#7 - Redefining motor rehabilitation with digital neurotherapeutics - Naveed Ejaz - MindMaze

Naveed Ejaz is VP Product Strategy and Clinical Development (formerly Director of Digital Therapies) at MindMaze, the very first unicorn from Switzerland, pioneering the fascinating field of digital neurotherapeutics. Underneath these fluffy terms lies the concept of “software-as-a-medicine”, where pieces of code come together to drive a behavioural intervention, enabling patients suffering from neurological diseases to improve their condition. In the area of neurology where pharmaceutical and medical device solutions have been limited, this field opens up promising perspectives in terms of extended care delivery, stronger engagement from patients towards their treatment plans, and facilitated care coordination. We talked with Naveed about how video games could be leveraged to create an engaging therapy for the benefits of patients suffering from neurological diseases, the challenges that companies involved in the field of digital therapeutics face, MindMaze’s vision to build an integrated platform delivering cutting-edge rehabilitation programs for patients, and why all of that is not purely about technology but rather engaging the patients as much as all healthcare professionals surrounding them. We also get a sneak peek at the activities led within MindMaze Labs, the R&D division of the company partnering with institutions like Formula One to understand better how the brain works under extreme situations! Timeline: 04:43 - Naveed’s background and what drove him towards neuroscience and neurorehabilitation 13:03 - What digital neurotherapeutics are and what “software-as-a-medicine” entails 20:30 - Conceptual acceptability towards digital neurotherapeutics in healthcare 23:38 - The benefits of gamification in neurorehabilitation therapies 29:44 - How the rehabilitation therapies from MindMaze are designed 42:57 - The key characteristics of a therapeutic video game that keeps patients engaged 47:15 - Rehabilitating fine dextrous motion versus gross movement 52:04 - Naveed’s role as VP Product Strategy and Clinical Development (formerly Director of Digital Therapies) 55:03 - Initiatives led by MindMaze Labs R&D center and partnering with Formula One What we also talked about with Naveed: BrainGate John Krakauer Johns Hopkins University MindMaze Labs Formula One If you want to know more about MindMaze, we invite you to consult their website and follow their activities on LinkedIn. As mentioned by Naveed in the episode, if you want to know more about the field of digital neurotherapeutics and the latest trends in that regard, have a look at Rock Health (and subscribe to their newsletter) and MobiHealthNews. You can get in touch with Naveed through LinkedIn or by email: naveed.ejaz@mindmaze.ch If you want to give me feedback on the episode, ask questions or suggest potential guests, feel free to do so through LinkedIn or by email: mathieu@impulsepodcast.com. And if you liked the episode, don’t hesitate to share it, subscribe to the podcast and leave a positive review on streaming platforms! You can follow our activities through our website, over LinkedIn, or on Instagram!