The word “niche” implies a specialized environment. But to Fiona Doetsch, the stem cell niche is anything but. For brain stem cells, “the whole organism is the niche,” Doetsch told the audience at the third plenary session of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) annual meeting in Hamburg this week.

The first patenting from South Korea’s Neudive Inc. sees its CEO, SungJa Cho, applying for protection of the company’s mobile digital social therapy device, NDTx-01, which helps build the social skills of neurodiverse individuals, and in particular children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder and social communication disorder.

Researchers from Arizona State University and Mayo Clinic have filed for protection of wireless, battery-free brain implants which may be used in the monitoring, stimulation, and treatment of epilepsy, tumors, neurodegenerative disorders, neuroinflammatory conditions and trauma.

South Korean researchers from Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology invented SPINDLE — a virtual reality-based robotic rehabilitation system — as a potential breakthrough therapy for tremor patients.

Syntheticmr AB received CE marking for its next-generation brain imaging solution, SyMRI Neuro. The company hopes that version 15 of its SyMRI software, which provides quantitative data, automatic tissue segmentation and adjustable contrast weighted images from a scan, will transform diagnostic imaging.

Cureosity GmbH has raised €3.8 million (US$4.1 million) in growth financing to expand the use of its virtual reality therapy which promotes the sensorimotor and cognitive rehabilitation in patients who have suffered a stroke or with neurodegenerative diseases. The funding came from existing and new investors including Techvision Fonds and Nomainvest, a Belgian family office.

Scientists spread across Europe and the U.S. filed for protection of an implantable electrode array including a plurality of microneedles, which may be implanted into the auditory nerve bundle and stimulate the auditory nerve in response to receiving electrical signals representative of observed sounds.

The recent licensing agreement that Alzpath Inc. signed with Roche AG for use of its pTau217 antibody to develop and commercialize an Alzheimer's disease diagnostic blood test will not only transform the company but also allow patients access to a more cost-effective test, Venkat Shastri, CEO of Alzpath told BioWorld.

As new treatment options are being continually investigated and trialed against Parkinson’s disease, the possibilities offered by deep brain stimulation (DBS) risk being overlooked. Though not a cure, the therapy could vastly improve the quality of life for patients with the disease.

Boston Scientific Corp. continued its journey down the acquisition highway with its announced plan to acquire stroke products maker Silk Road Medical Inc. for $27.50 a share, or approximately $1.16 billion.