Parkinson’s disease is the fastest-growing neurological condition in the world, and yet there is currently no cure. Lucy Jung co-founded Charco Neurotech, an Imperial College London spinout, to develop a medical device that alleviates Parkinson’s symptoms with vibrations.
Jung, who met someone with Parkinson’s in 2014 while studying for a double master’s degree in innovation design engineering, talks to the UKTN Podcast host Jane Wakefield about her journey spinning a medtech startup out of academia.
The company has secured more than $10m in investment for its non-invasive, pebble-shaped device that delivers vibrotactile stimulation to the chest to improve motor performance and alleviate gait freezing for people with Parkinson’s.
The device can be linked with an accompanying smartphone app to track symptoms and customise treatment. It is currently used by 900 people, with a further 12,000 on its waiting list. During the latest episode of the UKTN Podcast, Jung explains the science behind vibrotactile stimulation – and its unexpected history.
Elsewhere on the UKTN Podcast, the Charco Neurotech chief executive discusses balancing medtech regulation with innovation, and how devices like the implantable brain–computer interfaces made by Elon Musk’s Neuralink could “maximise our brain”.
Listen to the full episode here, along with all previous episodes of the UKTN Podcast.
The UKTN Podcast is sponsored by Deazy, a tech build platform enabling cost-effective, flexible and scalable development services.
The post UKTN Podcast: Charco Neurotech CEO on treating Parkinson’s with a vibrating medtech device appeared first on UKTN | UK Tech News.
