Santa Fe-based NeuroGeneces is bringing audio therapy to the brain during deep sleep.
The company, founded in 2016, offers a head-bound device that it says helps enhance slow-wave sleep and cognitive function. Specifically, the product is meant to be affixed around the top of a person's head as they sleep. Using certain sounds, the product aims to increase memory consolidation — referring to the long-term storage of information in a person's neocortex.
“We’re all about improving brain health. Measuring it and actually improving it," founder Karen Crow told Business First in a Jan. 25 interview.
The startup's product, as she describes it, is similar to a pacemaker for the brain in that it stimulates activity — albeit with sound and not electricity.
In addition, NeuroGeneces says its technology utilizes machine-learning algorithms that can measure the current health status of the brain, giving people an idea of how much their brain has aged and deteriorated. And as the headband is used, it also learns about each person's individual brain functions, allowing it to provide more targeted audio stimulation.
The company hopes its product acts as a pre-emptive measure to reduced brain health, as opposed to a reactive measure.
NeuroGeneces is primarily self-funded. Crow said the startup has also won a grant from the Department of Defense in collaboration with Massachusetts Institute of Technology for the study and development of its concept. The U.S. Air Force in particular has shown interest in how the technology can enhance cognitive performance and training for pilots, Crow added.
Moving forward, NeuroGeneces wants to continue studying the technology's potential, especially as it relates to things like stress recovery. The company also wants to stay in Santa Fe, although Crow will admit that "finding talent is always a challenge for us right now" as they seek people with very niche skills and knowledge.
NeuroGeneces currently employs six people — all with a similar outlook, according to Crow. They include cofounder Jason Worchel who is a practicing neuropsychiatrist, according to the company.
“We’re all in this because of our dedication to the vision," Crow said.
This story has been updated to clarify that the neocortex is the area of the brain responsible for the long-term storage of information.
