems from cherry and the remarkable difference observed when patients were given the sensation of feeling even over vision.“ What it says is how intricately your sensations are in this feedback in the control system. That vision is actually a really poor control.” [19:00] “Even with a poor control system, patients can gain a whole lot more by adding sense into that loop” [28:30] We don’t really have any best practices. We have found that frequency tends to be what we prefer in terms of modulating pressure. [33:30] “So. I think the field in general right now is looking at and rightfully so again, the information content of what we can put into the peripheral nerve and how we do that.” [36:20] “What we're kind of looking at now is, next level, which is adding touch. So it's a third dimension that we can now add. And if you think if you've ever been in VR, when you reach out to touch something, you can't touch it, it kind of. Destroys the illusion. A lot of ways we can change that now where you can actually feel when you're doing through that, um, through that system.” [37:00] Dustin discusses some of the ideas and possibilities that come with thinking of this new area termed Neural Reality. [47:30] Unlike with cyberpunk, with the interface, we aren’t changing you. The interface is there but when it’s turned off, it doesn’t exist [49:40] Dustin talks about some of the work coming in the future and some of the projects he is currently excited about. /episode/index/show/neuralimplant/id/18830282

Dr Paul Nuyujukian Desconstructs the Neuralink Monkey MindPong Video 04/19/2021

Dr Paul Nuyujukian Desconstructs the Neuralink Monkey MindPong Video Professor Paul is an assistant professor of Bioengineering, Neurosurgery and at . He received a B.S. degree in cybernetics from the University of California, Los Angeles, in 2006. He received an M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in bioengineering and M.D degree from Stanford University in 2011, 2012, and 2014, respectively. His postdoctoral work was with and in the . In today’s episode, we feature Professor Paul's video where the discusses the recently released video by Neuralink of a monkey test subject playing pong wirelessly and its significance for the fields of neuro-engineering and systems neuroscience. Top three takeaways: At 1024 channels, the Neuralink team have surpassed the previous breakthroughs in the number of transmitting channels They (Neuralink) are sampling from the brain at a higher density than what is possible with more conventional chronically implanted electrodes like the Utah electrode array. “For an expert in the field, this video represents a pretty big step for us” [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and the guest, Paul [1:10] Paul introduces himself, his work and gives full disclosure about his relationship with the Neuralink team. He isn’t affiliated with the team in any way. [3:40] (Audio from Neuralink video) Test subject is introduced and Paul describes the setting of the experiment [6:15] Paul breakdown the enclosure and describes the setting of the experiment [7:30] (Audio from Neuralink video) “The links record from more than 2000 electrodes”. Paul explains the implication of having 2000 electrode implants. [10:15] Paul explains why it’s impressive to have 1024 channels presumably in Pager (the test subject). “The larger the sphere, the stronger the depth of modulation” [12:40] (Audio from Neuralink video) “As he is playing this game, we are wirelessly streaming in real-time, the firing rates of thousands of neurons to a computer” Paul talks about the information on the panel and what it tells us about the experiment system. [20:30] Paul talks about brain activity and speculates what decoding algorithm is running. [22:30] Paul pauses the experiment video to bring attention to a click that happened too fast. “This couldn’t be running a dwell” [26:00] (Video ends) Paul reflects over the potential impact of the video and the work Neuralink is doing. “For an expert in the field, this video represents a pretty big step for us” Watch the video here: /episode/index/show/neuralimplant/id/18716735

