Tech & industry

Neuro Rehab Times explores the latest business and pharmaceutical developments in the world of neuro-rehabilitation. US$32m to advance left atrial appendage occlusion technology Medical device company Conformal Medical, has raised US$32m to advance its left atrial appendage occlusion technology. The funds will support the enrolment of the company's ongoing CONFORM Pivotal Trial and [...]

Stroke patients at an English hospital are getting quicker diagnoses with artificial intelligence that gives consultants instant access to brain scan images. Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley introduced RapidAI in May 2024. The system speeds up triage – prioritising patients by urgency – by sending scans directly to consultants’ mobile phones. Since its introduction at [...]

Drug discovery company TauGen has filed a US patent application for a new series of drug candidates targeting endoplasmic reticulum (ER) stress – a key factor in secondary brain injury following traumatic brain injury (TBI). The company, owned by the board of directors of CereMark Pharma, has developed a platform of molecules designed to address [...]

A novel brain scanning technology that has created ‘neural fingerprints’ could enable early diagnosis of neurodegenerative conditions such as dementia. Stephanie Price speaks to Professor Matthew Brooks, chairman of Cerca Magnetics, which has developed the technology, to find out more. A spinout from the University of Nottingham, Cerca Magnetics has developed a lightweight, wearable Cerca [...]

Artificial intelligence has been used to predict brain stimulation settings that could improve walking in people with Parkinson’s disease. Researchers at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), developed personalised algorithms to estimate which deep brain stimulation (DBS) settings would be most effective for each individual. In early tests, participants showed improvements in walking performance. [...]

A new study is investigating whether a brain-controlled computer game can help stroke survivors recover movement in their arms. Participants will wear a wireless headset that records brain activity as they imagine moving their affected arm, with those signals used to control a computer game. The research, led by Queen’s University Belfast (QUB), is recruiting [...]

Regular cycling may reshape brain activity in people with Parkinson’s disease, according to a pilot study that tracked neural changes using implanted brain stimulation devices. Researchers monitored participants with Parkinson’s before and after 12 dynamic cycling sessions over four weeks, using deep brain stimulation (DBS) implants to record signals from the subthalamic nucleus – a [...]

Light therapy is being trialled in Parkinson’s patients, with early signs suggesting it may slow the deterioration of damaged brain cells in some cases. The technique involves directing light beams at nerve cells deep in the brain to stimulate mitochondria – structures that generate energy within cells – and potentially restore function. Scientists [...]

A new treatment tested in mice could help limit brain damage caused when blood flow is restored after a stroke. Researchers are investigating how acidified disodium malonate (aDSM) may reduce injury caused by the sudden return of oxygen-rich blood to brain tissue after clot removal. Fewer than one in 10 stroke patients currently leave hospital [...]

A woman paralysed for two decades has written her name using only her thoughts, thanks to a brain implant being tested in a Neuralink clinical trial. Audrey Crews, who has been paralysed since the age of 16, achieved the milestone as part of a brain-computer interface (BCI) study that translates brain activity into external actions. [...]