Health IT, Devices & Diagnostics

Halo Neuroscience CEO talks about its dual approach to the neurostimulation market

Daniel Chao, who previously co-founded NeuroPace, said unlike most startups, the company didn't have a specific product in mind when it launched in 2013.

HALO-PORTRAITS-12-08-15-033 (1)

Daniel Chao, Halo Neuroscience CEO

Daniel Chao, the Co-founder and CEO of Halo Neuroscience, is excited about the launch of its first neurostimulation device, Halo Sport, which is available for pre-order. If you consider that Chao’s previous company, NeuroPace, involved an FDA-approved implant to treat people with epilepsy, it sounds like a major shift. But in a phone interview, Chao shared his view of the neurostimulation market and the challenge companies like his face in targeting direct to consumer and clinical markets and the potential the technology holds for treating a broad range of conditions.

The consumer health and wellness space is increasingly crowded with devices that bill themselves as ways to focus attention and relax. Chao acknowledges that the neurostimulation market is increasingly popular but that can work to its advantage.

“The more people who are in this space, the more important it is. We have been around for a long time and we want to ensure we have the strongest evidence base.”

Chao points out neuromodulation companies have been on the scene for a good long while. Go back several years and you’ll find medical device companies like Cyberonics, 23 year-old cochlear implant business Advanced Bionics, acquired first by Boston Scientific and later acquired again by Sonova in 2009, and NeuroStar.

But the most interesting shift is these devices needn’t be invasive to be effective. Although stroke indication was the first identified by the company, the path to market for fitness performance is much shorter. It also provides a way of generating revenue well before the medical application side will.

Chao said to understand the company’s approach, it’s important to know what makes an athlete. Muscle is key but cognitive functions such as concentration, being present and calm are also necessary. Its device generates an electrical output that stimulates the motor cortex section of the brain. Neuropriming can create circuits faster and building new circuits is critical to improving brain function, especially for the motor cortex.

“We’re helping athletes train their brains as much as they’re training their muscles.”

It wants to increase its footprint in professional athletics and the high-end of the amateur spectrum such as Olympics teams and college sports.

Unlike most startups, Chao said the company didn’t have a specific product in mind when it launched in 2013. It had a platform technology, but the data it amassed determined the kind of product it should develop.

“We had two goals when we started: Build a device and then test the heck out of it.” The outcome of that testing led the company to focus on the motor cortex and specifically stroke rehabilitation and fitness performance.

On the subject of stroke rehabilitation, it is using established clinical endpoints using the Fugl-Meyer Assessment of Motor Recovery after Stroke focusing on upper extremities. The assessment is used to evaluate and measure recovery in post-stroke hemiplegic patients, who have complete paralysis for one half of their body.  In a clinical trial for which it’s recruiting, it is enrolling only patients in the chronic stage of stroke recovery. It is stringent about inclusion and exclusion criteria for the trial.

“The last thing we want to do is invent a new endpoint. We want to use the ones that are limited to movement,” Chao said.

When the conversation switches back to competition, Chao notes that sector of medical devices in which it functions is capital intensive. In addition to a team of engineers, there’s also the research side where the software needs to be understood. “I describe it as a gray hair business. Your ideas might be there but it’s tough to get funding.”

 

Shares0
Shares0