Follow The Brand Podcast with Host Grant McGaugh

Electrifying Hope: The Bioelectronic Breakthrough in Medicine with Dr Yi-Kai Lo CEO of Anuevo

• Grant McGaugh CEO 5 STAR BDM • Season 2 • Episode 26

Share episode

Send us a text

What if you could help paralyzed individuals regain their motor functions without undergoing surgery? Join us as we welcome Dr. Yi-Kai Lo, CEO and co-founder of Anuevo, who has taken the leap from integrated circuit design to pioneering innovations in bioelectronic medicine. Dr. Lo shares his compelling journey, from inspirations to challenges, behind Exastim—a revolutionary non-invasive spinal cord stimulation technology that is transforming lives. Discover how his passion for blending electronics and healing is opening new doors for those with spinal cord injuries.

In addition, we shine a spotlight on the ExaStim system, another game-changer in the realm of bioelectronic medicine. This wireless, portable device promises significant improvements in patient outcomes through targeted spinal cord stimulation. You'll hear heartwarming success stories from clinical trials and gain insights into the future of this technology as we discuss the integration of AI and innovative designs. Get ready to explore groundbreaking advancements that merge cutting-edge tech with compassionate care, offering renewed hope and enhanced quality of life for spinal cord injury patients and their families.

Thanks for tuning in to this episode of Follow The Brand! We hope you enjoyed learning about the latest marketing trends and strategies in Personal Branding, Business and Career Development, Financial Empowerment, Technology Innovation, and Executive Presence. To keep up with the latest insights and updates from us, be sure to follow us at 5starbdm.com. See you next time on Follow The Brand!

Speaker 1:

Welcome to another episode of Follow the Brand. I am your host, grant McGaughan, ceo of 5 Star BDM, a 5 Star personal branding and business development company. I want to take you on a journey that takes another deep dive into the world of personal branding and business development using compelling personal story, business conversations and tips. Development using compelling personal story, business conversations and tips to improve your personal brand. By listening to the Follow the Brand podcast series, you will be able to differentiate yourself from the competition and allow you to build trust with prospective clients and employers. You never get a second chance to make a first impression. Make it one that will set you apart, build trust and reflect who you are. Developing your five-star personal brand is a great way to demonstrate your skills and knowledge. If you have any questions from me or my guests, please email me. At grantmcgaw, spelled M-C-G-A-U-G-H at 5starbdm B for brand, d for development, m for masterscom. Now let's begin with our next five-star episode on Follow the Brand. Welcome to the Follow the Brand Podcast. I am your host, grant McGaugh, ceo of Five Star BDM, where we help you build a five-star brand that people will follow. And today we have an extraordinary guest who is revolutionizing the field of bioelectronic medicine revolutionizing the field of bioelectronic medicine.

Speaker 1:

Dr Yi Kai Loh is the CEO and co-founder of Anuvo, a Los Angeles-based medical device company that is at the forefront of developing innovative treatments for conditions once thought incurable. Dr Lowe's journey is nothing short of inspiring. He began his career in integrated circuit design, but his fascination with the potential of electronics to heal the human body led him to the field of neuroscience and bioengineering. He holds a PhD from UCLA, where his groundbreaking research on artificial retina implants sparked a vision for what was possible. At Anuva, dr Lowe and his team are pioneering Exitin, a non-invasive spinal cord stimulation technology that is showing incredible promise in treating spinal cord injuries. Imagine a device that can help paralyzed individuals regain motor function without the need for surgery. This technology represents a powerful convergence of neuroscience, electrical engineering and medicine, and has the potential to dramatically improve the quality of life for many. But Dr Low is not just a brilliant scientist. He is also a dedicated entrepreneur with a relentless commitment to bringing these life-changing innovations to market. His work is a testament to the incredible impact that can be achieved when cutting-edge technology meets compassionate care.

