image by: HWN

HWN Suggests

Beyond Buzz: 10 Ways Neurotech Is Helping People In The Real World

Fancy headsets to manage ADHD. Bluetooth stickers to predict seizures. Mind controlled games to gauge dementia. And of course, implanted chips to relieve pain, restore movement, and eventually, do a whole lot more. Welcome to the neurotechnology frontier, where brain activity is the coin of the realm. “Neurotech” is an umbrella category for hardware and software tools—think sensors and wearables, invasive and non, combined with powerful AI modeled on large datasets—that are accelerating our ability to understand and influence brain activity. Acronyms abound: Various forms of sound, light, magnetics and electricity are helping scientists, clinicians and consumers understand brain health from…

read full article

Featured

 Coming to a Brain Near You: A Tiny Computer

A high-stakes technology race is playing out in the human brain. Brain-computer interfaces are already letting people with paralysis control computers and communicate their needs, and will soon enable them to manipulate prosthetic limbs without moving a muscle.

 Mind over Machine: Navigating the Legal and Ethical Frontier of Neurotech

Picture a world where a patient suffering from a debilitating neurological disorder receives not only a diagnosis but also a bespoke brain implant designed to restore lost function. This is not a scene from a futuristic thriller, but the unfolding reality driven by Elon Musk’s Neuralink: ultra-thin electrodes implanted in the brain to create a seamless interface between humans and machines, promising to restore abilities and unlock new realms of human capability, while challenging us to rethink the ownership and protection of our most intimate data.

 What the rise of neurotechnology means for the future of healthcare

Conditions such as Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s, major depression, and brain injury could all find relief through neurotechnology. The devices used in alleviating these conditions are of infinite value to healthcare; as populations become increasingly older, and life expectancy increases, the demand for effective treatment for neurological disorders will climb.

Articles of Interest

Mind-controlled devices are already here - and 2025 could be the year they go mainstream

Neuralink and other companies are pioneering brain-computer interfaces, allowing individuals with severe spinal injuries to control technology through thought.

Neuralink’s First User Is ‘Constantly Multitasking’ With His Brain Implant

Noland Arbaugh is the first to get Elon Musk’s brain device. The 30-year-old speaks to WIRED about what it’s like to use a computer with his mind—and gain a new sense of independence.

Neurotechnology is becoming widespread in workplaces – and our brain data needs to be protected

Neurotechnology has long been used in the field of medicine. Perhaps the most successful and well known example are cochlear implants, which can restore hearing. But neurotechnology is now becoming increasingly widespread. It is also becoming more sophisticated.

The promises and challenges of neurotechnology to improve human health and cognition

Neurotechnology refers to devices that interface with the nervous system in order to augment or restore its function. The development of such devices is rapidly growing, with impressive progress in understanding how to interpret brain activity to drive external devices, or stimulate the brain to improve sensory or cognitive functions. Essentially, neurotechnology is the collaborative result of years of research in neuroscience, engineering, computer science, medicine, and philosophy.

What is wearable neurotech and why might we need it?

The wearables category already contains multitudes, from exercise-focused smart watches and sleep-tracking smart rings to smart women’s health tech and semi-invasive blood glucose monitors — to name a few of the gizmos we’ve tracked over roughly a decade of novel personal hardware launches. But the space is set to get even more active, with a new wave of neurotech: wearable devices targeting the brain.

Resources

21 neurotech companies working across brain-machine interfaces, neuroprosthetics, neuromonitoring, and neurostimulation devices

As the digital health sector matures from basic tracking apps into highly regulated medical devices, we are seeing bleeding edge technologies being developed that blur the lines between computers and biology. And a growing share of these startups are beginning to target the brain.

Neurotech Network

Neurotech Network is a non-profit organization dedicated to improve the education of and the advocacy to access neurotechnology for persons with impairments. We target persons living with neurological conditions, their caregivers and the medical professionals who care for them.

Neurotech

Neurotech is a technologist owned company that has been a leader in EEG services since 2006. Our monitored ambulatory EEGs can be done in a patient's home, nursing home, or medical facility with or without video monitoring. We partner with neurologists from high level academic facilities and EEG technology and patient care.