Interview with FEDERICA PECI, Cerebro® CEO
January 4, 2022
Interview with FEDERICA PECI, Cerebro® CEO., an innovative startup that develops non-invasive, scientifically validated medical devices for operators and patients with central nervous system diseases.
Cerebro® is a startup in Biotechnology applied to Neuroscience®, founded by a team of health professionals who have been dealing with the brain and related pathologies for years. The startup today designs and develops Biotechnologies with high technological impact in order to increase the therapeutic effectiveness of Neurological Rehabilitation paths for patients with chronic diseases.
The mission is to design tools accessible to all, support healthcare professionals in the use of devices and create a network of health professionals who share the same values: putting the well-being of patients at the center.
Cerebro® devices
Cerebro® devices are based on advanced researches in the field of Neuroscience, are patented, CE certified, 100% Made In Italy
NIR Infrared®
Nir Cerebro® Infrared is an Electromedical Device (Class IIa) of photobiomodulation. Thanks to its 256 LEDs at 810 nm, it promotes the metabolism of cortical neuronal cells in neuroinflammatory diseases, relieving the symptomatology of the most common neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkison, stroke, Depressive Disorder, cognitive fog.
fTMS™
The fTMS ™ is the transcranial physiological magnetic stimulation device developed by Cerebro®. It has a dual field application: on the one hand the cognitive enhancement, therefore the improvement of mnemonic and attentional abilities, concentration and brain cooldown; on the other the neurorehabilitation for motor disorders, post – stroke, aphasia, dyscrasias. Through the static magnetic field generated by the machine body, in fact, it is possible to rebalance the electrical exchanges of neurons in specific areas by communicating the Cerebral Hemispheres
fTMS™ Plus
fTMS™ Plus is the next version of fTMS ™ , that is able to combine low intensity electrical stimulation and magnetic field: a combination thanks to which it is possible to increase functional communication between different brain areas.
The device has a dual field of application: cognitive enhancement, therefore the improvement of working memory, visual-spatial skills, speech and read-writing performance; and neurorehabilitation in case of neurological disorders related to distinct cognitive/motor domains.
If you want to know more about Cerebro®, read the interview with FEDERICA PECI, CEO of the company
Hello FEDERICA PECI, Nice to meet you and thank you for the time you are dedicating to us. Tell us more about this wonderful project
Cerebro® is a project of which I am very proud, basically it starts from a great ambition: to bring a new way of doing rehabilitation. Today it does this through the sophisticated and non-invasive technologies that we develop, to support individualized therapeutic paths; tomorrow, this is our mission, becoming a reference point for the development of individualized plans for patients with neurological disorders. The initial goal, in fact, was already immediately to open an Advanced Research Center to help patients in the chronic phase of pathology to restore lost skills through the use of the tools that Neuroscience offer us, but the pandemic has delayed the opening times, so I decided to fill the gaps in the rehabilitation clinical practice of health professionals by developing innovative and non-invasive medical tools to stimulate the brain. We never lost our initial goal.
How and when did the Cerebro® idea come about?
Officially, Cerebro® was born in 2018, but the idea had already made its way years earlier. I, the co-founder and part of what is now my team, as health professionals, being in daily contact with patients with chronic diseases of the central nervous system, we realized the serious limitations of the rehabilitation paths they followed. From there, the idea of leveraging our clinical knowledge to develop individualized rehabilitation protocols, which went beyond standard protocols, became increasingly popular. That’s why Cerebro® biotechnology is designed especially for those patients who can no longer benefit from standard rehabilitation.
How long did it take to shape your devices?
Enough. Cerebro® devices are the result of scientific research, so there is a lot of study behind them. In practical terms I would say about a year and a half, between research and development of prototypes, regarding the fTMS™., the first tool that we designed, developed and prototyped, because it is complex, as it is small, portable and produced almost entirely with recycled material. But perhaps even more was needed for our NIR® photobiomodulation tool which required continuous implementations from an engineering and scientific point of view.
We have also spent a lot of time scientifically validate the operating principles that underlie the machines, the effects and everything related to safety and non-invasiveness regulation. For the national and international patenting of our devices we took advantage of the pandemic year.
Who can request Cerebro® devices?
Our main target audience is healthcare professionals, especially with regard to our Nir® photobiomodulation tool. fTMS™ and fTMS Plus, on the other hand, can be purchased by both health professionals and patients who want to follow this treatment in their home or by people who do not have neurological disorders but the need to improve their cognitive performance, such as memory, attention. For example, it is a tool that managers and, in general, those who hold roles with high responsibility, and therefore with high stress, which, inevitably, as we know, has an impact on cognitive performance.
What is the device to which you are most “tied” and why?
Definitely the fTMS ™ , the non-invasive magnetic brain stimulation device. It was the first tool developed and patented, it is labeled as innovative because it is less invasive than others on the market. It is small, portable, uses a static magnetism, therefore closer to the physiological functioning of our neurons, and can be used as a home stimulation support in patients who follow rehabilitation protocols in private practice and want to increase its effectiveness even at home. It is also made from 98% recycled material. It is a biotechnology intuitive in use and unique in its kind.
How did you launch your brand?
I actually struggle to recognize Cerebro® as a “brand”. We are healthprofessionals with experience even if we are under the aegis of the term “statup” there are years of clinical expertise . I and part of my team also carry out clinical practice every day, we are not all mere scientific technicians. The target of healthcare professionals can only be reached if we use common languages and this has been, and is still our strong point.
Plans for the future?
Many, perhaps too many, but above all one, which is then the goal that Cerebro® has set itself from the beginning, our “North Star”: that is, the foundation of an Advanced Research Center that brings together innovators in the field of Neuroscience for the development of individualized rehabilitation plans for patients of neurodegenerative diseases.
In 2024 we plan to install this center within the Mind (Milan Innovation District), in the ex-Expo area in Milan, already intended for my startup. I dream that it becomes a point of reference for precision medicine, because rehabilitation is not such if it follows standardized protocols and does not allow the brain to “express” its potential and have someone on the other side who “listens”.
But not only that: at the beginning of next year we will have finished our Research Center and University Spinoff in Curno (Bergamo) that will enclose all the great inventive potential of Italian and foreign university students. We also have many patented industrial ideas that need to be prototyped, and thanks to our School of Neuroscience. Our slogan is “thinking outside the lines always rewards, in every work context”. We will continue to do so.
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