Image Credit: CorTec
CorTec is a neurostimulation company based in Freiburg, Germany developing the closed-loop “Brain Interchange Implant System.” This is an implantable device is capable of recording and stimulating on 32 channels under the wireless control of an External Unit which also powers the device. Application Software on a computer connected to the External Unit manages the telemetry and analyzes signals acquired by the implant. The computing unit then uses parameters provided by the application software to generate stimuli in the brain and nerves.
CorTec announced that the US FDA approved and IDE application by the University of Washington School of Medicine to use the Brain Interchange Implant System as a novel stroke rehabilitation treatment using cortical stimulation to enhance plasticity within the brain.
According to the press release, the IDE study is aimed at “obtaining initial first-in-human safety data and at the development and evaluation of novel therapeutical rehabilitation approaches for upper limb impairment in stroke patients via direct cortical electrical stimulation delivered by the Brain Interchange System. Enrollment of patients and the first implantation of the neural interfacing system are schedule for the third quarter of 2024.”
Image Credit: CorTec