Andrew Cornwell Discusses The Importance of Translational Research 04/12/2021

Andrew Cornwell Discusses The Importance of Translational Research Andrew Cornwell is the Director of industrial and strategic collaborations for the . He is also Director of the VA Translational Education Mentoring Centre and Associate Director at . In today’s episode, Andrew talks about the importance of translational research, the process and some of the achievements of the Cleveland FES centre. Top three takeaways: Translational work is concerned with solving the inefficient of getting Academic work into the clinic. Cleveland FES Centre has a new program called the Neuro Design program, set up to grow the base of entrepreneurial talent in Cleveland with a focus on neurotechnology. Application for the second cohort of the Neuro Design program at Cleveland FES centres is currently open and you can apply to the program at . [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and the guest, Andrew Cornwell [1:45] ‘I try to spend my time solving the inefficiencies of getting Academic work into the clinic’ [2:30] Why is translational research in medicine important? Why is it necessary for translational work to exist? [5:00] Andrew Cornwall describes the process of the work he does from when someone approaches him with an idea, to the point where that idea is made into a consumer product. [9:10] Why aren’t there more places like Cleveland FES centre? [12:20] Andrew talks about the importance of collaboration and cites an interesting example he read on how research productivity increased when a history department was put in the same building as a neuroscience department [14:40] Andrew discusses some of the companies that have come out of the Cleveland FES centre and the projects that have come out from the centre. [16:00] The centre has recently started a new program called Neuro Design designed to grow the base of entrepreneurial talent in Cleveland with a focus on neurotechnology. [17:00] Andrew discusses the Biodesign program and the different phases: clinical immersion, prototyping phases and designing a business plan [20:35] We are currently recruiting for our cohort next year and you can apply to the program at clevelandneurodesign.org. Strong preferences for applicants include clinical experience, strong engineering background, research background, builder, industry experience etc. [24:50] If you had unlimited funding, what would you do with it? [28:00] “We need to do a better job of this, pouring money into what we call translational research… And I think it's a great credit to them that they've recognized that this is an area where there's some room for improvement and, The VA is deeply passionate about their mission of taking care of veterans.” /episode/index/show/neuralimplant/id/18283652

Nick Halper Discusses Braingrade and His Transition From a Stable Job to an Early Stage Med-tech Startup in the Middle of a Pandemic. 04/05/2021

Nick Halper Discusses Braingrade and His Transition From a Stable Job to an Early Stage Med-tech Startup in the Middle of a Pandemic. Nick Halper is a cofounder of , where he and his team are developing a brain-computer interface to reverse the cognitive deficits associated with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. Before founding Braingrade, he worked at as a project manager on the product, support, engineering and software teams. In today’s episode, Nick talks about his transition from academia to industry and then from leaving a stable job to joining an early-stage startup in the middle of a pandemic. He also talks about the work he is doing with his new company, Braingrade. Top three takeaways: Braingrade is working on implantable devices geared towards the memory circuit. Working remotely has created a system to employ lots of talented people without the usual barrier of location. There are currently openings and Braingrade for talented young people looking to contribute to their work. [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and the guest, Nick Halper [2:20] Nick Halper introduces Braingrade to the public. He talks about his background and how he got started with Braingrade. [5:30] Braingrade is working on an implantable device geared at the memory circuit and hippocampus. A disease they are working to have a real impact in treating is Alzheimer’s disease. [7:30] Some aspects of the company (Braingrade) are defined by COVID, for instance, Peter and Nick work in completely different parts of the world. This structure has helped produce an incredible team of people by removing the barrier of entry. [10:00] Nick talks about working with a team completely remotely and setting up a work culture that keeps everyone feeling included. [11:20] Braingrade is hiring for Head electrical engineering and a few other roles. [13:00] Challenges: A neurodegenerative disorder is an interesting one to tackle and that will differently come with its challenges. [15:30] Speaking on how medical regulations should actually be seen as guidance rather than challenges, Nick discusses how he sees the opportunity to have constructive discussions and interaction with institutions like the FDA on moving your project forward. [16:55] Nick talks about his career jump from academia to industry to joining a med device startup [18:30] If you had unlimited funding, what would you do? [22:50] Reminder: Braingrade is currently hiring for positions to join their team doing cutting edge work in Alzheimer’s research and memory enhancement, /episode/index/show/neuralimplant/id/18259907

