West Lafayette, Ind.-based Neurava won the award for Innovation of the Year during TechPoint’s 23rd annual Mira Awards gala honoring the best of tech in Indiana. 

Co-founders and Purdue University grad students Jay Shah and Vivek Ganesh developed a wearable device for refractory epilepsy patients who are at high risk for a deadly complication of the disease that affects one-third of people with epilepsy. The device monitors key biomarkers and sends a wireless signal to a caregiver when it detects abnormalities typically linked to the complication.

Imagine having a medical condition that kills about 4,000 Americans every year and elevates your risk for sudden death, but there’s nothing you can do about it—other than worry. An estimated 3.5 million Americans and more than 50 million people worldwide, many of them children, suffer from epilepsy and the risk of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). Medical device startup Neurava has developed a first-of-its-kind smart wearable system capable of identifying and alerting for seizures and impending SUDEP risk, based on the research of a Purdue University distinguished professor and two Ph.D. candidates.

Watch the Gerry Dick, Inside Indiana Business interview with Steve Abel, associate provost for engagement at Purdue University, who accepted the award on behalf of Neurava.

The Mira Awards judges found the potential global life-saving impact of Neurava’s patented N1 wearable device to be most compelling. The groundbreaking non-invasive device detects seizures while a person is sleeping and alerts them, potentially preventing sudden death and providing peace of mind. It’s an elegant solution that addresses serious risks to patients that many physicians don’t even talk about because there hasn’t been a solution, until now.

Neurava has received multiple awards for its innovation and has raised $750,000 to support the ongoing development of the N1 device. Other notable achievements include winning the inaugural Elevate Ventures Regional Pitch Competition, placing highly in the 2020 Purdue Business Model Competition (2nd Place) and 2021 Rice Business Plan Competition (54th out of 440 worldwide), as well as a recent award of $25k from the National Pediatric Device Prize at that National Pediatric Device Consortium.

Browse Photos from the 2022 Mira Awards Gala.
Watch Acceptance Speeches from the Award Winners.
Watch Winner Interviews with Gerry Dick of Inside Indiana Business.
See All Award Winners from the 2022 Mira Awards Gala.

TechPoint, the nonprofit, industry-led growth accelerator for Indiana’s tech ecosystem, honored the successes and innovation of Indiana people, companies and products during the 23rd annual Mira Awards gala with presenting sponsor Salesforce.

A total of 16 award winners and honorees were chosen from the 125 outstanding people, companies and products that were selected as nominees for their achievements during the 2021 calendar year. 

Fifty-two independent, volunteer judges spent more than 850 total hours evaluating applications, interviewing nominees, and selecting this year’s winners. Judges included an impressive roster of company founders, CEOs and presidents, CTOs, CIOs, engineers and other industry professionals. 

TechPoint’s Mira Awards are named after the first of the brilliant variable stars to be discovered—the Mira Star. It is also the Latin root meaning “worthy of admiration, wonderful, marvelous.” The awards represent the best of tech in Indiana each year.

EDITOR’S NOTE: TechPoint and Mira Awards-related logos, badges, images, videos and photos are available for use by awards program participants only. All other uses are upon request.