Brain Stimulation – Phil Deschamps, President & CEO, Helius Medical Technologies – Using Technology to Stimulate the Human Brain and Accelerate Recovery From Neurological Symptoms

Phil Deschamps, President, CEO, and Chairman of the Board of Directors at Helius Medical Technologies delivers an overview of brain function and brain stimulation.

Phil Deschamps has been on board with Helius Medical Technologies since 2013. Deschamps has amassed an impressive 28 years of continuous experience in the growing pharmaceutical and healthcare industry and has worked with major corporations such as Bristol Myers Squibb, GSW Worldwide, and MediMedia Health. Deschamps has overseen the strategic development of multiple companies and is a seasoned veteran and noted authority in the industry.

Deschamps discusses his work at Helius and the new, advanced portable neuromodulation stimulator they refer to as simply, PoNS. He provides a detailed overview of how external stimulation of the brain works, with an emphasis on neuroplasticity. Helius focuses on noninvasive platform technologies, with the intent to provide outstanding new treatment options for many patients by amplifying the human brain's innate ability to actually heal itself. PoNS is a medical device that looks very promising in various clinical trials. Deschamps speaks about their work with traumatic brain injuries, but he states that over time they hope to be cleared to provide solutions for many more medical areas such as MS, Parkinson's, stroke, cerebral palsy, etc.

The medical technology expert discusses rehabilitation in regard to brain function. He describes the exercises in physical therapy that help a patient recover, and how PoNS can enhance the physical therapy to provide permanent improvements. He delves into the design of their device and how it works, but he underscores that clinical trials are ongoing and with each new trial they continue to learn more about the benefits of this new technology. Scientifically, there is much to learn still, but researchers are working steadily to progress the tech to help many patients.

Deschamps talks about their clinically significant results and their review process with the FDA. Additionally, he provides information on the various groups that they have worked with in regard to physical therapy. He discusses placebo and blinding, and the other means they use to gather the most honest data they can in their clinical trials. He expounds further upon specific trials and discusses some of their surprises, as well as some of the expectations they went into the trials with, that were met. He states that they found some significant brain changes that have been very encouraging.

Down the road, Deschamps hopes to find even more advanced ways to help patients affected by neurological symptoms caused by trauma and disease.