Yael Hanein Discusses Working With Electrophysiological Tools 03/29/2021

Yael Hanein Discusses Working With Electrophysiological Tools Yael Haneun is a professor of Electrical Engineering at . Her research field is neuro-engineering, focusing on developing wearable electronic and bionic vision. She is also the VP of and has previously worked as a research associate at the . In today’s episode, Yael talks about her work in neuro-engineering and some breakthroughs with electrophysiological tools. Top three takeaways: With soft dry electrodes, you have a system that is truly wireless. Wet electrodes are better for short durations and dry electrodes are better for long durations. At the moment, Yael’s company is focusing on 3 directions, sleeping monitoring, sports application and developing a kit for other researchers to apply the technology. [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and the guest, Yael Hanein [1:55] Yael introduces her work in neuro-engineering; giving a timelapse from her work in electrophysiology to her recent work using electrophysiological tools for skin applications. [2:45] EEGs are basically electrodes on the skin, Yael explains the mechanics of using EEGs. [6:00] ‘Wet electrodes are for short durations and dry electrodes are for long durations.’ Yale breaks down the explains the functional lifetime of the two different electrode setup and when to use either. [6:45] The information we get from these electrodes is electrophysiological. The first thing we use the electrodes to get was facial mapping and facial expressions. [12:25] Yael discusses what academic life is like in Israel. She talks about some of the similarities and differences with American academic life. [15:20] Yael talks about starting a company, the motivation behind it and the difficulties of going commercial. [21:15] What are some of the challenges with the research and making it more mainstream? [26:45] Thomas discusses his role at Cortec-neuro /episode/index/show/neuralimplant/id/18498794

Thomas Stieglitz Discusses Material Choice in Implant Development 03/22/2021

Thomas Stieglitz Discusses Material Choice in Implant Development Thomas Stieglitz is a professor at the where he does research on the development of biocompatible construction and interconnection technology as well as the use of microsystems for neuroprosthesis and neuromodulation. Thomas Stieglitz is also on the scientific-technical advisory board of . In today’s episode, Thomas talks about is work in neuromodulation, shares insights on the best materials for implant development and finally, share some of the challenges faced with neuroprosthesis. Top three takeaways: Polymers have a lot of advantages as materials for implants. They are more flexible than Silicon although they are not as flexible as Making the ideal implant takes targeting very well. And tailoring functionality to needs. General-purpose implants will not work 3d printing has injected a new wave of possibility in the world of prosthetics [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and the guest, Thomas Stieglitz [3:30] Thomas Stieglitz talks about the different disciplines of Neural interfaces / neural electrodes and the motivation for his work. [8:00] Polymers have a list of advantages. One is that they are more flexible than Silicon. Another is their variety of shapes. [9:20] Silicon has advantages in certain areas. It is the best technology for recording and stimulating [13:00] Thomas Stieglitz talks about the P dot polymer, what it is and how it works. [16:35] Thomas Stieglitz talks about the ideal implant and describes the most robust and reliable implant you can have [18:50] It will be an exciting development to see a paper on the comprehensive model of a digital twin of implant failure nodes. [23:30] In Europe, without any institution like the IDE, there is no seamless way to get implants to human trials without negotiating with a legal entity to prove potential for success [26:45] Thomas discusses his role at Cortec-neuro [27:35] There are good and bad aspects of working with implants. Sometimes implants are damaged because Surgery personnel are not careful enough or rehabilitation personnel don’t follow the manual and break the connectors. [30:00] “We believe that now, that we can predict with the data that we have and some additional in vitro experiments that we did after getting them back to proving something that those pieces can survive up to 5 billion of stimulation, pulses.” /episode/index/show/neuralimplant/id/18251378

