A new brain health collaboratory from Cognito and Ochsner aims to test new ways of treating cognitive decline and Alzheimer’s disease.
The Brain Health Collaboratory is described as the Gulf South’s first statewide platform for non-invasive brain health innovation.
It will combine Cognito’s investigational Spectris technology with Ochsner’s clinical network to explore care models across urban and rural communities in the region.
Dr David Houghton, system chair of neurology at Ochsner Health, said: “This new collaboratory affords us the opportunity to pair emerging neurotechnology with real-world clinical care to better understand how we can slow cognitive decline, improve patients’ lives and open new therapeutic pathways for other neurological diseases in the future.”
At the centre of the initiative is Spectris, an investigational device for use at home that delivers synchronised light and sound stimulation through the brain’s natural sensory pathways.
The technology is designed to support healthy neural network activity and, according to its developers, has shown early promise in helping preserve brain structure and function in Alzheimer’s disease.
It received Breakthrough Device Designation from the US Food and Drug Administration in 2021 and is currently being evaluated in clinical trials.
The two organisations will also work on a Brain Health Index, a framework intended to track cognitive health, disease progression and treatment response in real-world care settings.
The programme will explore how Spectris could be integrated into clinical care models for patients experiencing cognitive decline.
Cambridge, Massachusetts-based Cognito Therapeutics describes itself as a late clinical-stage neurotechnology company focused on non-invasive neuroprotective therapies for neurodegenerative diseases.
Ochsner Health is the leading nonprofit healthcare provider in Louisiana, Mississippi and across the Gulf South, operating 47 hospitals and more than 370 health and urgent care centres.
The collaboratory will also explore ways to integrate the technology into programmes serving patients eligible for both Medicare and Medicaid, the US government health insurance schemes, where Alzheimer’s disease places a significant clinical and economic burden.
Christian Howell, chief executive officer of Cognito Therapeutics, said: “Ochsner’s reach across the Gulf South provides a unique opportunity to bring innovative brain health technologies to a broad patient population.
“Partnerships like this are essential to ensuring that new therapies can reach patients not just in major academic centres, but across entire healthcare systems that serve both urban and rural communities.
“Expanding access to patients is critical to generating real-world evidence and ultimately delivering new options for people living with Alzheimer’s disease.”
The Ochsner partnership is the second such collaboratory for Cognito, which launched its first in November 2025 with the West Virginia University Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute.
The company says it plans to build a broader network of collaboratories with health systems and academic medical centres to expand patient access and generate real-world evidence.
The Spectris technology may also have potential in a range of other neurological conditions, including Parkinson’s disease, multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, stroke and addiction, according to the company.
However, it remains investigational and has not yet received regulatory approval.