MIT News: "MIT class project turns into an FDA-cleared treatment for tremors"
Encora Therapeutics began in 2.009, MIT's product design class, where Daniel Carballo pitched the idea and his classmates voted to build it. The first prototype was a foamcore box, a Raspberry Pi, and a tangle of wires.
MIT News follows the team from that classroom through years of hardware design and clinical studies, to the decision to focus on essential tremor, and to the February 2026 FDA clearance of Encora X1.
Co-founders Daniel Carballo, Alli Davanzo, and Kyle Pina are all MIT alumni. They lead the company today.
About Encora Therapeutics
Encora Therapeutics is a Boston-based medical device company developing non-invasive neuromodulation therapies for people living with movement disorders. Founded by graduates of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Encora combines neuroscience, engineering, and human-centered design to develop treatment options that fit into everyday life.
The company’s first product, Encora X1™, is an FDA-cleared, prescription wrist-worn device that uses mechanical neurostimulation to aid in the relief of hand tremors during stimulation in adults with essential tremor. Encora X1 can be used alongside medication or when first-line options have failed, weren’t tolerated, or were ruled out. With no electrical contraindications, it can also be considered for patients with implanted electrical devices and for patients who are not ready for, or are not appropriate candidates for, surgical options.