Speaker 1:

Join us as we explore the cutting edge of bioelectronic medicine with Dr Yi Kai Lo on the Follow Brand Podcast, where we are building a five-star brand that you can follow. Welcome everybody to the Follow Brand Podcast. This is Grant McGaugh, and today we're going to talk about some things that are very dear to my heart when it comes to health care, when it comes to and I have a friend of mine who had an injury some time ago around spinal cord injury, and I think some of the audience have known other people, whether they were athletes or not, that maybe they were playing a particular sport, made an injury and it kind of you know, it had some damage to them neurologically and they were no longer. They lost some function for their legs, their arms or both. They couldn't do a lot of things.

Speaker 1:

Well, today we're going to talk to an industry pioneer and he is going to tell us about what he is doing. This is Dr Lowe. Dr Lowe, we're going to have a candid conversation about who he is, what he's doing and how he's solving this major problem for so many people who really think there's not a lot that's going to happen next. You're just going to be paralyzed and that's it. So, dr Lo, would you like to introduce yourself?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, sure thing. And first of all, thanks for inviting me to join your podcast, Glenn. So nice to meet you. Hello everyone, my name is Ikai Lo and I'm the CEO and the co-founder of Anuvo. Anuvo is a medical device company, so we are based in Los Angeles and we are focusing on developing bioelectric medicine to treat diseases and injuries that cannot be cured by conventional medical approaches. It's a pleasure to be here today.

Speaker 1:

This is a pleasure for all of us what you just shared, and for a lot of people it's a pivotal moment when we say, wow, there could be a solution out there. So I want to talk a little bit about you, give you a little bit of background on Dr Lowe, and tell us about your pivotal moment that shifted your career from. You were doing a lot with integrated circuit design I see right and now you're doing neural engineering, bioelectronic medicine. Tell us a little bit about that journey.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, sure thing. So actually you know the C is for my career transition from a circuit designer to new engineering and biotron medicine. I was planted back in 2005. So I began kind of contemplating the rapid obsolescence common in circuit design so we're always pursuing new semiconductor technology and repeated the design again to make the device smaller, faster, lower power. And I realized that the new technology frequently made the older one outdated in just a few years and then went to pursue the new one and I found myself craving for working in the field where my skills and knowledge would not only remain relevant but also accumulate and increase in their value over time. So this contemplation led me to the field of neuroscience, a discipline that I perceive as evergreen and ripe for technological innovation. So my commitment to this new path actually was solidified in 2007.

Speaker 2:

So I got the chance to my current PhD advisor while he visited Taiwan and I was shocked by his work in artificial retina implant. So my PhD advisor, he was the inventor of retina implant. So they make a tiny device, an implanted device inside the eyeball to use electricity to stimulate the retina so that the blind people can see the world again, and I was shocked by his research and kind of learned that, wow, we can use electronics to treat some diseases right that has not been cured before. So you know, the possibility of applying my experience in circuit design to develop new devices that could not only interact but also heal the human body was both intriguing and inspiring. So this actually sparked my transition towards bioengineering neuroengineering as I saw a unique opportunity to make a tangible impact on the healthcare by merging these disciplines. Since then, I've been committed to advancing in the field, focusing on innovation solutions to bridge the gap between technology and biology for therapeutic interventions.

Speaker 1:

This is intriguing, you know. I remember I went to DeVry Institute of Technology in Missouri, so I'm working with integrated circuits on a breadboard, doing transistors and making sure they work right, and this is how the flow, the bits and bytes flow in the hardware area, and it's intriguing that you looked at that and then looked at the human body as if it is some type of and it is circuitry. If you look at the different nervous systems and that kind of thing and then merging those together from biomechanics to neurology, to electronics, this is intriguing, as I think through that, that you started to go through this as a journey. Now you're the CEO of Anuvo and you've transitioned from a scientist to being an entrepreneur, and I want to know, like just some of the challenging aspects of that. You know how you're doing. You know, first tell us a little bit about Anuvo as far as the different breakthroughs, and then how you're transitioning from scientist to entrepreneur.

Speaker 2:

Right, I want to echo what you mentioned about, you know, regarding the transistor and the cells. You know, what is interesting for me before, even now, is for the neurons in our body, right, Kind of they also communicate with electrons or electricity. So what we did is what is related in the circuit design to how neurons communicate is it's just electricity in the common right? So now we are delivering electricity to the neuron to modulate how it behaves. So this kind of why what bridges electronics to the nervous system?

