2022 NeuroAbilities Virtual Symposium

“Unlocking the BCI and Neurotech Market for Persons with Disabilities”

 

March 30th, March 31st and April 1st, 2022

11:00 A.M.– 12:30 P.M. Eastern Time (U.S. & Canada)

 

Live closed captioning and sign language interpretation provided. This free event was conducted in English. 

View the recordings for Day 1​, Day 2​​​ and Day 3.

Resources from the Symposium may be found here, as well as resources shared by our FDA keynote speakers. 

Introduction: 

As neurotechnologies (NT), including Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCI), evolve rapidly, what are their pathways to marketable solutions for Persons with Disabilities? What is their market potential? How can their design and applications best serve Persons with Disabilities?  How can barriers to adoption be lifted and neuroethics challenges resolved?

The 2022 NeuroAbilities Virtual Symposium will explore these issues with experts from different stakeholder groups, featuring keynote presentations from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, industry leaders, end users, advocates, and funders.  The two main pathways for BCI and NT devices development -- as regulated medical devices or unregulated direct-to-consumer (DTC) products – and their specific challenges and opportunities will be featured over the course of our three-day symposium.

Featured Topics: 

  • NT user demographics among Persons with Disabilities  
  • Tracking NT innovation with global patent activity
  • User Perspectives: Independent living Vs. medical priorities Vs. consumer products 
  • Paths to scaling up for BCI and NT innovators 
  • Regulated vs. Unregulated paths to market
  • Evolving financing sources for BCI and NT R&D and product development 
  • Barriers to adoption
  • Neuroethics

 

Agenda for Wednesday, March 30, 2022 – Day One (90’)
Theme: The Neurotech Opportunity for Persons with Disabilities

Host Conductor: Christopher M. Lee, Ph.D., IAAP Managing Director, Vice President, G3ict

Setting the Stage: Enabling technologies, R&D and disability demographics drivers

  • Axel Leblois, President, G3ict

Tracking Innovation, WIPO Technology Trends Report on Assistive Technology

  • Alejandro Roca Campaña, Senior Director of the Access to Information and Knowledge Division, Global Infrastructure Sector (GIS), World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) 

User & Industry Dialogue
Why access to BCI and NT solutions matters to the disability community

Moderator: John D. Kemp, President and CEO, Lakeshore Foundation

Speakers:

  • Sandy Hanebrink, OTR/L, CLP, FAOTA, PLY, Executive Director, Touch the Future Inc.; promoter of the Walk2Walk Campaign
  • Michael McKinley, Ph.D., Co-founder and COO, SuitX / Ottobock Bionic Exoskeletons

Interview: How Can Market Potentials Be Met? 
An exploration of R&D investments, evolving funding sources, ecosystem development, distribution channels and support, scaling up opportunities.  

  • Amy Kruse, General Partner, Prime Movers Lab  
  • Ana Maiques, CEO, Neuroelectrics 

Interviewed by Cathy Bodine, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Director, Center for Inclusive Design and Engineering, Director of the Innovation Ecosystem Core, University of Colorado Denver

View Speakers' Biographies for Day One

 

Agenda for Thursday, March 31, 2022 – Day Two (90’)
Theme: Regulatory Frameworks & Alternative Paths for Direct-to-Consumer Technologies

Host Conductor: Christopher M. Lee, Ph.D., IAAP Managing Director, Vice President, G3ict 

Introductory Remarks

  • Professor Florian Solzbacher, Co-founder and Chairman, Blackrock Neurotech

The Regulated Path – Perspectives from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration
Assistive technologies solutions for independent living in the U.S. Food and Drug Administration review processes, including the End User as the Person with the disability, not the researcher or caregiver, Digital health trends in Software as a Medical Device and Software in a Medical Device (SaMD and SiMD, respectively).

  • Moderator/Discussant: Jennifer Collinger, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, University of Pittsburgh 

Presentation:

  • Heather Dean, Ph.D., Assistant Director, Acute Injury Devices Team, CDRH, U.S. FDA
  • Julia Slocomb, Ph.D., Lead Reviewer, CDRH, U.S. FDA

The New Paradigm of Unregulated Direct-to-Consumer Neurotech Products
Direct sales of assistive technologies to consumers, consumer products incorporating BCI/NT, i.e., gaming, and wearable technologies.  Potential to help scale up NTs market reach and generate economies of scale.  Success factors for BCI/NT based products and applications?  Will Neuroethics and privacy concerns be detrimental to the mainstreaming of BCI/NT applications in consumer markets?

Moderator:  Antony Ruck, CEO at Aventido Limited and Co-President at DATEurope

Speakers:

  • Anna Wexler, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania
  • Ramses Alcaide, Ph.D., Co-founder, CEO and President, Neurable
  • Andreas Forsland, CEO & Chief Product Officer, Cognixion

View Speakers' Biographies for Day Two

 

Agenda for Friday, April 1, 2022 – Day Three (90’)
Theme: Disability Rights & Neuroethics

Host Conductor: Christopher M. Lee, Ph.D., IAAP Managing Director, Vice President, G3ict

Advocacy Perspectives 

Moderator: Mohammed Ali Loutfy, Ph.D., Sr. Advisor, Capacity Building and Advocacy, G3ict

Speakers:

  • Thomas G. Broussard, Ph.D., Stroke Educator, Inc.
  • Steve Tyler, Director of Assistive Technology, Leonard Cheshire Disability
  • Ian Burkhart, President, Ian Burkhart Foundation

Fireside Chat: Neuroethics Considerations for Emerging Neurotechnologies

Moderator: Roger O. Smith, Ph.D., Professor, Occupational Sciences & Technology, College of Health Sciences, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and Director of the Rehabilitation Research Design & Disability (R2D2) Center

Speakers:

  • Khara Ramos, Ph.D., Vice President, Dana Foundation, former NIH Neuroethics Director
  • Timothy Brown, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Bioethics & Humanities, University of Washington, School of Medicine  

Policy, Advocacy & Assistive Neurotechnologies

Speaker:

  • Lidia Best, President, European Federation of Hard of Hearing People, ITU JCA-AHF (International Telecommunication Union Joint Coordination Activities on Accessibility and Human Factors)  

View Speakers' Biographies for Day Three

Thank You and Stay Connected 

About NeuroAbilities

NeuroAbilities is G3ict’s newest program to explore the current state of these assistive solutions based on advanced BCI/AI-enabled devices and neurotechnology that enable persons with disabilities and older persons to better interact with their environment. To learn more, visit Home | Neuroabilities.org
 

About G3ict

G3ict – the Global Initiative for Inclusive Information and Communication Technologies – is an advocacy initiative launched in December 2006, in cooperation with the Secretariat for the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities at UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UN DESA). Its mission is to facilitate and support the implementation of the dispositions of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) promoting digital accessibility and Assistive Technologies. Participating organizations include industry, academia, the public sector, and organizations representing persons with disabilities. To learn more, visit the G3ict website.

Wednesday, March 30, 2022