Innovation Hall - Posters & Showcase
The Brain Innovation Hall is the place to be in order to showcase and discuss your project and/or innovation with the high-level array of stakeholders attending the Brain Innovation Days. The main vein of the event venue, the Innovation Hall will be where the discussion happens outside of plenary presentations — a spot in the space will be vital to ensure you are visible throughout the two days!
Posters
EBRAINS
A Holistic Research Infrastructure for Fair Brain Science
Lyuba Zehl
Keywords: digital research infrastructure, FAIR principle, RRI principles, open science, collaborative science
The Optimal Source of Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Spinal Cord Regeneration
Observa Science Society
Communicating Brain Data: Patients and Clinicians in Health Social Laboratories
Chiara Lovati
Keywords: Stakeholder engagement, Brain health communication, Health technology design, Inclusive healthcare, Responsible innovation
ToxGenSolutions
A microRNA-based preclinical diagnostic test for sporadic Alzheimer’s Disease
Improving Public Understanding of Insulin-related Brain and Somatic Diseases and Dissemination of the PRIME Study Results
Angela Bradshaw
Keywords: Patient Organizations, PRIME study, Brain Innovation Days, Public understanding of science, Insulin
STRATUM
A Point-of-Care Computing System based on Multimodal Data Processing using Artificial Intelligence for Improving Brain Tumour Surgeries
Raquel Leon
Keywords: European project, Point-of care computing, Multimodal imaging, Artificial intelligence, Brain tumour surgery
Bioxodes
A Tick Saliva Molecule to Rescue Lives After Intracerebral Haemorrhage
Hans Warrinnier
Keywords: Stroke Treatment, Intracerebral Haemorrhage, Neuroinflammation, Thrombosis, Haemorrhagic Stroke
Innovation Showcase
Opora
People-first Ethical Data and AI Platform For Brain Healthcare and Research. A Demo of the Migraine Patient Voice and E-consent App Built on Opora
Svitlana Surodina
Keywords: Migraine, Patient data, Ethical Artificial Intelligence, eConsent, Graph Neural Networks
REGEnLIFE
A Brain-Gut Stimulation Therapy for Alzheimer's Disease: From Preclinical Research to Clinical Trials and Market Access
IDUN Technologies
Focus and Cognitive Workload Tracking with Brain-sensing Earbuds
Simon Bachmann
Keywords: Cognitive Workload EEG Brain-Computer Interface Earbuds Brain Health
Cortex Machina
Medical-grade EEG and BCI Technology Designed for Ease-of-use, Portability, Accessibility, Cost-effectiveness and Seamless Third-party Integration
European Academy of Neurology
Federation of European Neuroscience Societies
International Brain Research Organization
GAMIAN Europe
European Health and Digital Executive Agency (HaDEA)
Poster Abstracts & Presenter Biographies
The STRATUM Project: A Point-of-Care Computing System based on Multimodal Data Processing using Artificial Intelligence for Improving Brain Tumour Surgeries
Himar Fabelo, Raquel Leon, Laura Quintana-Quintana, Gustavo M. Callico, STRATUM Consortium
Presented by Raquel Leon
Brain and CNS (Central Nervous System) cancer was the 12th most common cancer in terms of mortality in 2022, with an estimated 321,731 incident cases, associated to 248,500 deaths worldwide for both sexes and all ages. In 2050, these numbers are expected to increase 56.6% and 64.8% in incidences and mortality, respectively. Particularly, brain tumours account for more than 90% of occurrence within CNS cancers, linked to high mortality and morbidity, especially in paediatric cases. Neurosurgery is the main treatment for brain tumours. During this procedure, the neurosurgeon makes an opening in the skull of the patient (called craniotomy) and, whenever possible, tries to resect the entire tumour from the brain, guided by a neurosurgical navigation system based on preoperative magnetic resonance images. Neurosurgeons face several challenges to address brain tumour surgeries, when trying to identify tumour mass and to distinguish between normal tissue and brain tumour margins, such as; 1) lack of specific tools to enhance the surgeons’ vision and provide real-time personalized tissue diagnostics for surgical guidance and decision making; 2) Lack of real-time representation, interpretation and analysis tools for the large amount of data acquired by various independent systems; 3) Long waiting times for intraoperative pathology consultation; 4) Non-existence of commercial tools for the analysis and visualisation of the brain shift phenomenon; 5) Use of photosensitive drugs or contrast agents because of employing fluorescent guidance tools. For these reasons, an innovative neurosurgical decision support tool able to provide quick, accurate and highly personalized diagnostics for optimal decision in neurosurgical practice could ensure a reduction of errors and delays during surgeries, and also save the associated medical costs. STRATUM is a 5-year Horizon Europe funded project with the goal of developing an innovative 3D decision support tool for brain tumour surgeries, based on real-time multimodal data processing using Artificial Intelligence (AI) algorithms. The proposed tool is envisioned as an energy-efficient Point-of-Care computing system to be integrated within neurosurgical workflows to aid surgeons to make informed, efficient, and accurate decisions during surgical procedures. STRATUM is pursuing the following objectives: 1) To foster advances in personalized medicine based on multimodal data, including the emerging as hyperspectral imaging tehnique; 2) To increase intraoperative diagnostic accuracy of brain tumours; 3) To reduce surgery time with respect to current neurosurgical operations by performing in-situ intraoperative pathological assessment and using high performance computing platforms for real time data processing; 4) To improve cost- and energy-efficiency of current neurosurgical workflows by integrating different data sources in an interactive non-contact 3D graphical user interface; 5) To clinically demonstrate the prototype in a two-year clinical study in 3 clinical sites in 2 different countries, including an early health technology assessment; 6) To prepare a preliminary business plan and the roadmap for commercialization at the end of the project. The expected long-term impact of STRATUM is to reduce the duration of surgical procedures, thus decreasing patients’ risks, but also optimising the resources of European health care systems.
