BIONIC: BrainRISE, Bench-to-Bedside-to-Home for Closed-Loop Neuromodulation

In this talk, Dr. Greg Worrell explores how epilepsy serves as a powerful model for advancing brain‑computer interfaces, neuromodulation, and circuit‑level therapies. He explains why epilepsy’s unpredictability, broad comorbidities, and poor patient self‑reporting make it an ideal test bed for developing next‑generation sensing and stimulation systems. Dr. Worrell traces two decades of innovation—from early seizure‑forecasting implants to advanced bidirectional devices that record brain activity, deliver targeted therapy, and stream data to the cloud. Using canine models, human clinical trials, and AI‑powered analytics, his team created the BrainRISE ecosystem, enabling real‑world seizure detection, sleep and memory tracking, and personalized low‑ versus high‑frequency stimulation strategies. These approaches show promise not only for reducing seizures, but also for improving sleep, mood, and memory. The presentation highlights how wearable‑connected implants, large‑scale neural data, and adaptive algorithms are accelerating the development of precise, network‑based neuromodulation—and what the future holds for closed‑loop devices that continuously sense the brain, quantify disease in daily life, and personalize therapy in real time. 00:00 Introduction & Session Opening 01:04 Epilepsy as a Model for Neuromodulation 03:04 Lifespan Challenges & Heterogeneity of Epilepsy 04:08 Comorbidities: Memory, Mood, Sleep 05:21 The Need for Biomarkers & Network-Level Understanding 06:56 Dogs as a Key Preclinical Model 07:56 Building the Neuromodulation Ecosystem 08:20 NeuroVista: Early Seizure Forecasting Efforts 09:24 Brain Initiative Partnerships & Device Development 10:34 Preclinical Dog Studies & Transition to Human Trials 11:27 Cadence & New Implantable Device Platforms 12:19 BrainRISE Cloud Ecosystem & Real‑World Data Streaming 13:52 Human Trials: Multi‑Node Stimulation & Data Insights 15:17 AI Seizure Detection & Sleep/Memory Tracking 19:12 The Future: Wearables, Cloud Integration & Personalized Therapy From Mayo Clinic to your inbox (free): https://www.mayoclinic.org/patient-visitor-guide/newsletters Visit Mayo Clinic: https://www.mayoclinic.org Connect with Mayo Clinic: Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/mayoclinic Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mayoclinic X: https://x.com/MayoClinic Threads: https://www.threads.net/@mayoclinic