Phantom Neuro secures $19M to turn Phantom Limb Sensations into Real Movement
Summary
Phantom Neuro, a Texas-based medtech startup, has secured $19 million in fresh funding to advance its groundbreaking neural interface technology designed to help amputees regain control of prosthetic limbsby tapping into the very nerves that once controlled their lost limbs.At the heart of Phantom Neuros innovation is a small implantable strip that reads signals from residual nerveswhat people often experience as phantom limbsand translates those into real-time commands for prosthetic devices. The company has now raised a total of $28 million.Phantom Neuros solution has already received two notable FDA designations: Breakthrough Device status and inclusion in the TAP accelerator program, helping speed its path toward clinical use.Phantom Neuros tech builds on the well-known phenomenon of phantom limb sensationwhere amputees continue to feel their missing limbs due to remaining nerve endings. The implantable version performs even better, restoring up to 85% of limb function with just 10 minutes of calibration.The company plans to roll out its system first for upper-limb prosthetics, with lower-limb support coming next.The startup was founded by Dr. Connor Glass, a neurosurgeon and visionary who pivoted from military aspirations to medtech innovation after grappling with his own limitations caused by recurring stress fractures.While studying at Johns Hopkins, Glass realized that invasive brain-implant systemscomplete with wires and bulky gearwerent scalable. That insight led him to explore a more efficient way to read motor signals from peripheral nerves instead of the brain, ultimately giving birth to Phantom Neuro.While the immediate focus is on restoring mobility for amputees, the implications go much further. Phantoms nerve-reading interface could one day be used to:Partnering with Ottobock strategically aligns Phantom with prosthetic hardware developmentensuring that its software integrates smoothly with the limbs its designed to control.Phantom is advancing the neural interface in a less invasive, highly effective way, said Dr. Arne Kreitz, CFO of Ottobock.