Dr. Raquel Leon has been working, since 2018, on the use of Hyperspectral Imaging for real-time cancer detection in the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC), Spain, where she received her PhD in Telecommunication Technologies from the ULPGC.
Since 2023, she started a position as Research Project Manager in the STRATUM project. STRATUM is a European project with the goal of developing a clinically demonstrated 3D Decision Support Tool for brain surgery guidance and diagnostics based on multimodal data processing through Artificial Intelligence algorithms that will be integrated as an energy-efficient Point-of-Care computing tool. The STRATUM consortium, coordinated by the ULPGC, is an interdisciplinary research team of optical and imaging engineers, physicists, software engineers, clinicians, and industry stakeholders.
She has previously worked in other research projects in the field of imaging technologies for cancer (ITHaCA, TALENT), disease prevention (WARIFA), physiological monitoring (O3NPIQ, EPOOzo). In 2020, she obtained a predoctoral research grant from the Canary Islands Government and in 2024, she received the Outstanding Young Researchers Award for her contributions in the field of Engineering and Architecture awarded by the ULPGC.
A microRNA-based preclinical diagnostic test for sporadic Alzheimer’s Disease
ToxGenSolutions
Presented by Stan Goertz
ToxGenSolutions is a biotechnology company looking for novel methods for the design of preclinical diagnostics and preventative therapeutics for chronic diseases, with a main focus on sporadic Alzheimer’s Disease (sAD) applying animal-free research methods. sAD has become the leading cause of dementia, with over 10 million novel cases being diagnosed annually, with an average of 1 in 5 individuals above 65 years of age developing the disease. This rate is even higher in women (1 in 3) compared to men (1 in 7) and the costs exceed 100,000 EUR per patient. Current diagnostics for the disease have been challenging at best. Expensive, extensive and invasive methods frequently result in inaccurate diagnoses, as about 50% of diagnosed Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) cases end up not developing sAD. But most strikingly, a diagnosis is only possible once the disease has progressed to a stage beyond the capabilities of current medicine, making therapeutics ineffective in halting, let alone reversing disease progression. ToxGenSolutions addresses this need for an earlier opportunity for preventative intervention by developing a method to diagnose the disease in a preclinical stage. This diagnostic test is based on a microRNA profile and is able to diagnose the disease up to 6 years before the onset of the first clinical symptoms, in a less invasive manner (blood instead of cerebrospinal fluid), more accurately and at a significantly reduced cost (several hundred euros, rather than thousands). As the test is currently in the commercialization stage, ToxGenSolutions is working on translational studies to establish a solid foothold in society. First, the integration of diagnostic services in academia and biotechnology allows for a more streamlined design of clinical trials. With the high false positive rate currently plaguing the success of current clinical studies, better stratification of patients leads to less ambiguity in clinical trials. In addition, our focus on gender differences aims to provide a further stratification to optimize clinical studies and subsequent therapeutic design and screening. Second, integration of the test into clinical settings, including hospitals and diagnostic centers, form the foundation on which future therapies should be designed to tackle the disease in its earliest stages via our preclinical diagnosis. ToxGenSolutions is actively developing an optimized integration of the diagnostic test into healthcare as an easy-to-use medical bench device that is able to provide this diagnosis using several drops of blood in only several hours. This provides the most accessible method for diagnosing the disease, managing the development of sAD in its patients as well as the effectiveness of an administered therapeutic. In this way, healthcare professionals can optimize the care for their sAD patients and mediate a journey towards healthier ageing in the future.