Speaker 2:

And then, regarding the second question about transition from a scientist to entrepreneur, so you probably are aware of this already. So transition from a scientist to entrepreneur has been indeed a profound journey. It's very challenging, marked by several challenging aspects. So one of the most significant ones has been shifting primarily from a research focus Research focus might say that you know and to the one that balances innovation with business acumen. So as a scientist, right, your primary concern will often be, like you know, the pursuit of knowledge, right, and discovery. And also I'm an engineer. So the other one that my mindset is make something, you know, design something quick, right, and we can prove whether it works or not. But in entrepreneurship, those innovations must be viable in the market. And then there are a lot of regulations, especially when we are in the medical device regulation quality or the FDA or EU regulation that we have to take care of before much more than a product or a new discovery itself. And then navigating this shift actually, that involved a very steep learning curve when I had to quickly grasp the fundamentals of business management, financial, HR and some strategic marketing, and building a team that complements my technical expertise with a strong business and operational skills are crucial, so I've also relied heavily on mentorship. So, actually, you know, I was.

Speaker 2:

I remember that in 2019, when my first employee resigned to pursue his own startup company in coding, I got so frustrated. Did I do something wrong? I keep asking myself did I do something wrong? Otherwise, how come the people wanted to leave the company? Especially, we kind of see a bright future.

Speaker 2:

We saw a bright future for the company, for sure, right, and I got so frustrated and one of my good friends called me hey, I think you should try to find an executive coach, Someone who has been this before and gone through the process. He will give you good guidance. And then I took his advice and I found the CEO coach. So I started from 2019. So we did a Monday and a Friday meeting every 5 am and then we initiated a book club. So I kind of read, read a book every two weeks and we do a refresher at 6 or 5 am on Monday and Friday and by reading the book and doing the execution in real life, we take the feedback and do some retrospect. That kind of helps a lot. So that's kind of how my transition looks like.

Speaker 1:

Well, that was a heck of a transition, but I know it's a big mindset, mindship set I don't know if I said that even right, but the changing because you go from a skill set, tool set to a mindset it's a transition where there's no question about that. It's a huge transition because you're getting into expertise that you don't know. But you did something very smart. You got someone where you might have been weak. In this area, you find someone else that was strong to help you as you go along this journey. Because your company, anuvo, is doing something revolutionary. I'm excited. I'm very excited, and that you're now that you've done the research and you're looking at how you solve this major problem for people that have these neurological challenges. Talk to us more about your company.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, sure thing. So Anuvolo is a company that I founded with my co-founder, my future advisor, back in 2018. So it's a startup company in the spin-off from UCLA. I got my purchase from UCLA, so we are commercializing the research that we both have done at UCLA for decades, kind of accumulating more than 20 or even 30 plus years experience in the technology development of semiconductor and those neuroscience. Yeah, so the company was founded in 2019, and we are primarily focusing on developing, as I mentioned, innovative electronic medicine. So we are only interested in treating diseases that cannot be cured by other ways. So we are trying. We set our bar very high, so we want to do something that can really help the people who are suffering from those diseases, especially something that's new, and by doing this, that kind of fulfills our curiosity. But also we are trying to take care of the underserved population.

Speaker 1:

These are so important things. Now you're pioneering bioelectronic treatments and a lot of people they don't understand some of these things. Can you just describe one of the key technologies your team has developed and its impact on healthcare?

Speaker 2:

Right, right, sure thing, yeah. So first of all, thank you for recognizing our A4L new goal right in assessing biotronic treatment. So I think, before I kind of talk about what we are doing, probably good for me to explain a little bit. What does bioelectronics medicine mean, right? So bioelectronics medicine is a combination of multiple disciplines, so including medicine, biology, neuroscience and electrical engineering, material science. So we are using biomedical means to deliver energy. It can be an astrocyte, it can be electricity, it can be optical right To modulate the nervous system.

