Ybrain gets $3.5M funding to make wearable tech that tackles Alzheimer’s disease

As wearable tech becomes more mainstream, it’s increasingly applied to keeping people safe rather than just being a tool for joggers in need of vainglorious data. South Korean startup Ybrain is working in this wearable healthcare niche. It’s applying its know-how to an upcoming headband that claims to slow the effects of Alzheimer’s, a degenerative brain disease that initially leaves sufferers forgetful and confused, before it later shuts down bodily functions and leads to death.

Ybrain revealed yesterday that it has secured US$3.5 million in series A funding to build up its healthcare platform and launch medical wearables, according to BeSuccess.

The Ybrain headband, the startup’s first device, entered clinical trials in South Korea last month and is slated for release early in 2015.

There’s still no cure for Alzheimer’s disease, but Ybrain claims its gizmo is the most effective treatment so far. Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia will be an increasing burden in aging societies. A report from 2003 cited in Wikipedia says that the annual worldwide care-giving cost of geriatric cognitive disorders is about US$160 billion.

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How does the Ybrain headband work? The gadget, which has two sensors that touch the forehead, sends electrical signals to certain parts of the brain so as to reduce the symptoms of a degenerative brain disease. Once available to the public, it should be used for 30 minutes per day, five days per week, to stimulate brain activity.

The startup is currently carrying out clinical trials with the Samsung Medical Center in Seoul. There’s no price-tag yet for the headband.

(Source: BeSuccess)