Therapeutic Head Wearables

Cognito Therapeutics is a biotech startup that is developing a novel therapy for Alzheimer’s disease using a headset that delivers light and sound stimulation to the brain. The headset, which consists of a pair of glasses and headphones, is designed to evoke gamma wave activity in the brain, which is impaired in Alzheimer’s patients. Gamma waves are associated with learning and memory, and stimulating them could potentially preserve brain structure, cognition, and function. Cognito’s headset received the FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for the treatment of cognitive and functional symptoms associated with Alzheimer’s disease.

The headset is based on the research of MIT neuroscientists Li-Huei Tsai and Ed Boyden, who are cofounders of Cognito Therapeutics. They discovered that exposing mice to light and sound at a specific frequency reduced amyloid plaques and improved memory in the animals. Amyloid plaques are one of the hallmarks of Alzheimer’s disease, and their accumulation is thought to damage brain cells and disrupt communication. Cognito’s headset aims to replicate this effect in humans by delivering personalized light and sound therapy to each patient. The company is currently testing its technology in clinical trials involving hundreds of people with early- to mid-stage Alzheimer’s disease.