Neuropsychiatric disease numbers are increasing. As more people are impacted by these diseases such as depression, OCD, or stroke, there is a growing need for treatment options. Traditional pharmaceuticals are not an effective treatment for all the different patient needs. Newer technologies such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) are being used to treat different neuropsychiatric diseases but has been challenged with inconsistent results.

Sync2brain, a startup based in Tübingen, Germany, is advancing TMS with personalized treatment options. Traditional TMS sends electrical impulses to targeted brain areas, but sync2brain focuses on sending these impulses at specific brain phases. This task is challenging as these instantaneous states only last a few milliseconds.

The team has developed technology that allows them to read in brain activity data, analyze it, and make decisions at which precise instant to trigger the stimulus. With MathWorks tools like Simulink Real-Time, sync2brain created a real time digital signal processor that can deliver accurate and fast information in order to deliver these individualized TMS impulses.

Founded by a technology transfer research project at the University of Tübingen, the small company is no stranger to the difficulties of being a startup with limited resources. Support from MathWorks Startup Program and a partnership with Medical Innovations Incubator, enables them with not only low-cost access to software, but engineering expertise to ensure their development stays on track and the tools are performing as intended, allowing them to continue towards their mission of improving personalized brain therapy for neuropsychiatric disease.

Hear more from Ramona Samba and Christoph Zrenner of sync2brain: