Malmö-based Flow Neuroscience wants to cure depression with a headdress that sends electrical impulses to the brain. One and a quarter million dollars (SEK 9 million) was recently secured in venture capital from Silicon Valley's Khosla Ventures, among others, which has a focus on the health sector.
To cure depression using a futuristic headdress that sends electrical impulses to the brain is one way to describe the business idea behind the med-tech company Flow Neuroscience, founded in Malmö in 2016 by Erik Rehn and Daniel Månsson. According to Flow Neuroscience, nearly 5 percent of the world's population is affected by periodic depression. At the same time, dissatisfaction with antidepressant drugs, whose adverse side effects are commonly reported, affect 65 percent of users.

Research shows that brain stimulation with weak current can affect brain activity in a way that reduces the symptoms of depression. The effect can be compared to that of antidepressant drugs — but with fewer and less serious side effects. Daniel Månsson describes Flow's product as a new treatment for depression: The stimulation method is called transcranial direct current stimulation (TDCS) and Flow Neuroscience has created a wearable headdress based on this technique. The stimulation is also combined with a treatment app.

It's like a headset, a wearable device that emits weak current. "Several major clinical studies show that it can suppress depression by 30 percent. The app, which you use at the same time, is based on behavioral therapy and helps the user to sleep, eat and exercise in a way that further reduces depression,” Daniel Månsson, the company CEO recently told Swedish media. Now the focus is on getting the product’s medical technology approved in the EU.
For more info, see www.flowneuroscience.com