Dr. Bryan McLaughlin is the president of Micro-Leads, a medical device company working on implantable therapy for spinal cord stimulation. In this episode, he discusses his research and investigation into medical-grade technologies to treat spinal cord injury, as well as his collaboration with DARPA in this endeavor.

Top three takeaways:

1. The electrodes manufactured by Micro-Leads used for spinal cord stimulation target more fibers and have more electrode channels than other electrodes
2. McLaughlin is investigating medical-grade electrode technology for spinal cord stimulation that uses flexible materials
3. McLaughlin is collaborating with DARPA as part of their “bridging the gap” program for treatment of spinal cord injury

[0:00] Ladan introduces the episode and the guest, Dr. Bryan McLaughlin, at SfN 2019

[1:15] Micro-Leads distinguishes itself from other spinal cord stimulation companies by offering electrodes that reach fibers that couldn’t have been targeted previously, with more electrode channels

[4:45] This technology specifically targets pain, which is a major unmet need

[6:15] Dr. McLaughlin’s research company has devised medical-grade electrode technology using soft, flexible materials that can be used to help patients with spinal cord injury.

[8:50] Dr. McLaughlin discusses collaborating with DARPA to develop technologies for treating spinal cord injury