Stan Goertz hold a BSc. in Liberal arts & Sciences and a MSc. in Molecular biotechnology & Business Studies. During his studies, Stan gained extensive experience with different disciplines within life sciences and business management, and participated in extracurricular activities, including the first participation of the Maastricht Science Programme iGEM team. Stan joined ToxGenSolutions in 2022 where he combines his scientific background with his affinity for business development. Recently, he obtained the role of Chief Business Officer (CBO) in which he is responsible for the company’s business and market development as well as fundraising, investor engagement and networking/partnering.
Improving Public Understanding of Insulin-related Brain and Somatic Diseases and Dissemination of the PRIME Study Results
Angela Bradshaw, Chantel Fouche, Jessica Nastos
Presented by Angela Bradshaw
Elderly people living with diabetes are twice as likely to develop dementia than peers without diabetes. People living with OCD, on the other hand, have a higher likelihood of developing diabetes. Many people living with one or more of these conditions do not know of the co-occurrence or co-morbidity that can be caused by dysregulated insulin signalling. And people with these chronic conditions have to manage their brain health throughout their lives. PRIME researchers investigated the mechanisms involved in the co-occurrence of multiple insulin-related mental and physical diseases. The outcome of the study will be tools for early diagnosis, improved clinical care and prevention of co-morbidities. We believe that citizens want to gain more knowledge of insulin-related brain and somatic diseases that projects such as PRIME study, and of the underlying mechanisms that cause co-morbidity. We wish to share this knowledge by way of a poster during the Brain innovation Days. As well as discussing the project results, the poster will also act as a toolkit for people with lived experience and patient organisations to disseminate PRIME’s final results/findings. We want to foster dialogue around the topic and exchange knowledge. Aside from people living with insulin-related disorders, we further believe this is of value to scientists who attend the BI Days as the poster would present novel findings and up-to date research in the field. By the time of the BI Days, the PRIME study will also have released an e-learning course for clinicians, which will be highlighted on the poster.
Communicating Brain Data: Patients and Clinicians in Health Social Laboratories
Observa Science Society
Presented by Chiara Lovati
At the intersection of technology, healthcare, and society, the Health Social Laboratories initiative aims to support the Horizon Europe HEREDITARY project in gathering essential feedback for the development of an innovative health data analytics platform. This platform will serve clinicians, researchers, policymakers, and patient association members, allowing them to explore an integrated array of multimodal biomedical and environmental data to improve disease prevention, treatment response and medical knowledge. HSLs are a dedicated stakeholder engagement effort that aims to integrate diverse expertise into a participatory and co-creative learning process. The laboratories will focus on facilitating the interaction between the project’s key stakeholders while accounting for their diverse communicative needs, with the ultimate goal of aligning the platform’s objectives with user needs, and assess how to best communicate brain data. Results will include the collection of comprehensive critical feedback to inform the design and functionality of the interactive health data analytics platform. Measures of success will comprise the number of stakeholders engaged, the volume and quality of the feedback collected, and its inclusion in the subsequent platform design iterations. Project stakeholders will have a significant role in guiding the team’s data research, helping foster a user-centered design approach, and promoting the study of health communication strategies through a process of co-popularization of health terminology. Potential challenges will include combining multiple stakeholder schedules, ensuring constructive feedback, and incorporating diverse perspectives and needs into the platform design. Strategies to address these challenges will involve flexible scheduling, clear and diverse communication strategies, and an iterative design process. The laboratories platform co-design aspect will support the management of data complexity and uncertainty typical of new technology and powerful computations. This will have a two-fold impact on stakeholders decision-making processes: first, it will streamline complex data analysis tasks, helping users readily understand connections and evaluate risks; second, it will support data results communications to patients by ensuring the information clarity, comprehensibility, and usefulness. On a more technical note, Hereditary research on multimodal data integration and federated data analytics and infrastructure will potentially foster the discovery of new insights and innovations, the ability to handle diverse data sources, and the collaboration across communities and institutions. By leveraging stakeholder engagement and their collaborative efforts, HSLs have substantial potential to shape an impactful interactive health platform in a process bridging science and society. Through the support of the communicative and ethical aspects of technology design, ensuring inclusivity through the valorization of varied stakeholders’ perspectives, these efforts will converge in a platform that will address real-world health challenges and help improve disease prevention, treatment response and medical knowledge exploration for various users.
