Company developing minimally-invasive brain computer interface platform for post-stroke recovery

SAN FRANCISCO--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Epia Neuro, a brain computer interface company developing intent-driven systems to restore independence for people living with neurological conditions, today announced its official launch. The company is advancing a proprietary neural interface platform designed to translate brain signals into actionable digital commands, enabling rehabilitation and assistive therapies for stroke survivors and individuals with cognitive decline.

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Epia Neuro’s lead product is designed as a dual-phase stroke therapy that supports both post-stroke recovery and long-term assistive living after rehabilitation. The platform combines a minimally invasive, long-lifetime “read/write” brain-computer interface (BCI) with assistive devices and AI-driven support to help stroke survivors translate neural intent into functional movement and daily independence.

Epia Neuro is advancing towards first-in-human system demos this year, at the Department of Neurosurgery at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York.

“Epia Neuro was founded to restore meaningful function, provide real independence and ultimately provide the support individuals need to be fully present in their lives,” said Michel Maharbiz, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer, Epia Neuro. “Over the past five years, our team has been building our first product: a system that interprets neural intent in real time and translates it into rehabilitation therapies and practical, everyday assistance. We’re starting with stroke and plan to rapidly expand into additional neurological conditions.”

“Restoring function after neurological injury requires not just decoding signals, but translating them into meaningful, real-world actions for individuals post stroke,” said David J. Lin, M.D., a critical care neurologist, neurorehabilitation specialist, and Director of Massachusetts General Hospital's Neurorecovery Clinic. “What is compelling about Epia Neuro’s approach is its focus on real-time interpretation of neural intent and its potential to deliver practical, day-to-day independence, starting with a focus on people with stroke where the unmet need is enormous.”

At the core of Epia Neuro’s technology is a proprietary implantable interface engineered for surgical scalability and long-term durability. The device can be implanted within the skull in under an hour without piercing the dura, enabling a procedure and a clinical workflow designed from scratch for broad neurosurgical adoption. The implanted system is completely discreet and externally invisible, charged through a non-invasive headset, and designed for long lifetime use with the ability to be replaced or upgraded.

For stroke survivors, Epia Neuro’s device is training its neural interface to interpret user intent. Neural signals are fused with contextual data from external sensors to predict and drive assistive actions, including control of an upper-limb grip-assist motor prosthetic designed to be accessible, simple, and replaceable.

Unlike conventional read-only neural interfaces, the Epia Neuro platform supports both sensing and stimulation, both at the cortex and deep in the brain, enabling compatibility with cortical stimulation and deep brain stimulation approaches where clinically appropriate.

Stroke is a leading cause of long-term disability in the United States, with approximately 690,000 new stroke survivors each year. Of these, an estimated 60,000 stroke survivors annually could be eligible for Epia’s products, representing a U.S. market opportunity potentially in excess of USD 5 billion, dependent on pricing assumptions.

Epia Neuro is initially focused on stroke-related motor impairment, where clinical validation can be achieved efficiently while addressing a significant existing need. Beyond stroke, the company plans to expand their footprint to address cognitive decline and other neurological disorders, focusing on long-term solutions for the growing aging population.

Epia Neuro is led by a multidisciplinary executive team and world-class advisors with expertise spanning neuroscience, engineering, finance, and company building:

Michel Maharbiz, Ph.D., Chief Executive Officer - serial entrepreneur, founder of iota Biosciences, and former professor of Electrical Engineering and Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley

Gil Mandelbaum, Ph.D., Chief Technology and Science Officer - neuroscientist and technology leader with more than 15 years of experience developing hardware and software systems for neuroscience research and clinical applications

Michelle Patruno, Chief Operating Officer - operations executive with more than 15 years of experience scaling high-growth organizations and building teams and systems to support sustainable growth from early stage through IPO

The company is supported by a distinguished group of advisors and key opinion leaders from leading academic and clinical institutions, including Mark Richardson, M.D., Ph.D. (Massachusetts General Hospital); Netanel Ben-Shalom, M.D. (Lenox Hill Hospital); Joshua Aronson, M.D. (Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center / Harvard); Bernardo Sabatini, M.D., Ph.D. (Harvard Medical School / HHMI); Jan M. Rabaey, Ph.D. (University of California, Berkeley); David J. Lin, M.D. (Massachusetts General Hospital / Harvard Medical School); and Mark Slutsky, M.D. (Northwestern University and President of the Brain Computer Interface Society).

About Epia Neuro

Epia Neuro is a neural technology company developing intent‑driven systems designed to restore function and independence for people living with neurological conditions. The company advances work originally developed by iota Biosciences, which was founded in 2017 to pioneer cutting‑edge bioelectronic technologies and is now powered by Astellas. Epia Neuro’s platform integrates implantable neural interfaces, adaptive algorithms, and assistive devices to translate neural intent into real‑world action. The company’s initial focus is stroke-related motor impairment, with expansion in cognitive decline and other neurological disorders, focusing on long-term solutions for the growing aging population. For more information, visit www.epianeuro.com.

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Source: Epia Neuro