Moving Neural Implant Research Closer to Commercialization

A Penn State doctoral student is taking important steps to translate academic research into a potential medical device solution for patients with serious neurological conditions. Marzia Momin, a doctoral candidate in engineering science and mechanics at Penn State, is using entrepreneurial training through the Invent Penn State NSF I-Corps program to advance her neural implant research toward commercialization.

Momin is the entrepreneurial lead for NeurElectrum, a Penn State affiliated startup developing a soft, minimally invasive neural implant designed to better conform to a patient’s unique brain anatomy. The technology aims to reduce inflammation and improve long term communication with the brain for individuals with drug resistant epilepsy and, in the future, people living with paralysis.

Epilepsy affects an estimated 50 million people worldwide, including roughly 15 million with drug resistant forms of the condition. In the United States alone, more than 5 million people live with paralysis, often caused by stroke, spinal cord injury, or multiple sclerosis. Current treatment options for epilepsy may involve surgically implanted metal neural devices that help regulate abnormal brain activity, but these rigid implants can pose challenges over time.

NeurElectrum’s approach replaces rigid metal components with a soft hydrogel polymer that more closely matches the mechanical properties of brain tissue. According to Momin, traditional metal based implants do not adapt well to soft neural tissue, which can lead to chronic inflammation, discomfort, and repeated medical interventions. The hydrogel based implant, by contrast, is flexible, water rich, and designed to be customized for each patient, allowing it to sit on the surface of the brain rather than being deeply inserted.

Momin’s research path has long focused on personalized medical solutions. She began studying patient specific approaches in cardiovascular and spinal biomechanics before shifting her focus to neural implants during her graduate studies at Penn State. She now works in the lab of Tao Zhou, assistant professor of engineering science and mechanics, who serves as NeurElectrum’s principal investigator and technical lead.

To better understand clinical needs and market fit, Momin participated in the Invent Penn State regional NSF I-Corps short course in 2024. The experiential program trains researchers in customer discovery and market validation. Through interviews with neurosurgeons, Momin gained firsthand insight into the limitations of existing devices and confirmed that inflammation remains a primary concern in current neural implant technologies.

Building on that experience, Momin was selected for the NSF I-Corps National Teams program in 2025, which provided a $20,000 grant to support more than 100 customer interviews over seven weeks. The national program helped clarify that neurosurgeons are the primary customers for NeurElectrum’s technology, since they are most familiar with device availability and play a key role in procurement decisions.

Momin credits the I-Corps programs with sharpening both her technical focus and her understanding of the medical device landscape. She encourages other researchers, particularly those working in highly specialized fields, to participate in I-Corps to gain exposure to real world customer needs and decision making.

While NeurElectrum’s initial application targets drug resistant epilepsy, the technology may eventually support brain computer interface applications. In the future, the device could help individuals with paralysis record brain signals and control prosthetic limbs or other assistive technologies.

The neural implant is currently in the preclinical stage and will require further testing in animal models and eventual human clinical trials. A patent application for the technology is pending, and the team plans to continue customer discovery efforts and participate in future conferences as they move closer to commercialization.

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Moving Neural Implant Research Closer to Commercialization