Chiara Lovati holds a Bachelor’s degree in Sociology from the University of Trento (IT) and a Master’s degree in Data Science and Society from Tilburg University (NL). Currently employed at Observa Science in Society, she serves as a sociological researcher on the Horizon Europe HEREDITARY project, focusing on the social aspects of the integration of multimodal health data to transform disease approach, treatment response, and medical knowledge. Her main research interests lie at the intersection between science and society, and within public communication of science and citizens engagement.
A Tick Saliva Molecule to Rescue Lives After Intracerebral Haemorrhage
Stéphanie Demoulin, Valérie Pireaux, Marc Dechamps, Hans Warrinnier, Edmond Godfroid
Presented by Hans Warrinnier
Introduction: Imagine a world where stroke, specifically one type called intracerebral haemorrhage (ICH), don’t have to be as devastating. In ICH, bleeding in the brain triggers inflammation and blood clots that often worsen the damage, leading to poor outcomes. However, Bioxodes is exploring a promising new treatment candidate called BIOX-101 that targets this inflammation and unwanted blood clots, potentially improving recovery for patients. Surprisingly, the active ingredient stems from an unexpected source: ticks. These tiny creatures, often seen as nuisances, hide within their saliva molecules that researchers have isolated and transformed into a potential game-changer in stroke treatment.
The study: To study BIOX-101’s efficacy, we conducted experiments on mice with induced ICH. We divided the mice into groups, some receiving BIOX-101, others a placebo, and yet others a standard treatment. We then monitored brain health using imaging techniques. Key findings: We found out that BIOX-101 did not worsen brain swelling or bleeding compared to the placebo. Importantly, it reduced harmful inflammation, and protected neuronal cells from damage. This is crucial because current treatments can sometimes increase swelling and bleeding without effectively targeting the cause of inflammation. Potential impact: The findings were especially exciting because there is a significant need for better treatments in ICH. Each year, more than 3 million people worldwide experience ICH, resulting in 2.8 million deaths. What is even more concerning is that a large portion (68 %) of these cases occur in people under 70 years old.
Conclusion: BIOX-101 could be a game-changer in stroke treatment. By targeting the inflammation and blood clot formation that follow brain bleeding, it has the potential to reduce mortality rates and improve recovery outcomes for patients. Bioxodes is currently running a Phase 2a trial in Belgium with ICH patients to test BIOX-101, offering a breakthrough hope for millions of patients around the world.
Dr. Hans Warrinnier joined Bioxodes following a leadership tenure at Roche Belgium where he held various senior leadership positions such as Medical Director. In this position, he led a team of 70+ across Clinical Operations, Medical Affairs and Medical Information, Drug Safety and Regulatory Affairs. He developed and supported affiliate and global clinical studies in different therapeutic areas, maintainingBelgium’s top spot in clinical trials per capita in the world. He delivered strategic expertise and advice for market access solutions in Belgium across different therapeutic areas, including oncology, hematology, neurology, immunology, and hemophilia. In addition to receiving his medical degree from the KU Leuven in Belgium, Dr. Warrinnier followed Business school programs from London Business School and Harvard Business School.
The Optimal Source of Mesenchymal Stem Cells for Spinal Cord Reganaration
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Presented by Antonia Vogt
Objectives Spinal cord injury is a devastating condition that leaves patients with permanent neurological deficits as a result of biochemical impairment in the ability of the body to perform neurogenic repair in the central nervous system and a resultant poor quality of life with both economic and social implications. Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have come to the forefront of regenerative medicine in their ability to differentiate into several lineages including neurons and have been implicated as a potential strategy to combat the age-old challenges of central nervous system repair. Design: This study aimed to perform a systematic review, followed by laboratory experiments, to inform readers of current strategies being performed at a basic science level and to identify further challenges in this new field of neuroscience. We have used the PRISMA methodology using PubMed, Ovid, EMBASE and MEDLINE to assess all available studies looking into the role of MSCs in human neuronal tissue. During the experimental investigation, human primary tissue will be isolated from 4 different sides and will be compared using RNA sequencing. Subjects and Methods Our primary aims were to report the ability of neuronal cell differentiation, the capacity to form scaffolding to bridge damaged neuronal tissue and the capacity for functional return. This would span a period from the beginning of the database being searched to May 2024. Exclusion criteria would include studies reporting animal tissue, and studies that were not in English. Cells will be expanded till p2, RNA will be extracted and Bulk sequencing will be performed and gene pathways analyzed. Results A scoping review of the literature has identified the role of MSCs in neuronal repair, scaffolding for creating new neural networks, and paracrine and autocrine effects on neighbouring glial cells. These have proved exciting areas of research and are culminating in a future understanding of the role of these MSCs in neuronal regeneration. Maternally derived MSCs are the most used type of MSCs in spinal cord injury repair. This will be validated by experiments. Conclusion: By reporting these studies, our aim is to highlight and guide readers of our study about future potential questions, challenges and current concepts to help steer future research within this vastly expanding and exciting field.
