{"id":252,"date":"2018-03-18T12:12:43","date_gmt":"2018-03-18T17:12:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/m2d2\/?p=252"},"modified":"2018-03-18T19:34:43","modified_gmt":"2018-03-19T00:34:43","slug":"meet-an-m2d2-finalist-drug-free-therapeutix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.uml.edu\/m2d2\/2018\/03\/18\/meet-an-m2d2-finalist-drug-free-therapeutix\/","title":{"rendered":"Meet an M2D2 Finalist: Drug Free Therapeutix"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Drug

Clockwise from top left: Stephen Hourigan, CEO\/Co-Founder; John Ward, President\/Co-Founder; Matthew Ward, CSO\/Co-Founder; Shreyas Sen, CTO\/Co-Founder<\/p><\/div>\n

Meet\u00a0<\/b>Drug<\/b>\u00a0<\/b>Free\u00a0<\/b>Therapeutix<\/b>, one of 20\u00a0<\/b>medtech<\/b>\u00a0startups chosen as finalists in the 7th annual M2D2 $200K Challenge. Co-founder<\/b>\u00a0and CSO Matthew Ward took us inside the development of their innovation.\u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n

What is the innovation you\u2019ve entered in the M2D2 $200K Challenge?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

DFTx\u00a0empowers next-generation\u00a0bioelectronics for pain and other conditions through machine learning and human body communication technology.<\/p>\n

What inspired you to develop your\u00a0<\/i><\/b>device?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

You could say we’re guided by the classic\u00a0Yogi\u00a0Berra\u00a0quote,\u00a0\u201cIf\u00a0you don\u2019t know where you are going, you might wind up someplace else.\u201d\u00a0Neurostimulation\u00a0devices like spinal cord stimulators have traditionally treated the electrical stimulus as a universal dosing element. The problem is that stimulus parameters are poor predictors of efficacy. For spinal cord stimulators to be effective, for example, they must be tuned to specific nerve pathways that channel pain messages to the brain.\u00a0But, there are\u00a0thousands of channels<\/i>\u00a0to choose from and it can take\u00a0up\u00a0<\/i>to two\u00a0<\/i>years\u00a0<\/i>to\u00a0manually<\/i>\u00a0find the right one.\u00a0This is frustrating for the physician and patient, and costly to patients, providers and insurers.<\/p>\n

We wanted to change that by providing an intelligent dosing system that uses nerve and other biological feedback signals to automatically tune the stimulus to engage the correct nerve pathways (i.e., channels of communication) for better therapy in less time. This led to the development of Extended Activation Control Technology (EXACT™), a universal dosing system that uses Subdermal Communication Technology\u2014an interference-robust form of Human Body Communication (HBC) developed by\u00a0DFTx\u00a0co-founder\u00a0Dr.\u00a0Shreayas\u00a0Sen\u2014to gather physiological data that our machine learning algorithms use to continuously engage the correct nerve pathways.<\/p>\n

What are the most significant barriers you\u2019ve faced and overcome?\u00a0<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

The most significant non-funding barrier was the cynicism around the ability of our technology to capture nerve recordings sufficient to power our algorithms. This is also one of the most important pieces to our intellectual property, since the market has struggled to effectively navigate the \u201cnoise and\/or interference\u201d challenges around measuring and interpreting nerve response signals. Furthermore,\u00a0the market\u00a0has not figured out how to effectively use modern computational tools to facilitate seamless, two-way communication with the nervous system.\u00a0We believe that the device must fit the patient, not the other way around.\u00a0We have powerful technology, experience, and know-how to bring such devices to market.<\/p>\n

Can you share a \u201cEureka!\u201d moment\u2014a breakthrough in the development of your\u00a0<\/i><\/b>idea?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

\"Click<\/a>The\u00a0Eureka moment for our team was the realization that we could address one of the largest obstacles to\u00a0machine learning in implantable medical devices:\u00a0sufficient power capacity to generate and deliver\u00a0biomarkers\u00a0(nerve and organ response data)\u00a0that will\u00a0provide physicians and insurance companies the supporting evidence that SCS can be a primary treatment for pain and not a \u201clast resort\u201d therapy.<\/p>\n

Our mission was to deliver a patient- and physician-friendly device that can be trained by the patient using subjective input, while collecting critical treatment data to help us understand the mechanisms-of-action of these therapies and inform the design of more intelligent devices in the future. Our\u00a0HBC\u00a0technology allows us to do this in a battery-friendly way, using up to 100x less energy per bit than wireless communication technology in use today.\u00a0It allows us to distribute noninvasive or minimally-invasive sensors to multiple locations in the body. And it enables us\u00a0to run\u00a0complex learning algorithms on external devices like a smart watch or phone.<\/p>\n

If you win, what\u2019s next?<\/i><\/b><\/p>\n

If we win, we will take advantage of every valuable resource that M2D2 provides to accelerate the time-to-market and adoption of our intelligent neural control technology platform. These resources will help\u00a0us to take a more aggressive position among new entrants and will enhance our ability to raise a Series A\u00a0round of approximately $5M to complete the development of the world\u2019s most intelligent, secure, and\u00a0energy-efficient dosing platform for next-generation neurostimulators. Artificial intelligence is becoming\u00a0more common in diagnostic applications, but there are only a few examples of artificially intelligent\u00a0systems that control treatment delivery according to patient characteristics and need. We have the tools\u00a0and expertise necessary to empower major medical device companies with\u00a0new ways to address the unique\u00a0needs of their\u00a0end users, while providing unprecedented access to treatment data to inform the design of\u00a0new\u00a0product lines and expand the patient population who could benefit from their products.<\/p>\n

\n
Learn more about DFTx at www.drugfreetherapeutix.com<\/a>.<\/div>\n
You\u2019re invited to meet ALL the finalists in person at the two upcoming events that will conclude the Challenge:<\/strong><\/div>\n
\n