NeuroBionics has been awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to advance our IO Fiber platform, a multifunctional neural probe designed to expand the capabilities of neuroscience researchers.
The IO Fiber integrates electrical recording and stimulation, optical stimulation and recording, and localized fluid delivery into a single flexible probe. By bringing multiple experimental modalities together in one device, the platform is designed to enable researchers to conduct complex experiments while reducing the number of animal cohorts needed and eliminating the need to painstakingly combine multiple separate probes together.
The Phase II award builds on our previous NSF-supported development of the technology and will support the next stage of commercialization. The project will focus on scaling manufacturing, establishing processes to produce the devices reliably and consistently, and expanding the IO Fiber product line with next-generation devices. The work is intended to move the platform further from early-stage technology toward a broadly accessible research tool.
For early-stage deep-tech companies, this stage of development is critical: promising technology must not only perform in the lab, but also be manufactured reliably, integrated into existing research workflows, and made readily available to customers.
The NSF Phase II program provides NeuroBionics with additional resources to address those challenges and build on what the company has learned through the development and initial commercialization of the IO Fiber.