Speaker 2:

So in conventional medical approach, the patients we took a pharmaceutical drug, right? So once you saw the drug, the drug go to your stomach and then enters in your blood right and circulate throughout your whole body. So one thing that is inevitable is uh, you know, sometimes you know there might be overdose, right, and sometimes, um, you try, the job might come with some side effect. By using uh, bio electronic medicine, there's a potential to uh do a targeted delivery of the therapy at a specific location and the dose can be precisely controlled by the device itself. For example, we're thinking about in the future, when your doctor prescribes the drug or the biotraumatic medicine for his patient or her patient, the dose will be? What will be the intensity of the current right and how many times the patient needs to receive electrical stimulation and what will be the frequency and what will be the pass weight instead of milligram or how many tabulates per day? And, greg, can you remind me of your second question?

Speaker 1:

Oh, no, no, you gave me the background. The big thing is like so what are the key technologies? How would you solve it? How do you give us a little background? Yeah, what's that key? You know the secret software, anubo, and that key technology.

Speaker 2:

Yes, got you, got you, so Anubo. So we are focusing on developing our flagship product. We call it ExaSteam. So ExaSteam is a wireless, portable, non-invasive spinal cord stimulation system. So ExaSteam delivers the electricity by placing an electrical array on the spinal cord. By placing an electric array on the spinal cord and then using this non-invasive approach, we are trying to modulate the spinal cord circuitry by doing a targeted, non-invasive stimulation to help to treat conditions or some neurological disorders through this way. And actually this technology kind of emerged from our deep understanding around neural circuitry, neural engineering, electronics, computer science and our ability to integrate those sophisticated electronics with biological systems.

Speaker 1:

Do you have use cases now? I mean, I'm sure you've done some research, you've got some success stories around your tech.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so the first indication that we are focusing on is using SSDEM to treat spinal cord injury. So, as you might know already, there's currently no treatment to spinal cord injury. The current goal is just physical rehabilitation or occupational rehabilitation, and for patients with spinal injury, the descending brain command cannot pass through the lesion, so the patient will lose their ability to remote control. They might even have a bladder valve dysfunction or autonomic dysfunction. So what we are doing now is using SST to do not invasive spinal cord stimulation to help the patient regain or improve their functions, and starting from 2020, we did a pilot clinical study at three clinical sites in the US to collect some safety and performance data to evaluate how SSD can help the patient improve their functions, and we did see some promising data from our study participants.

Speaker 1:

I want to ask you this how did you feel when it worked Like you actually saw it?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, yeah, yes. So I would say it was very exciting really to see the patient can improve their functions right From some of the video that we recorded during the prior study. But I think what is most encouraging sometimes is what their friends or their parents say. So I kind of remember one of our study participants. His parents retired or quit their job after the incident of the injury of the participant and they were so excited and told us that, you know, she was so excited that when they see the sign, can use this hand again to open the door. Now some people really know, right that we can do it easily in our daily life, but this was, you know, tremendous to, you know, to the, to the individual, the SEA and their family members Ready to elevate your brand with five star impact.

Speaker 1:

Welcome to the Fiverr Brand Podcast, your gateway to exceptional personal growth and innovative business strategies. Join me as I unveil the insider strategies of industry pioneers and branding experts. Discover how to supercharge your business development. Harness the power of AI for growth and sculpt a personal brand that stands out in the crowd. Transform ambition into achievement. Explore more at FirestarBDMcom for a wealth of resources. Ignite your journey with our brave brand blueprint and begin crafting your standout Firestar feature today. Man, I think this is wonderful To have a solution that can work and you can see the results. Like you said, the family members they know the condition of the individual before their loved one before and they can see the advances that are happening. I think that's great. I want to ask you this when it comes to neurotechnology what are some of the biggest challenges facing the field just the general field of neurotechnology and how are you at Enumable addressing those challenges?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, actually, neurotechnology presents exciting possibilities but also substantial challenges, as you know right, regarding the complexity of the human body, the brain, the neural nervous system and also some ethical considerations as well. But I would say a significant technical change is creating some non-invasive device that can interact effectively with the nervous system without the risk associated with surgical implants. Additionally, making this advancement technology accessible and beneficial to a diverse range of patients that remains a very critical hurdle. So, in a new role, we are addressing these challenges through our commitment to non-invasive technology. So we are at the forefront to develop the external device that can manipulate the nervous system without the need of implants.

