Impulse - Meeting Healthcare Pioneers Mathieu Chaffard

We are at a turning point for brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) and neurotechnology.
We have all witnessed phenomenal progress in this field recently via images shared by Neuralink, showing paralyzed patients who can communicate with a computer through their own thoughts. Other fascinating applications, such as those being worked on by Gregoire Courtine and Jocelyne Bloch, enable paraplegics to regain an unprecedented degree of walking mobility.
These advancements are mind-blowing and illustrate the potential of these technologies to address conditions that have a major impact on quality of life.
What if we were to enhance the physical properties of these implants while making them more accessible in terms of costs to health systems? Where could this paradigm shift take us, and what prospects could it open up for treating complex neurological disorders?
This is what we explore in this episode with Carolina Aguilar, CEO of Inbrain Neuroelectronics, a company developing a cutting-edge neural platform based on graphene, promising to change the way we decode, modulate, and stimulate neuronal activity.
We talk with Carolina about:

How Inbrain Neuroelectronics' technology enhances the resolution of BCIs and their therapeutic potential

The stakes around BCIs and their promise in treating serious neurological disorders

The importance of focusing their development around therapeutic indications vs. aiming for human augmentation

The commercialization of these solutions through a value-based care approach and key success factors

Empowering women in science and business


An outlook on the future of brain therapies that bridges the gap between reality and science fiction!

Timeline:
(00:03:22) - Explaining Inbrain Neuroelectronics’ neural platform
(00:07:32) - The medical need for BCIs and the first indications targeted by Inbrain Neuroelectronics
(00:18:46) - Risks around BCIs and ethical considerations for the field to head in the right direction
(00:26:17) - Toward value-based commercial models for BCIs
(00:29:40) - Transitioning from Medtronic to an early-stage Medtech startup
(00:33:29) - Empowering women in science and business

What we also talked about with Carolina:

Neuralink

Elon Musk

Sapiens Steering Brain Stimulation

Medtronic

ONWARD Medical

Precision Neuroscience

Paradromics

Synchron

Neurosoft Bioelectronics


We cited with Carolina some of the past episodes from the series:
#6 - Bringing back walking to paraplegics - Jocelyne Bloch - .NeuroRestore

As mentioned by Carolina during the episode, you can access Inbrain Neuroelectronics’ publications here and learn more about their ongoing research and therapy development efforts. You can listen to the Neurotech Pub podcast hosted by Matt Angle here.
Feel free to follow Inbrain Neuroelectronics activities on LinkedIn.
If you want to contact Carolina, you can reach out to her over LinkedIn.
If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email at mathieu@impulsepodcast.com!
If you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! 🙏
There’s now a monthly newsletter around the podcast where you will be informed of the latest episodes and updated on the latest medical tech progress, subscribe here!
Lastly, don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!

To discover the whole episode type "#27 - Reinventing neuroelectronic therapies - Carolina Aguilar - Inbrain Neuroelectronics" on your streaming platform.

Many of us struggle with allergies, usually something we’ve been dealing with our whole life, either continuously or episodically.
Be it related to food, pollen, dust, pets, or many others, it’s quite a pain and it can take us away from many things we appreciate in life. And I deliberately include myself in this group.
Somehow it was engraved in my brain as a condition one needs to cope with, without much opportunity for improvement.
It turns out companies like Nectar Life Sciences are redefining the way we detect and treat allergies from the comfort of our homes.
Based on the latest science in this field, and backed by his extensive experience in consumer healthcare, Kenneth Chahine and his team are transforming the experience of allergy care for patients, offering a convenient and personalized approach to it.
In this revealing episode, we talk with Kenneth about:

The inconvenience of past approaches to allergy detection and treatment

How allergy immunotherapy works and can be delivered through a few drops delivered to the tongue

How Nectar Life Sciences enables personalized allergy immunotherapy for patients

The transformative power of preventing acute allergic shocks

Lessons learned from a serial healthcare entrepreneur at the interface of genetics, biochemistry, and intellectual property


A conversation with a tireless figure in healthcare entrepreneurship, shedding light on one of the largest chronic conditions globally and how it can be tackled in a modern way!

