The two technologies are being developed utilising research and clinical trial results from University of Nottingham scientists on interventions that are non-invasive and have been shown to be effective in treating the symptoms of Tourette Syndrome (TS), a neurodevelopmental condition that is usually diagnosed between the ages of eight and 12.

A wrist device that delivers electrical pulses to reduce the amount and severity of tics experienced by individuals with Tourette’s is being developed by spin-out Neupulse. The device is being developed based on research conducted by scientists from the University of Nottingham’s School of Psychology and School of Medicine who found using repetitive electrical stimulation of nerves at the wrist can reduce tic frequency and tic intensity, and remove the urge-to-tic, in individuals with TS.

The Online Remote Behavioural Intervention for Tics (ORBIT) is a digital tool that is based on research from the School of Medicine that is being developed by NIHR’s MindTech HealthTech Research Centre.

ORBIT can be accessed via a web browser and is an online guided self-help intervention which uses videos, animations and interactive scripts to help children and young people aged nine to 17 years. It is supported by an online therapist (e-coach) across a 10-week programme to deliver a form of behavioural therapy called an exposure with response-prevention, which involves practicing confronting the thoughts, images, urges, and situations that makes a person anxious and provokes their tic.

In a large randomised control trial published in the Lancet, ORBIT was shown to be clinically and cost effective, doubling the rate of important clinical improvement in tics, with durable benefits lasting 18 months after the intervention.