Speaker 2:

Implants are expensive and there's always risk associated with any surgical procedure. I think this non-invasive approach can significantly reduce the risk of tissue damage and the risk that might occur during the surgical procedure and also some long-term complication of invasive methods. And we are also focusing on enhancing the accessibility of our technologies. By innovating in design and manufacturing, we are trying to reduce the cost and simplify the use of our devices, so making them available for a wider audience, and this can ensure that our technology solutions are not only advanced but also safe and also inclusive, extending their benefit across society.

Speaker 1:

Man. That is wonderful. I love the vision and the journey and what the possibility, especially the now and in the future. You're working on so many different things. You're talking about bioelectronics. It seems like we're all going everybody's into AI. Now they start to see this urgent, abandoned machine. It is intriguing and so I'm asking you just in general how do you see the field of bioelectronic medicine Right? Do you think it's going to evolve over the next, you know, decade, and how do you see your role in shaping?

Speaker 2:

that future, right? Yeah, that's a wonderful question. So we know we keep thinking about this all the time, and then me and my co-founder actually we kind of have a discussion about future almost every Friday at 11 am to talk about, you know, share our experience, you know, our vision yeah, something like that. And to your that and three questions. And then for the field of biotron medicine, it is posed for significant evolution over the next decade, driven by the rapid advancement in technology and AI, as you mentioned, and increasing our understanding of the human body as a molecular and electrical label.

Speaker 2:

So I do foresee a future where the trial device will not only treat the previously untreatable condition, but also be integrated seamlessly into everyday health management, improving the quality of life for millions of people. And, of course, ai should be integrated too, right, so that, especially when we are able to collect the data from our daily life, data analysis, right, and AI will play a very crucial role in the near future and I expect some major breakthrough, probably in magnetization and sensing technology. Right, so that we can collect data from our daily life that will allow for more precise and less invasive monitoring and modulating of body functions, and connectivity of real-time data will also play a critical role, for sure, my personal thoughts. So future by the China device. They will increasingly use artificial intelligence to analyze data in real time, so providing immediate adjustment in DLP or provide information to a doctor or predictive insight into patient health care trends.

Speaker 1:

That is so important the predictability, and then the personalization and what you're embarking on, because so many different, everyone's a little bit different. This is a great subject and I'm glad we're having this discussion From my lens. To me, you look like a very young scientist. Maybe you are, maybe you are, maybe you just take good care of yourself, right, as you think. You originally came to Taiwan, but you studied in the US UCLA, things like that. What kind of advice would you give? Because this is a field that I don't think a lot of people are into. They may not know a lot about it, might be a little bit more intimidated by it. But if you were a young scientist, an entrepreneur, what kind of advice would you give them as you start to merge these technologies? You know technology, medicine, intersections, so I'd like to hear your point of view.

Speaker 2:

Yeah, I, you know I'm not sure I'm qualified to give advice or not, but since I'm still learning, right, and trying to figure this out too, but if I may, I'll try, let me try. Yes, go ahead. Yeah, my, my foremost piece of advice will be to cultivate a deep understanding of both fields. So this new knowledge electronics or neuroscience or whatever will be crucial, as it allows you to see, advancement in technology can solve some complex medical problems and vice versa. And second, I would say, have to be patient and persistent. So innovation in medical technology doesn't happen overnight. So actually, what was struck to me is that, well, I was a researcher, right. Once I think about something new stuff, I can test it on the other day right. But in medical technology field, it requires rigorous testing, validation and open a lengthy process of regulatory approvals. So resilience in the face of setbacks and a long-term commitment to your vision are also essential qualities for success.