Dr. Rezai Jahromi is from Helsinki University Hospital Department of Neurosurgery and Interventional Neuroradiology specilizing in neurovascular diseases. He is an active surgeon-scientist in the field of hemorrhagic stroke. Dr. Rezai Jahromi has published more than 100 papers and more than 20 book chapters on intracranial aneurysms, AVMs, CCMs, and spontaneous ICH. His studies include large epidemiological investigations, basic pathogenesis of hemorrhagic stroke and large international randomized clinical trials. He has been granted multiple patents related to treating and imaging aneurysms and ICH patients.
He is PI of ARCH Trial on IVH patients and VASH trial on SAH patients. Currently he works o detecting rupture prone brain aneurysms via immunoliposomes
A Holistic Research Infrastructure for Fair Brain Science
EBRAINS
Presented by Lyuba Zehl
EBRAINS is an open, integrative, digital research infrastructure (RI) developed by the EU-funded Human Brain Project (HBP) that provides a ground-breaking ecosystem where researchers, clinicians, and expert scientists from various disciplines converge to explore and analyse the complex and heterogeneous data in the field of neuroscience. EBRAINS is dedicated to promoting responsible research and innovation practices with a focus on brain health, to shape neuroscience in ethically sound ways that serve the public interest. EBRAINS was founded in 2019 and included in the European Strategy Forum on Research Infrastructures (ESFRI) roadmap and the European Open Science Cloud (EOSC) member list in 2021 and 2022, respectively. As of today (2024/05/31), EBRAINS has 10 full member institutions and 56 associate member institutions across 17 European countries. Today’s scientists are confronted with various barriers when handling complex and heterogeneous data in neuroscience, in particular when studying one of the most complex known structures: the human brain. With estimates of over 85 billion neurons, 85 billion non-neuronal cells, and 100 trillion connections with a compute power of one quintillion mathematical operations per second, the brain can be studied at different spatial and temporal scales using a sheer endless number of techniques from various disciplines. Consequently, research barriers for individual scientists or scientific groups include lack of access to high-end hardware or software technology, and lack of personnel with multidisciplinary expertise. EBRAINS offers an ecosystem of seamlessly integrated services minimising these research barriers by empowering researchers, clinicians, and expert scientists from various disciplines to explore and analyse brain data in a collaborative digital RI. EBRAINS core services include base infrastructure services (e.g., virtual research environments, storage, computation, access and identity management), as well as essential services for data and knowledge management, as well as brain data visualisation and analysis. Moreover, EBRAINS partners with various trusted research environments for handling sensitive human data in compliance with the EU legislation for ethical research and general data protection regulation. EBRAINS implemented and continuously optimises a user-friendly, centralised management system for FAIR data and knowledge which enables users to seamlessly connect and integrate foundational heterogeneous, but interoperable data into a suite of specialised tools, computational models, and computational workflows. In particular, data are dynamically integrated into a multiscale and multimodal human brain atlas which feeds into digital twin approaches through modelling and simulation. With this, EBRAINS is deepening a holistic understanding of brain structure and function, leading to advancements in brain research and health, technology, and computing.
