French startup URGOTECH is the health tech offshoot of the Urgo Group, a large company that specializes in wound care and over-the-counter supplements. URGOTECH has just launched the URGOnight, a headband meant to be worn in the daytime that helps your brain to produce brainwaves that improve sleep quality. The URGOnight trains a user to generate sensorimotor rhythms (SMRs), which are linked to rest and better sleep according to a study in Sleep magazine from 2008. The training involves providing visual and audio cues while sensing brain waves through the headband in a process known as neurofeedback.
URGOTECH has one patent application in consumer sleep technology for characterizing sleep. U.S. Patent Pub. No. 20180263553 addresses sleep spindles, which are brainwave spikes that have been shown to be inversely related to wakefulness. This technology may be useful in how URGOTECH monitors user sleep and uses that data to inform the neurofeedback process. So far, URGOTECH does not have any published patent filings directed at neurofeedback or SMRs specifically despite the recent product launch. This slim portfolio puts the start-up far behind other companies such as Philips and Dreem that also sell headbands for better sleep. One key differentiator that URGOTECH should capitalize on in its IP is the fact that its product only needs to be worn for 20 minutes during the daytime, while the other sleep bands must be worn throughout the night.
To keep an eye on the portfolio and to see more companies in the space, visit the Magic Number® Consumer Sleep Patent Radian®.
