This week: Neural Engineering
Today, the field of neural engineering is a discipline of bioscience that figures out how to connect machines directly to the body’s nervous system. Functional ElectroStimulation or FES is the type of neural engineering that concentrates on regaining or replacing muscle or organ function control via an engineered device. This particular science aims to make the 70’s TV series, The Six Million Dollar Man, a reality.

In this month’s issue of Spectrum Magazine, http://www.spectrum.ieee.org there's a feature article on FES that has highlighted two Cleveland area companies, Oberlin's Synapse Biomedical and NeuroControl in Valley View, showing cutting edge research going on within these two Cleveland institutions. The Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Spectrum is a highly respected publication, it's one of the oldest and largest international tech societies in the world with circulation over 385,000 globally, so it's interesting that our local institutions have received international acclaim, yet no local attention. I have not seen or read any mention of FES or its Cleveland connection in the Plain Dealer or other local media sources.

Remember the hoopla last year when “Superman” Christopher Reeve come to University Hospitals and received an implant that allowed him to breathe without a respirator? UH took much of the credit for this. And why not? It was their technology, but it is Oberlin’s Synapse Biomedical that's commercializing it, doing the testing for it, and creating the reputation for Northeast Ohio. Both the winners of last year's Case Business Plan and this year's COSE Business Plan competitions attracted the attention of a Chicago investment banking firm, so much that its first vice president agreed to be the unpaid chairman of the company. And I wonder, where are all the local venture capitalists getting their white canes and dark glasses? They can't even see a nationally recognized gem right under their noses. Spectrum lists Synapse Biomedical as a top ten company to watch in the forecasted $3.8 billion dollar market in 2008.

Another company is NeuroControl, a homegrown company that's developed a hand grasp stimulator, bowel and bladder controls and therapeutic muscle stimulation. Established in 1993, it is one of the elder statesmen in the sector and has affirmed its commitment to Northeast Ohio’s bioscience industry by becoming one of the original eleven charter members of NEOBio, Cleveland's grassroot bioscience industry group. NeuroControl's VP of Sales & Marketing, Joe Katzenstein, is an acknowledged expert who has been quoted about the FES industry, yet besides announcing its market focus shift and accompanying downsizing, nobody in Cleveland has paid any mind to this company since Morganthler invested back in 1999.

Both companies have their technical roots in CASE’s FES Center and the Center’s Director, P. Hunter Peckham, who was also interviewed and quoted in the article. This center creates technology that improves the quality of life and spins out “real” companies; so why is it that Clevelanders don’t recognize his name, nor have they seen him listed as a hometown hero? But if you go to Florida and ask Jennifer French (a patient who benefited from his technology) if she knows who he is, she’ll respond with a resounding YES. Thanks to Dr. Peckham’s technology, she is now walking after a horrendous snowboarding accident that paralyzed her from the waist down. As a result she's started the Society to Increased Mobility (STIM.

Media surveys showed that Spectrum is highly read by its subscribers. That's a lot of intelligent, influential people looking at our town as the hub for discovering and implementing the initial steps toward achieving “Six Million Dollar Man”-like bionics. This isn’t just "pie in the sky" research that asks for patience, this is about real companies hoping to make real money and asking for real patients. It's time for Cleveland to pay attention -- this is a huge success story. Embrace it and get used to it, because there are many more of these local success stories out there.

Recommended events and lectures open to the public:
Toward Comprehensive Proteomics of Cells. Speakers include John Yates Scripps Research Institute Thu 4/15 at 4:30PM. At CASE's Agnar Pytte Science Center, Rm 108, Goodyear Lecture Hall/Clapp Hall, Adelbert Dr across from Rainbow Babies and Children's Hospital.

The Role of Molecular Modeling in Nano-Biotechnology: From DNA in Nanofluidic Devices to Liquid-Crystal Based Biosensors. Speakers include Juan J. De Pablo, Chemical & Bio Engineer from University of Wisconsin, Madison Fri 4/16 at 3PM. At CASE's Agnar Pytte Science Center, Rm 108, Goodyear Lecture Hall/Clapp Hall, Adelbert Dr.

University IP Issues Speakers include Meheran Mehregany, Chair, Dept. of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science Tue 4/20 at 9AM. CASE, Biomedical Research Building, Frohing Auditorium in room BRB 105.

From Cool Cleveland contributor Steve Goldberg steveg@ieee.org (:divend:)