Small companies are finding broad paths to success. While the big medical device makers may have a deep-pockets advantage in the neurostimulation space, many smaller players are innovating their way to advances that offer tantalizing hope for changing patients’ lives.

Brain stimulation technology for the treatment of neurological disorders is rapidly evolving. With the advent of “bidirectional” systems, such as the Medtronic Percept, which are able to sense from and stimulate the brain simultaneously, there is opportunity to modify stimulation based on changes in brain activity.

Neuroengineering, also known as neural engineering, is a rapidly expanding interdisciplinary field that bridges neuroscience and engineering. It encompasses research at the cellular, tissue, and systems levels, and has become a core discipline within biomedical engineering and beyond. By applying engineering principles and methods, neuroengineering studies the nervous system and develops techniques for diagnosing, treating, and rehabilitating neurological disorders.