Drugs, devices and technology: a triple threat in human enablement treatments

The visible progress in the development of human enablement and enhancement technologies has given a huge boost to its mass adoption potential, says Frost & Sullivan.

Although there are several technologies such as exoskeletons, neurostimulators and nootropics, the technology with the best prospects for commercialisation is the non-invasive brain-computer interface (BCI).

The breadth and depth of BCIs in clinical and non-clinical uses make it stand out in the market and encourage technology developers to communicate their benefits to likely end users.

New analysis from Frost & Sullivan, Innovations in Human Enablement and Enhancement Technologies, finds that neurostimulators are gradually gaining importance in the healthcare industry and a number of top government organisations across the globe are treating them as the second line of treatment.

Nootropics are still battling a number of ethical issues and different regulatory bodies have prohibited their use; however, companies developing cognition enhancing drugs from organic substances have experienced success in the recent past.

Finally, exoskeletons for medical use will gain wider acceptance once there is insurance coverage for such devices.

The majority of the top manufacturers of electroencephalograph (EEG)-based BCI products are from the United States so naturally, the North American region has witnessed the maximum penetration of BCIs.

Their strategy of not introducing products as medical therapies has gained them exemption from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) certification.

The European region too has considerable stakes in the technology as it accounts for more than 20 percent of the human enhancement product sales and is a major contributor to technology developments.

“Most of the demand for BCIs is from the gaming market as the technology offers enhanced gaming and user experience through neurogaming.

“Meanwhile, people suffering with debilitating lower extremity disorders, paralysis or hemiparesis are demanding solutions that can improve their quality of life through assisted walking or better gait pattern,” said TechVision senior research analyst Karan Verma.

“This is a major driver for BCI applications, especially in exoskeletons and prosthetics.”

Human enablement devices that can be connected to mobile phones seamlessly and can track their activity and provide detailed analyses are also rising in popularity.

In addition to portability, advanced brain-sensing headbands and headsets will have multiple uses such as aiding mental relief through meditation exercise and improving focus.

With greater end-user awareness of these benefits, crowd funding is becoming the standard model for the initial round of investment in the human enablement and enhancement market.

In fact, a number of venture capitalists are now focusing on crowd-funded companies, as their innovative technologies seem highly promising.

“Start-ups across the globe need to bank on their technical expertise and collaborate with small- and medium-sized enterprises to make the most of their funding capability,” said Verma.

“Being a niche market, technologies across the human enablement and enhancement space are fairly new, and companies need to work collaboratively rather than competitively to ensure higher levels of innovation.”