Autonomix, NoiseFigure Research to Partner on Microchip Development

Autonomix Medical Inc. has brokered a service agreement with NoiseFigure Research Inc. (NFR) to advance its catheter-based sensing technology.
 
As part of the agreement, Autonomix will work with NFR to assess its ASIC microchip and upgrade the chip to its second generation in preparation for human clinical testing in the company’s planned pivotal trial in 2025. Additionally, NFR will evaluate a subsequent version meant to enable commercial production volumes.
 
“This collaboration with NFR is an important step in the evolution of our technology and simple approach to a procedure for pain management and other indications,” Autonomix CEO Lori Bisson said. “The proprietary ASIC is the real intelligence in our technology that enables us to detect neural activity, amplify nerve signals, convert signals to digital form, and geolocate nerves, with approximately 3,000 times greater sensitivity than the closest available sensing technology in the market today. We look forward to working closely with the NFR team and leveraging their expertise.”
 
The company’s catheter-based technology is being developed to do two things: sense neural signals associated with pain or disease and precisely target those nerves for treatment. Autonomix contends this technology is a better alternative to the current approaches currently used, where doctors either rely on systemic drugs like opioids that lose effectiveness and have unwanted side effects or treat suspected areas blindly in hopes of hitting the right nerves, an approach that is often inaccurate and can miss the target and even cause collateral damage to surrounding parts of the body.
 
The company is initially developing its technology to address pancreatic cancer-related pain. Current approaches, primarily relying on opioids or invasive ethanol injections, can provide only limited relief and may lead to risky side effects. 
 
NFR is democratizing access to application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) services in addition to recent offerings into the manufacturing of PCBs, substrates, and flexible electronics. Since its 2009 inception, NFR has been dedicated to empowering developers with custom ASICs and ASIC services. The firm’s expertise spans analog, RF/uWave, and mixed signal chip design, including packaging and related materials. By adding PCB, substrate, and flexible electronics manufacturing to its portfolio, the company claims it is further lowering the barriers for innovation. NFR’s products and services cater to various industries, including commercial, military, government, and aerospace. 
 
Autonomix is a medical device company that is advancing technologies to revolutionize the ways in which diseases involving the nervous system are diagnosed and treated. Its first-in-class technology platform includes a catheter-based microchip sensing array that can detect and differentiate neural signals with approximately 3,000 times greater sensitivity than currently available technologies. This could potentially enable, for the first time ever, transvascular diagnosis and treatment of peripheral nervous system diseases. The company’s technology constitutes a platform that could address dozens of indications, including in cardiology, renal denervation and chronic pain management across a wide disease spectrum.