Speaker 2:

And next one I think that's how I learned so far and those challenges, obstacles I encountered I think that prioritized collaboration over competition will be also critical. So the complexity of integrating technology with medicines means that the most successful innovation often comes from a collaboration interest. Often comes from a collaboration interest. So you have to look for opportunity to partner with other innovators, researchers, institutions, clinicians or different industry leaders who can bring different skills and perspective to your projects or the product you are working on. And so I'm thinking hard right now, and then the other piece will be never lose sight of ultimate goal. So I think the goal should be always be improving the patient outcomes. Right, so there are a lot of fun stuff. Right, you're doing work on the product development, but we should always keep in mind the goal is to improve the patient's outcome. So the innovation should aim to make treatment more effective, less invasive and more accessible. So, keeping this goal in focus, I believe that this can guide us, guide our effort and ensure that the work we are doing remains relevant and impactful.

Speaker 1:

Absolutely. I want to help you, dr Lo Meaning. We have a very large audience in healthcare and information technology. I'm the program chair for HIMSS, which is the Health Informatics Management System Society in South Florida, obviously part of the national organization, which is over 100,000 people. This type of technology that you are on is very, very interesting and needed and I want to make sure that the audience knows what you need. They want to say, hey, I like what you're doing. This is very impactful. I've been on the field where I've seen a kid playing sports and then bam, now you know what the rest of their life? They're a paraplegic. We want to see what we can do to stop it. What do you need in your journey right now?

Speaker 2:

that we can help. Yeah, sure thing. So we are currently conducting the first randomized control trial in the US across 14 hospitals from the East Coast to the West Coast, and we are actively recruiting patients with spinal cord injury to join our clinical study, and our goal is to finish the enrollment by the end of this year. So I think what immediate help that we need from you or from the audience. If you guys know someone who has a spinal cord injury and trying to seek for help or trying to find potential solutions for them, please do encourage them to go to our website, anewvocom A-N-E-U-V-O dot com and to look for our information regarding Kengo trial. So we are trying to find participants to join our study right now.

Speaker 1:

That's great. And what cities are you? I know this is from coast to coast, but is there specific cities right now that the trials are going in?

Speaker 2:

Yeah, so we have Kengo site in New York, in Chicago, in Marquette, in Baltimore, in Salt Lake City and in Los Angeles, in San Diego and in Denver and a few more.

Speaker 1:

Excellent, excellent, so we're going to conclude here. This has been a few more Excellent, excellent, so we're going to conclude here. This has been a wonderful discussion. I want you to let the audience know how to contact you. I think you gave us your website. Give it to us again. What is the best way to contact you? And, then again, how to get in touch with you about the trial, whether it's a form, it's just on the website. Just walk us through that particular journey, right?

Speaker 2:

So if you guys, if any of the audience, is interested in chemical studies, you can either go to our website or you can shoot us an email at contactus at anewworldcom. Contact us at anewworldcom. And we also have we also have, I would say recruitment platform. So you can find our recruitment platform on our website. So if you are thinking about whether you're eligible, basically you can try to enter this information and then, once the information has been entered, our team will reach out to you. Oh, that's great, so you have an assessment.

Speaker 1:

Well, that's, try to enter this information and then, once the information has been entered, our team will reach out to you. Oh, that's great. So you have an assessment. Well, that's good to know. So you know if you qualify or not to be a part of the trial, that type of thing. This has been wonderful. Dr Lowe, this is the kind of information that we need and to know what you're doing from a company standpoint, that we can change the experience of people that you know are afflicted with spinal cord injuries and things of that nature. And I love the fact that you talk about non-invasive. How does he do that? It's so intriguing. But I wish you the best and anything we can do to help you move the needle forward. I'm all about that and I encourage your entire audience to tune in to all the episodes of Follow Brand. You can tune in at 5 Star BDM, that is the number 5, that's star S-T-A-R. B for brand, b for development, infomesterscom. This has been wonderful and I thank you for being on the show.

Speaker 2:

Thank you, Thank you everyone. You're most welcome.

Speaker 1:

Take care. Thanks for joining us on the Follow Brand Podcast. Big thanks to Full Effect Productions for their incredible support on each and every episode. Now the journey continues on our YouTube channel Follow Brand TV Series. Dive into exclusive interviews, extended content and bonus insights that will fuel your success. Subscribe now and be a part of our growing community sharing and learning together. Explore, engage and elevate at Follow Brand TV series on YouTube. Stay connected, stay inspired. Till next time, we will continue building a five-star brand that you can follow.