The World's Most Valuable Neurotech Company Builds an Alarm System for Your Brain

NeuroVigil, with its 72 patents, broke valuation records to leverage your brain state without surgery

Two billion people worldwide are affected by a nervous system disorder, including 100 million in the United States. Alzheimer's alone affects 6.9 million people aged 65 and older in the U.S., which emotional toll aside, generated $360 billion in caregiving costs this year. The Alzheimer's Association projects the number will climb to nearly $1 trillion in 2050 for 13 million patients. As staggering as the financial toll is for patients and families, the emotional devastation adds another layer of suffering. But hope emerges from an unlikely source: an innovation designed to monitor sleep.

A PhD Dissertation Unleashes a Neurological Innovation Chain

NeuroVigil came to life in 2007, born from Dr. Philip Low's PhD dissertation, A New Way to Look at Sleep, which introduced Dynamic Spectral Scoring (DSS) SPEARS, a groundbreaking approach to automate and analyze electroencephalogram (EEG) data for the purposes of identifying sleep stages. The findings led him to develop iBrain, a non-invasive device that collects EEG data. It works with SPEARS to map brain activities that can be correlated to biomarkers for neuropathologies and drug response. The device and machine learning algorithm form a window into the complex blackbox that is the human brain. The innovation enables medical teams to monitor individuals for changes in the brain, including early signs and progression of neurological disorders and drug responses. This breakthrough secured NeuroVigil a $6 billion valuation, which made it the highest valued series B company at the time of the raise in early 2024 and reinforced its status as the world's most valuable neurotech company. 

Innovation Fueled by Family Tragedy

This innovation arc from sleep to other neurological disorders came from Dr. Low's experience watching his father's battle with a sleep drug in the 80s and decades later falling victim to manipulation schemes as he developed dementia. "Yes, it clearly played a role," he said when asked if his father's suffering influenced NeuroVigil's expanded scope. "He was emotionally and financially abused by a number of trusted persons – including some family members – who denied his dementia in order to exploit him and to create entities in his name which they would use as a sinecure." 

Once he realized others were manipulating his father, Dr. Low worked to protect him in his final six years as the dementia overtook the once brilliant businessman. When in 2022 Low senior was hospitalized in Switzerland, Dr. Low flew from California to stay in his father's hospital room. In January 2024, he medevaced Low senior to the US after the Swiss medical system stopped care. He would secure care for his father in the last 4 months of life. The autopsy confirmed two types of dementia, including Alzheimer's.

Hope for Early Detection Arrives

NeuroVigil's iBrain system was Dr. Low's answer to saving others from his father's trauma. Up until then, the neurological roots of dementia were typically detected post-mortem – far too late to save the sufferer from abuse. Additionally, some drugs administered in excess, such as dopaminergic agonists commonly used to treat Parkinson's, can trigger symptoms of dementia and brain activity changes which iBrain can monitor from the comforts of home. 

Importantly, iBrain can detect changes in sleep, which predates the onset of dementia symptoms. The intimate connection between sleep and dementia goes beyond early alarm bells. "It has been hypothesized that poor sleep limits the brain's ability to clear debris. This suggests that restoring good sleep can protect dementia sufferers," says Dr. Low. 

A Boundless Innovation Arc

While iBrain covers much ground today, it is condition agnostic with potential for early detection of other neuropathologies by finding many hard to detect changes and shedding light on a new biomarker or the absence of an old biomarker. Uncovering those signals can present important clues for medical teams as they piece together diagnoses and prognoses for illnesses while the patient is asymptomatic. The device could also benefit neurofeedback specialists who treat other medical issues, including anxiety, epilepsy, and substance abuse. Additionally, NeuroVigil has demonstrated potential to restore lost functionality. In 2013, ALS sufferer Augie Nieto used iBrain to discern that he was spelling “communicate” with his mind. 

A Bold Mission, but the Ends Don't Justify the Means 

A crucial part of NeuroVigil's mission is Dr. Low's philosophy that scientific advancement should not come at the expense of a sentient creature's pain, whether human or not. This guided iBrain's non-invasive design, which relies on machine learning algorithms to capture meaningful data instead of surgery or animal experimentation. In 2012, he authored the Cambridge Declaration on Consciousness, the first document formally recognizing non-human consciousness, signed with other leading neuroscientists, which set a new legal and scientific standard in how people view and treat animals. Since then, Dr. Low has practiced veganism in his diet, home furnishings, and clothing. This ethos extended to his protectiveness over his father, in whom Dr. Low saw his parent and a human suffering doubly from dementia and abuse engendered by his weakened condition.

"Thank you Daddy for letting me watch you and watch over you," Dr. Low says in reflection of his father's final years.