Neuralert Technologies' medical device makes Time's list of the best inventions of 2022 – The Business Journals
A Philadelphia medical device company’s lead product — a lightweight, non-invasive wristband that automates stroke detection and alerting — was named to Time magazine’s list of the best inventions of 2022.
Neuralert Technologies’ stroke detection device is among 200 life-changing innovations highlighted by the publication. Also on the list are life-mapping artificial intelligence, diamonds made from excess carbon in the air, and the most powerful telescope ever made.
Eric Corkhill, CEO of Neuralert, said the company is honored to be included on Time’s list of the year’s best inventions. “Our mission is to end the devastation caused by a stroke that is not detected in time for effective treatment,” he said.
Neuralert’s stroke detection device can identify the onset of asymmetric arm movement — one of the key indicators of stroke — in as little as 15 minutes, even if the user is sleeping. The wearable device is intended for use on patients in a hospital setting and works in conjunction with the company’s patented algorithm and alerting software.
“Our device represents a breakthrough in technology that offers significant advantages over current alternatives,” said Dr. Steven Messé, a Neuralert co-founder. “Stroke is a terrible disease which causes death and major long-term disability, so being able to detect it at a stage when it is most treatable is incredibly exciting.”
The unnamed device is not yet available commercially. The company is just starting the clinical study needed to secure Food and Drug Administration clearance for the product. Neuralert is aiming to launch the device during the first quarter of 2024.
A University of Pennsylvania spinout, Neuralert was co-founded in 2019 by Corkhill, Messé and James Weimer.
Corkhill is a a former Shared Medical Systems executive and entrepreneur with more than four decades of experience in the digital health industry who has been involved in the launch of 15 products in the acute care market. Messé is a neurologist and a professor of neurology at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. Weimer, a former research assistant professor in Penn’s department of computer and information science, is now an assistant professor in the department of computer science at Vanderbilt University.
The company is based at the Pennovation Center in the Grays Ferry section of West Philadelphia.
In July, the FDA designated the Neuralert device as a breakthrough device, which Corkhill said at the time will enable the company to have more frequent interactions with the FDA as it works to get its product improved. The designation should also help with payment issues should the monitor get marketing clearance, he said.
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