Timeline:

02:28 - Kenneth’s background at the interface of genetics, biochemistry and intellectual property

04:14 - The global burden of allergies as a chronic condition

05:53 - Origins of allergies

07:49 - Immunotherapy or how to train your immune system to be desensitized to allergens

09:43 - Detecting which allergens you are sensitive to

11:17 - How Nectar Life Sciences approaches allergy treatment

22:11 - Kenneth’s mindset toward solving complex healthcare challenges in new ways

26:01 - Opportunities beyond allergy care

32:16 - Kenneth’s advice to fellow healthcare entrepreneurs


What we also talked about with Kenneth:

Avigen

Ancestry

Anaphylaxis

Neurimmune

University of Utah


We cited with Kenneth some of the past episodes from the series:
15 - Propelling diagnostics through miniaturization - Nicolas Durand - Abionic

As mentioned by Kenneth during the episode, you can access Nectar Life Sciences’ Learning Hub here and learn more about Prof. Edwin H. Kim’s research there.
Feel free to follow Nectar Life Sciences activities on Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok!
If you want to contact Kenneth, you can reach out to him over LinkedIn.
If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email at mathieu@impulsepodcast.com!
If you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! 🙏
There’s now a monthly newsletter around the podcast where you will be informed of the latest episodes and updated on the latest medical tech progress, subscribe here!
Lastly, don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!

To discover the whole episode type "#26 - Redefining allergy care - Kenneth Chahine - Nectar Life Sciences" on your streaming platform.

We don’t need to look far in the daily news to understand the stakes and the importance of having efficient solutions to control and stop bleeding.
In the times we live in, where the world is crippled by a series of humanitarian catastrophes (some of natural origin, some of human origin), technological wonders from the medical field make me truly hopeful about the future, and about what we can achieve as humans.
One of them is the hemostatic gel - a gel that can stop bleeding - that Joe Landolina and his team at Cresilon created.
And its astonishing performance is easy to grasp: any bleed can be stopped within three seconds.
Compared to traditional methods that require several minutes, it can mean the difference between life and death.
There’s so much that impresses in Joe’s journey since the foundation of Cresilon: the fact that he developed the gel formulation himself, that he founded the company at 17 years old in his first year at University, or that Cresilon now represents the largest biotech manufacturing site in New York, and so much more!
Beyond these successes, this episode is an ode to biomimicry and the science of biomaterials. Joe reveals everything about the functioning of this revolutionary medical product, its ability to stop bleeding almost instantly, and what it changes in medicine for the treatment of superficial injuries, but especially for the most severe traumatic cases.
A surprising encounter with a prodigious entrepreneur, building his path on resilience and adaptability, with the long-term vision to transform bleeding control in humans!

Timeline:

02:23 - Joe’s background and founding Cresilon in his first year in college

06:15 - Cresilon’s mission and the technology at its core

08:42 - How the hemostatic gel from Cresilon compares to traditional bleeding control methods

10:40 - The explanation behind Cresilon’s hemostatic gel unique performance

16:06 - How the gel is applied and removed

21:44 - Marketing first the product for veterinary application before moving to human use

25:27 - Being the only biotech company with manufacturing capabilities in New York

34:15 - Setting up the company to become a large medtech player in the long term


What we also talked about with Joe:

New York University

Columbia University

Scar tissue formation

Fibrin

Extracellular matrix

Hurricane Sandy

American Veterinary Medical Association

Roche

Pfizer

Cutiss


We cited with Joe some of the past episodes from the series:
18 - The dark genome as the next revolution in drug discovery - Samir Ounzain - HAYA Therapeutics

Feel free to follow Cresilon’s activities on LinkedIn!
You will find here the TED Talk that Joe held in 2015, and here the Medsider podcast episode between Joe and Scott Nelson that we mention in this episode of Impulse.
If you want to contact Joe, you can reach out to him over LinkedIn.
If you want to give me feedback on the episode or suggest potential guests, contact me over LinkedIn or via email at mathieu@impulsepodcast.com!
If you liked the episode, please share it, subscribe to the podcast, and leave a 5-star review on streaming platforms! 🙏
There’s now a bi-monthly newsletter around the podcast where you will be informed of the latest episodes and updated on the latest medical tech progress, subscribe here!
Lastly, don’t forget to follow our activities on LinkedIn and our website!

To discover the whole episode type "#25 - Stopping a bleed in three seconds - Joe Landolina - Cresilon" on your streaming platform.