Innovation Showcase Company Profiles
Opora
People-first Ethical Data and AI Platform For Brain Healthcare and Research. A Demo of the Migraine Patient Voice and E-consent App Built on Opora
Presented by Svitlana Surodina
Health is inherently about people—their values, concerns, and minds. People are interconnected, sharing relationships, interests, and characteristics with their families, communities, caregivers, and doctors. However, the current data collection and compliance systems systematically fail to address this human dimension, hindering healthcare by preventing clinicians and researchers from leveraging advanced technology and AI. Instead, these professionals spend valuable time navigating technical jargon and compliance documents, diverting their focus from patient care. This is why we created OPORA, a People-First Data Platform. OPORA fundamentally transforms how human values are incorporated at all stages of data collection, consent, regulatory compliance, AI analytics, and clinical technology system development. Our platform ensures that the human aspect is at the forefront of healthcare data management. Our data infrastructure is built on a graph data format, mimicking the complex structure of neurons in the brain, unlike the traditional table format. This format is ideal for pattern and relationship-based analytics, particularly for human data. Companies like Google and Netflix leverage graph data in PageRank algorithms and movie preference analyses. Graph data is not only fast for machine processing but also intuitively understandable for humans, which is essential for explaining AI-assisted decisions. The OPORA platform integrates data compliance and other requirements within the same data structure, combining abstract real-world needs, cultural attitudes, diverse legal and ethical guidelines. The first solution that we delivered to the market on this platform is a migraine treatment and data collection mobile application, available on App Store. Migraine affects 1 in 7 people in Europe and cost €125bln in productivity loss and healthcare burden. As an essential component, we are integrating the Patient Voice eConsent via the app to further guide healthcare towards meeting personal, human needs. We continually engage with stakeholders in each clinical project, customising the Graph to their organisation’s specific needs. Our international presence and ongoing sessions allow us to expand our central graph of ethical, regulatory, cultural, and location-specific knowledge, benefiting all our partners. With OPORA, clinical decision-makers can easily access and analyse data using natural language queries. This user-friendly approach allows for quick and efficient answers to important questions, enhancing decision-making processes without requiring technical expertise. OPORA’s Graph AI offers breakthrough opportunities. Our Graph Validation Algorithms analyze data, updating parameters for quality, dropout risks, and adverse effects using relationship-driven models like clustering, PageRank, and community detection. The results can be visually explored, providing clear insights into data patterns and relationships. AI engineers can access data ethics parameters, corresponding regulations, and internal documents, facilitating easy compliance and validation of data suitability for algorithm development and testing. OPORA provides an infrastructure where third-party engineers and AI developers can build compliant, organisation-specific technology solutions. In summary, OPORA represents a paradigm shift in healthcare data management, placing people at the centre. By incorporating human values at every stage, we empower clinicians, researchers, and AI developers to deliver more effective and compassionate brain health solutions.
Cortex Machina
Medical-grade EEG and BCI Technology Designed for Ease-of-use, Portability, Accessibility, Cost-effectiveness and Seamless Third-party Integration
Presented by Romain Pecher
Cortex Machina is a brain-computer interface (BCI) and neurosciences technologies provider.
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Cortex Machina introduces an innovative EEG (electroencephalography) and BCI (brain-computer interface) technology designed to overcome traditional barriers in the medical and research sectors through simplicity, portability, accessibility, and seamless third-party integration. Our system comprises the Vortex dry electrode headset, an EEG cap version optimized for medical applications, and our Cortex Machina PRO software. Historically, EEG/BCI technology has been complex and costly, requiring extensive expertise in neuroscience and programming. Our goal is to democratize this technology, making it user-friendly and accessible while maintaining medical-grade quality. The Vortex hardware enables EEG data recording in under 30 seconds without advanced operator skills, leveraging its revolutionary amplifier to deliver high-quality EEG data from dry electrodes, thus eliminating the need for time-consuming wet electrode systems. The Cortex Machina PRO software automates much of the EEG workflow and offers real-time BCI capabilities, quantifying metrics such as concentration, fatigue, mental workload, engagement, and emotional recognition. Our modular approach to medical certification maintains the headset at an EU Class I level while offering a catalog of healthcare applications with varying classification levels. This strategy enables rapid and diversified market entry for different healthcare applications. Moreover, our system’s portability and at-home capabilities significantly enhance usability, allowing for flexible and convenient deployment, freeing up in-hospital resources, and significantly improving patients’ quality of life. This is exemplified by out ‘At-Home Epilepsy Diagnosis’ product, enabling long-term EEG recordings for newly diagnosed epilepsy patients from the convenience of their own homes, while preserving patient mobility. This stands in contrast to the conventional practice of using in-hospital wet EEG systems, which involve cumbersome setups, uncomfortable conductive gel, restricted patient mobility, and significant hospital resource utilization. Our technology also support seamless integration with third-party applications through an open-source approach, including WebSocket data streaming and compatibility with the prominent BrainFlow programming library, to which we are major contributors. This flexibility ensures smooth integration into other applications and projects, fostering a robust research and development ecosystem around our technology. In conclusion, Cortex Machina’s technology represents a significant advancement in brain innovation, reducing human and financial barriers to EEG/BCI adoption by researchers, healthcare providers, patients, industry professionals, investors, policymakers, and society at large, by providing a versatile, cost-effective, and easy-to-use EEG/BCI solution.
Romain Pecher is the Chief Scientific Officer and co-founder of Cortex Machina, leading the development of innovative EEG and BCI technologies. With a diverse background in chemistry, material sciences, nuclear engineering, aerospace, and neuroengineering, he applies a multidisciplinary approach to neurotechnology. Romain oversees both software and hardware development at Cortex Machina, enhancing EEG and BCI applications in medical, research, and industrial sectors, with the aim of making neurotechnology more accessible and effective.
