Neursantys, a pioneer in bioelectronic medicine, today announced a ground-breaking collaboration with research teams in Canada to study neuromotor development in children and adolescents. The project brings together researchers from the Perceptual Neuroscience Lab for Autism and Development (PNLab) at McGill University, in Montréal, and the National Research Council of Canada’s (NRC) Medical Devices Research Centre’s cognitive and motor functions team, in Boucherville, Quebec. Already a pioneer in delivering widely accessible assessments and bioelectronic restoration of balance and mobility in older adults, Neursantys is exploring applications of its technology platform to address related neuromotor developmental challenges in pediatric populations at the other end of the aging spectrum.

The research team will focus on the sensory reweighting process that is critically important for healthy motor, cognitive, and social development in children, by allowing them to adapt to changing physical environments and social contexts. Sensory reweighting underlies gross and fine motor development and also enables children to filter and prioritize sensory cues for effective responses to challenging sensory scenarios (e.g., learning in noisy classrooms, playing on uneven surfaces). Sensory reweighting reflects and reinforces neuroplasticity during critical developmental periods, helping the brain to learn from experience and adjust processing strategies as needed. 

Differences in sensory reweighting, especially utilization of vestibular sensory inputs, are often seen in neurodevelopmental conditions including autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Early identification and intervention can target these differences to improve functional outcomes, but assessing sensory reweighting and vestibular function currently requires complex and expensive clinical test equipment that very few children or pediatric specialists have access to. Neursantys has developed an easy-to-use head-mounted wearable physiological vibration acceleration (phybrata) sensor and a simple 4-minute test protocol that can quantify development, disruption, and decline in sensory reweighting across a very wide age range. Phybrata digital biomarkers have already enabled rapid, inexpensive, and widely accessible assessments of sensory reweighting changes associated with aging, concussion, and spinal cord injury. These studies have all highlighted the important role played by vestibular sensory inputs.

The cognitive and motor functions team at the NRC’s Medical Devices Research Centre specializes in digital health technologies, leveraging virtual reality as an integrative platform for cognitive assessment tools, and digital biomarker analysis to provide a comprehensive view of individual health. 

“This project will help deepen our understanding of vestibular and brain development, with significant implications for neurodevelopmental conditions such as autism,” shared Dr. Budha Khundrakpam, Research Officer with the NRC’s Medical Devices Research Centre. “By leveraging our combined expertise, we hope to help advance enhanced diagnostic and therapeutic strategies to improve the lives of children and adolescents facing these challenges.” 

“From a clinical perspective, the Neursantys phybrata sensor is a game-changer,” said Armando Bertone, Associate Professor, clinical neuropsychologist and Director of the PNLab at McGill University. “We now have an accessible, easy-to-use method for precisely assessing and studying sensory reweighting during typical and atypical developmental, understanding its underlying neural mechanisms, and exploring how it relates to cognitive and behavioral profiles during critical periods starting in early childhood.”

“Through this innovative research partnership, we will gain new insights into how the vestibular system and sensory reweighting shape motor, cognitive, and social development,” added Neursantys CEO John Ralston. “The results will lay the groundwork for future diagnostic and therapeutic research initiatives to develop better care pathways  for neurodivergent children and adolescents with a wide range of cognitive, communicative, and behavioral abilities.”