Rob Spence Discusses Living as a Cyborg with a Camera Implant 03/15/2021

Rob Spence Discusses Living as a Cyborg with a Camera Implant Rob Spence is a documentary film-maker. He lost his right eye as a child during a shotgun accident at his grandparents home. Thirteen years ago, he replaced his prosthetic eye with a wireless video camera. He continues to make improvements on the eye and has produced films about people living with bionic implants. In today’s episode, Rob talks to us about living with a camera implant and the fast-moving world of bionics. Top three takeaways: There’s room for improvement in the area of eye prosthetics, especially to increase the adoption of cameras that can restore vision for the completely visually impaired. Ethics and privacy are big issues when you have a camera installed into your eye socket. 3d printing has injected a new wave of possibility in the world of prosthetics [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and the guest, Rob Spence [1:40] Rob Spence shares the story behind losing his eyes during a shotgun accident as a child. [3:40] After living a few years with an eye patch, Rob, now a filmmaker, decided to get a prosthetic camera. [6:50] Rob works with a team on improving the camera and making it better. He talks in detail about what goes into making a good ‘eye camera’. [11:15] On some of his filmmaking projects, Rob is giving enough creative freedom that he occasionally includes footage from his camera. [13:20] It’s difficult turning the ‘eye camera’ into a mass prosthetic product because each one has to be made custom for the wearer. [18:50] For blind people, there’s some benefit in connecting an implanted camera to the optic nerve to restore some level of vision. [24:00] There is quite a bit of ethical consideration to keep in mind when you have a camera in your eye. People often bring up how it threatens the privacy of the people I capture with my eye. [26:05] “I just have a hole in my head and I wanted to put a cool camera in there” /episode/index/show/neuralimplant/id/18302597

Ryan Tanaka on Neura Pod, the Neuralink Youtube channel and podcast 01/25/2021

Matt Angle with an update from Paradromics and their new Neurotech Pub Podcast 01/11/2021

Dr. Rio Vetter and Dr. Alexis Paez Discuss the NeuroNexus Symposium 12/14/2020

Dr. Ben Paul Discusses How Neuroloom Develops an Effective Way to Stimulate Neurons 11/30/2020

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Lloyd Diamond Discusses How Pixium Vision is Creating a Solution for Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration 11/02/2020

Lloyd Diamond Discusses How Pixium Vision is Creating a Solution for Dry Age-Related Macular Degeneration Lloyd Diamond is the CEO of . Dry age-related macular degeneration affects millions of people globally. Using an insertable implant in the eye in combination with lenses, central vision focus can be regained. In this episode, Lloyd Diamond discusses how Pixium Vision is creating a solution to dry age-related macular degeneration. Top three takeaways: There is a dry and wet form of age-related macular degeneration. The dry form makes up 80% of all cases. The degeneration begins in the center of the eye and then migrates to the periphery at the age of 60-65. The implant is no thicker than a human hair and contains 378 independent electrodes on it, activated by light. [0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and the guest, Lloyd Diamond. [1:50] Diamond explains the need for a device like the PRIMA system. [4:00] The macular degeneration (AMD) targets the central vision portion of the retina, making it difficult to read or recognize faces. [7:00] The retinal surgery recovery time is four weeks. After this, the activation and rehabilitation process begins. [9:30] A pair of lenses that houses a camera are used in combination with the implant. [11:45] The entire event of observance to signal processing occurs in microseconds, so the user is unaware of the reaction time of the device. [16:00] Their new data proves that using clear glasses and the implant, it is possible to read as small as size eight font. This demonstrates seven lines of improvement on an ETDRS chart. [19:00] Diamond discusses the history of Pixium. [21:30] Due to the difficulty in regulatory approval for these types of implants, AMD research is not as common as retinitis pigmentosa. [25:00] The ability to be independent and recognize family members’ faces makes the rehabilitation time and procedure appealing to the aged population. [27:20] The future goal is to sell in Europe first and then bring devices to the US using FDA approval. /episode/index/show/neuralimplant/id/16582778

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

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