REGEnLIFE
A Brain-Gut Stimulation Therapy for Alzheimer's Disease: From Preclinical Research to Clinical Trials and Market Access
Presented by Guillaume Blivet
Innovative medical devices to combat Alzheimer’s disease and other neurological conditions.
Based in Montpellier, France, REGEnLIFE is an innovative company in neurotechnology and photomedicine. It is currently developing a new therapeutic approach for the prevention and treatment of neurological conditions. Our mission is to offer technology which will improve the health and everyday lives of patients with debilitating neurological conditions such as Alzheimer’s disease. Specifically, our “Tri-Photonic Stimulation” technology uses a combination of biophotonics and magnetic fields to limit patients’ cognitive decline, and to slow the progression of the disease.
Recently, innovative non-pharmacological approaches, like neurostimulation have emerged as promising treatments for Alzheimer’s disease (AD). This Innovation Showcase delineates the journey from preclinical research to clinical application and market access of a trailblazer in medtech and neurotech: a brain–gut stimulation using photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy. It encompasses a translation from mouse models to pilot clinical trials involving mild-to-moderate AD patients, culminating in an ongoing pivotal clinical trial. In an Alzheimer’s disease mouse model, daily administration of brain–gut PBM therapy to both the head and abdomen exhibited neuroprotective effects normalizing altered behavioral and biochemical parameters. The pilot clinical trial assessing brain–gut PBM therapy, which takes the shape of a helmet and an abdominal belt, demonstrated its tolerability and feasibility in treating mild-to-moderate AD patients. Compared to placebo-treated patients, those receiving PBM therapy exhibited improvements in cognitive function over a short treatment period. This pilot study laid crucial groundwork for designing a larger pivotal clinical trial over a longer treatment period, currently underway, aimed at evaluating the efficacy of brain–gut PBM therapy in a broader AD patient population. The outcomes of this pivotal trial could potentially validate brain–gut PBM therapy as a safe, well-tolerated, and effective disease-modifying treatment for mild-to-moderate AD patients, offering both medical and economic benefits. With its classification as a Class IIa medical device, successful results from the pivotal trial could pave the way for CE marking. This regulatory clearance would enhance confidence among healthcare providers, potentially leading to increased adoption of brain–gut PBM therapy in clinical practice. This broader market access not only benefits patients by providing them with an additional treatment option but also holds promise for reducing the overall burden of AD on healthcare systems by offering a potentially cost-effective solution.
Guillaume Blivet is an entrepreneur and an innovator with 15+ years of global experience in multiple areas of healthcare, medical technologies, and disease management. Guillaume specializes in public health (MPH) and is also graduated with an Executive MBA.
He is Chief Innovation Officer of REGEnLIFE, a NeuroTech he founded in 2016. This company develops a novel medical device dedicated to people living with neurodegenerative diseases, specifically Alzheimer’s disease. This patented therapeutic solution is a non-invasive and painless application which takes the form of a helmet and an abdominal belt which together target both the brain and the gut.
He’s also Associate editor of the Journal on Alzheimer’s Disease and co-chair of the International Symposium on Sport-related Concussion.
Federation of European Neuroscience Societies
Presented by Sameer Zuberi
The Federation of European Neuroscience Societies (FENS) is the voice of European neuroscience. FENS currently represents 44 European national and single discipline neuroscience societies with more than 20,000 member scientists from 33 European countries. FENS’ mission is to advance research and education in neuroscience within and outside Europe, and to facilitate interaction and coordination between its members.
IDUN Technologies
Focus and Cognitive Workload Tracking with Brain-sensing Earbuds
Presented by Simon Bachmann
IDUN Technologies was founded by Séverine Gisin and Simon Bachmann and incorporated in 2017 as a spin-off from the Federal Institute of Technology (ETH) in Zürich, Switzerland. It spun out with a material innovation for sensors developing a dry, flexible, soft and bio-compatible innovative material to measure high-quality ExG.
In 2020, IDUN Technologies pivoted towards the brain by measuring EEG from the ear, aiming to functionalize scalable hearables with its patented DRYODE™ material. The choice of earbuds came from the intuition that earphones, the most widely adopted wearable device in modern society, are one of the best candidates as the next health platform for consumer well-being and health applications: a sort of smartwatch for the brain. Its location is close to the brain, and the reduced movement, thanks to good stabilization in the ear, allows one to pick up high-quality EEG.
