We’re aiming to solve a lot of problems, but right now it’s more or less about stress, anxiety, and sleep, which is one of the most common things that people are currently struggling with. With all the technology you are constantly worrying, receiving constant reminders, and this is very taxing on the body. There are basically two different sides of our brain — the sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system.
As part of my series on how to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact, I had the pleasure of interviewing Povilas Sabaliauskas, Co-Founder of Pulsetto.
Pulsetto is a cutting-edge vagus nerve stimulator that leverages breakthroughs in neuroscience to activate your parasympathetic nervous system, promoting calmness, balance, and rejuvenation to improve people’s lives. Their mission is to enhance health and wellbeing through the power of technology. With an ambitious goal to help 100 million people wake up every morning feeling happier and healthier, Pulsetto is dedicated to using the latest science to tackle some of the modern world’s most pressing issues, such as stress, anxiety, sleep disorders, and mental health concerns.
My initial interest in the Pulsetto vagus nerve stimulator was sparked by sheer curiosity. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how easy it was to use, and how it seamlessly fit into my daily routines. After a few attempts, I began to notice a relaxing and noticeable calmness in my day. As with similar biohacking devices, the effects are not always immediately apparent, but can be felt over time. With consistent use, the device gave me a level of intentionality in my sleep patterns and a peace of mind that I was yearning for.
Thank you so much for joining us, Povilas. Can you tell us a bit about your background and how you grew up?
I’m from a small country in the Baltics, which is part of the Soviet Union block. It was quite hard, but in general when you are a kid, you don’t understand what is hard and what is not. I think every person has the same issues. I graduated in biomedical engineering, but in my career I worked as a medical engineer, and had previous experience in business and manufacturing. In general, I just tried a lot of things until I found my passion. I think life should not be easy, it should be interesting. Sometimes I do a lot of things just to get myself in trouble, just to find a way to tackle some problems.
Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you began your career?
The most interesting thing that happened was regarding neuromodulation. When I started working, you understand how it works, but it was a strange concept just to stimulate the human body with electricity.
I also worked with deep brain stimulators and spinal cord stimulators. So, seeing how sudden the impact of the stimulation and after two weeks of being switched on, you can instantly see the benefit. A lot of patients have some problems with thinking clearly, and then the seizures are reduced. It was amazing how a small current in a specific area can change people’s lives.
Let’s now shift to the main part of our discussion about the tech tools that you are helping to create that can make a positive impact on our wellness. Which particular problems are you aiming to solve with Pulsetto?
We’re aiming to solve a lot of problems, but right now it’s more or less about stress, anxiety, and sleep, which is one of the most common things that people are currently struggling with. With all the technology you are constantly worrying, receiving constant reminders, and this is very taxing on the body. There are basically two different sides of our brain — the sympathetic nervous system and parasympathetic nervous system.
So right now most of our body is working on the sympathetic nervous system. It’s constantly in flight or fight mode. With our device, we stimulate the nerve and activate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is basically trying to get the human body in balance, to a more rest and digest state.
How do you think your technology Pulsetto can address this, especially for someone who doesn’t know anything about the vagus nerve?
We’re stimulating the vagus nerve, but we have to educate people on what is the vagus nerve? This is quite hard to explain, so we are just tackling the wellness sector. So say you want to feel better, you can do yoga, you can do meditation, breathing techniques, but we all have some barriers of entry point.
If you try doing breathing techniques, you can do it for a week, but it gets harder and harder. I use breathing techniques, but you have to set some time to do it, maybe add some reminders, but with the Pulsetto device, you just put some gel on your neck, and start the program with the application and you can stimulate the vagus nerve, while continuing to do other things. It’s not demanding on time and it has a very low point of entry. I think this is the benefit of our solution. You do not need to have specific training. Some people feel the effects immediately. Some have to do it for a few weeks, but in general, this is quite easy.
Can you tell us what inspired you to feel passionate about this particular cause?
The passion was when I first started to work with neurostimulation. It was used in ancient Egypt on the feet and head for pain. I saw my own family and friends that were struggling with pain and having to go to a physician and take medication, but nothing seemed to be working. So you are often left behind in some ways. So I thought, okay, I will find some like-minded people and we can build it ourselves just for home and family use.
So basically that was the starting point of just gathering information and finding the right people. Also making this technology way cheaper than it currently is, because similar devices in a professional setting can cost thousands of euros.
How do you think this might change the world?
I think it’ll just open the door. Right now neuromodulation is booming because of a lot of data that can be collected from different devices from Fitbits, Apple watches, to fitness trackers. So with more data, you can identify what kind of signals are affecting your physiology. The development cycle is getting faster.
Keeping “Black Mirror” and the “Law of Unintended Consequences” in mind, can you see any potential drawbacks about this technology that people should think more deeply about?
I do not see a lot of drawbacks because it’s quite safe actually from a neuro stimulation point of view. The side effects were just some voice alterations and local pain which is reduced over time because physiologically the body adapts.
So from a technical point of view we do not see a lot of “Black Mirror” things. If you have an excellent memory, is it bad? Maybe in some cases. Maybe you will not trick yourself into generating false memories.
Here is the main question for our discussion. Based on your experience and success, can you please share “3 things you need to know to successfully create technology that can make a positive social impact”?
When we first started to develop this product, the most important thing was the team.
Because technology is changing really fast, we identified bottlenecks, which were crucial for our device because we knew some components can be tricky to get.
Another thing is to just be open minded because even if you have a plan, you have to constantly adapt. A lot of people do not fully understand what burnout is. You can say that you have burnout, but you have to clearly identify the effect it has on your body.
So just be agile, adaptive, and constantly check your plan. Try to wiggle and navigate the maze, but still have a clear goal in sight.
If you could tell other young people one thing about why they should consider making a positive impact on our environment or society, like you, what would you tell them?
Just try. I think the biggest issue is just trying to do something and following it to the end. It’s sometimes hard to start, but it’s harder to complete something. The completion gives you a good emotion so you can build on it. I’m constantly checking information on the web because if you are in university for four years, it can change drastically.
How can our readers further follow your work and technology, Pulsetto online?
Everything is on our website at pulsetto.tech. We’re also on Indiegogo, Facebook and Instagram. You can always ask us questions. Maybe you’ll give us some amazing insights and we can build on top of it.
Thank you so much for joining us, Povilas. This was very inspirational, and we wish you continued success in your important work at Pulsetto.