Conversations Unplugged
with Dr. Kendra Lucas
For the past 10 years, the team behind Nuropod has been refining a wearable device designed to stimulate the vagus nerve through the ear. Instead of requiring an implanted device, Nuropod clips onto the tragus and delivers carefully calibrated micro-electrical stimulation while the user goes about everyday activities. Dr. Kendra Lucas says the technology has been explored across more than 50 third-party clinical trials, and her interest in it goes beyond her professional work. In this conversation with STEMREGEN Founder and Chief Science Officer Christian Drapeau, she explains how the device works and why nervous system regulation has become so important to her personally.
Dr. Kendra Lucas
Nuropod is designed to make vagus nerve stimulation simple. The frequency and other stimulation parameters are built into the device, while the user adjusts the intensity until reaching a comfortable tingling sensation. Dr. Lucas says a typical session lasts around 15 to 20 minutes, although someone using it before bed might choose a longer session. The goal is not to turn the intensity as high as possible, but to find a comfortable level while supporting the parasympathetic, or “rest and digest,” side of the nervous system.
Dr. Lucas says studies of the technology have examined areas ranging from stress and anxiety to gastrointestinal symptoms and autonomic nervous system conditions. One of those conditions is POTS, or postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, which Dr. Lucas says she lives with herself. Her personal experience with nervous system dysregulation is one of the reasons she became so involved with the technology, describing Nuropod as a “lifeline” for her. She encourages users to pay attention to changes in how calm, settled, focused, and rested they feel as they incorporate the device into their routines.
For Christian, the conversation also raises questions about how nervous system signaling may intersect with the body’s repair processes. He points to research connecting neural signaling with the release of stem cells from bone marrow, while noting that the specific role of vagus nerve stimulation in that process has not been fully quantified in their discussion. It is another example of how interconnected these systems may be. For Dr. Lucas, that connection begins with a simple principle: helping the nervous system return to a more regulated state can provide a foundation for everything else someone is doing to support their health.