Today, we have a core team of around 20 people, covering the full stack: from material science, electrical and cloud engineers, to ML experts and neuroscientists. We are developing a global brain data platform to scale personalized interventions through in-ear EEG earbuds. IDUN is positioning itself in the B2B field and works with its partners› ecosystem to enable interventions in diverse industries, ranging from sleep, hearing, and mindfulness, to gaming and safety.
Understanding and quantifying cognitive workload is essential for assessing human performance, especially in domains requiring high cognitive engagement. This project investigated EEG correlates for cognitive load measured by the IDUN Guardian brain-sensing (in-ear EEG) earbuds. The Guardian Earbuds measure high-quality EEG signals from inside of the ear canal, enabling the development of mobile and intuitive brain-computer interface audio products that integrate seamlessly into lifestyle audio products. Cognitive load is the mental effort required to perform tasks, impacting working memory, attention, and other mental processes and can be characterized through EEG frequency bands pattern changes. IDUN developed a cognitive load score (CLS) metric to easily integrate cognitive load characterization into applications and a real-time algorithm for visual neurofeedback was developed. Experiments with the IDUN Guardian demonstrate its reliability in detecting changes in mental effort across different conditions. IDUN’s innovative algorithm’s real-time feedback mechanism points to a future of adaptive systems responsive to cognitive states. Methods The IDUN Guardian brain-sensing earbuds offer a reliable method for capturing EEG data related to cognitive load. By analyzing EEG frequency bands and integrating these findings into a cognitive load score, IDUN provides a comprehensive understanding of mental effort dynamics. The CLS algorithm can be integrated with visual neurofeedback to assist users in cognitive load management. Cognitive load during mental arithmetic was characterized with the IDUN Guardian. In a controlled study participants (N=8) did a 10s resting-state EEG session to establish a baseline calibration, then did easy calculations (e.g. 5+2) and finally moved on to difficult calculations (e.g. 435-217). To assess the effects of changing cognitive workload EEG frequency components were distilled down to a cognitive load score (CLS). The CLS was calculated by 1) using the relative band powers in the frequency range from 0.5-40Hz, 2) dividing the relative band power of the Delta band by the alpha, beta and sigma bands, 3) normalization, 4) calculation of the mean of frequency bands, and 5) smoothing by rolling mean with a 30s window. A visual neurofeedback demo was built with the CLS. While subjects performed calculations of changing difficulty, the background color changed automatically based on their measured cognitive load score in real-time. The feedback could serve as a foundation for interventions, e.g. for dynamically adapting the difficulty level to reach a flow state (gaming, learning, working, etc.), to automatically introducing work breaks, changing the auditory environment, etc. Outlook In-ear EEG and CLS can impact many application areas. In education, it can optimize learning by ensuring tasks are within manageable cognitive limits. In professional settings, it can boost productivity by preventing cognitive overload. In eSports, it can enhance performance by monitoring and managing mental effort. In transportation, it can improve driver safety by detecting fatigue and cognitive overload. The integration of in-ear EEG systems like the IDUN Guardian into daily life represents a major advancement in cognitive science and technology. By providing a tool to measure and manage cognitive load, we pave the way for innovations that enhance human performance and well-being.
European Academy of Neurology
Presented by Sameer Zuberi
The European Academy of Neurology is non-profit, independent organisation aiming to promote neurological excellence in the practice of general neurology leading to improved patient care throughout Europe by supporting 45,000 members and working closely with 47 European national societies.
EAN aims to keep Europe at the forefront of neurological research and maintain its position as one of the world’s scientific hotspots in neurology.
GAMIAN Europe
Presented by Ting-Yun Yen
GAMIAN-Europe (Global Alliance of Mental Illness Advocacy Networks-Europe), a patient-driven pan-European organization, represents the interests of persons affected by mental illness and advocates for their rights. Its main objectives are: advocacy, information and education, anti-stigma and discrimination, patients’ rights, co-operation, partnerships and capacity building.
International Brain Research Organization
Presented by Ting-Yun Yen
The Pan European Regional Committee (PERC) of the International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) is a global organization resulting from the union of neuroscience organizations with the aim to promote and support neuroscience training and collaborative research around the world. The IBRO-PERC is a PanEuropean Regional Committee supporting the IBRO mission and helping to plan and implement IBRO activities in Europe.
European Health and Digital Executive Agency
Presented by Sameer Zuberi
HaDEA’s mission consists in implementing actions that strengthen Europe in the domains of health, food safety, digital technologies and networks, industrial capacities and space. The Agency provides high-quality and service-oriented support for a healthier, fairer and more resilient European society and a more competitive European industry. HaDEA ensures that the projects it manages deliver concrete results that benefit the lives of all EU citizens and provides the European Commission with valuable input for its policies.
