Science Stories FAQ
The Science

"When the brain is working at picoTesla, why are we using a Tesla-level field to fix it?"

— Shyam Sunder, Founder & Product Lead

That question took 20 years and 600 research papers to answer. Here's what we found.

The root cause

Insomnia is a 24-hour neurological condition.

It doesn't start when you get into bed. It starts when you wake up.

During the day

High beta · Low alpha

The brain stays too "fast." High beta waves (alert, stressed) dominate. Low alpha (calm) means the natural sleep transition never builds during waking hours.

At night

Hyperarousal persists

Trouble shifting from wake to sleep (N1 stage). The brain is still "on." The RAS — the reticular activating system — keeps firing. Sleep onset is delayed or fragmented.

The result

Neurology, not failure

Tired body. Active mind. Not a willpower problem. Not a bad routine. A chronically overactivated nervous system — driven by digital overload, stress, and a world the brain wasn't designed for.

852M
adults with insomnia globally
1 in 6
adults affected worldwide
50%
go undiagnosed

"Existing solutions treat sleep at night. The problem starts during the day."

VCMF™ Technology

How it works.

Variable Complex Magnetic Fields. Patented architecture. A never-repeating signal at ultra-low intensity — operating where the brain actually lives.

01

VCMF™ Emission

An ultra-weak variable magnetic field is emitted continuously from the cervical neckband. Painless. Invisible. No contact, no electrodes, no sensation. Operating at <1 μTesla — weaker than ambient EMF and your phone's magnetic field. Well below ICNIRP safety limits.

02

Brainstem Signal

The signal reaches the Reticular Activating System (RAS) — the brain's "stay awake" switch — and gently dials it down during the day. The RAS is the gatekeeper of consciousness. In insomnia, it stays overactive. VCMF™ interrupts that pattern without suppressing it.

03

Brain Wave Shift

Alpha waves (calm, relaxed focus) strengthen during the day. Beta — the alert state — is maintained so you can function normally. The 8–30 Hz variable pattern means the brain cannot adapt and tune it out. Every session is neurologically novel.

04

Hyperarousal Loop Breaks

Amygdala activity drops. The anxiety-insomnia spiral — where fear of sleeplessness creates more sleeplessness — is interrupted at its source. Theta waves are deliberately not modulated: daytime creativity, memory consolidation, and productivity are fully preserved.

05

Sleep Onset

You arrive at bedtime already neurologically ready. Natural onset. Deep rest. No sedation, no chemical dependency, no morning fog. Just sleep the way it was supposed to work.

Unlike TMS and clinical neuromodulation ($6K–$12K per course), VCMF™ operates at ultra-low intensity — designed for daily wearable use, not clinical one-off sessions. The mechanism is analogous but the delivery is consumer-grade: portable, affordable, daily.

Mechanisms hypothesized and under active clinical investigation. For investigational use only. Not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.

The evidence

The published trial.

One published, peer-reviewed, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Here's what it found.

Randomized Participants allocated by chance
Sham-controlled Inactive device as placebo
Peer-reviewed Published on PubMed PMC10307909
~7.2
Points — ISI Severity Reduction
The Insomnia Severity Index (ISI) is the clinical standard for measuring insomnia. A reduction of ≥6 points is considered clinically significant. The trial showed ~7.2.
+45 min
Average Sleep Time Gain Per Night
Participants gained an average of 45 additional minutes of sleep per night compared to the sham-control group. Real-world users have reported gains well above this.
~20 min
Faster Sleep Onset
Average reduction in sleep onset latency — the time between getting into bed and falling asleep. Participants fell asleep faster, more consistently.
20%
Full ISI Remission
One in five participants achieved complete remission on the ISI — moving from clinical insomnia to the normal range. A meaningful result for a device-only intervention.
0

Major adverse events across the entire study

18,000+ hours of cumulative use. Zero serious safety signals. Weaker than ambient EMF.

We have one published RCT. It validates the mechanism. We are now building the real-world evidence base through early adopter usage — and that data is what powers the next phase of clinical validation.

We believe in honest science. The trial is real, the numbers are real, and the limitations are real. Read it yourself: → View on PubMed: PMC10307909

Real-world signal

Her brain, measured in real time.

Muse EEG headband · Mind Monitor app · Evolv28 neuroband · Single session

A user wore a consumer EEG device simultaneously with Evolv28 and tracked her brainwave activity before and after activation. This is what the data showed.

+52%

Alpha band increase

Alpha waves are the brain's calm signal — relaxed alertness, readiness to transition toward sleep. After Evolv28 activation, alpha rose from ~0.18 to 0.25+ in the session measured.

↓ slight

Beta band reduction

Beta is the "busy mind" frequency — stress, rumination, arousal. A modest reduction without full suppression. Focus is preserved. Edge stays sharp. The overactivation quiets.

Unchanged

Theta: not modulated

Theta waves govern creativity, memory consolidation, and daytime cognitive flow. They were deliberately left out of the VCMF™ signal profile. Daytime productivity is fully preserved.

Brainwave activity — before vs. after activation
Alpha
+52%
↑ calm rises — sleep gateway opens
Beta
−8%
↓ busy mind quiets
Theta
~0%
→ productivity preserved

N=1 internal pilot. EEG data from real user session. For investigational use only. Results vary between individuals.

Built by

The people who understand it deepest.

VCMF™ wasn't discovered in a lab sprint. It was the conclusion of decades of clinical observation, research, and iteration.

Shyam Sunder

Founder & Product Lead · VCMF™ Patent Holder

MedTech innovator with 20+ years in clinical translation — from research into scalable device. Spent over a decade reviewing 600+ research papers before arriving at the picoTesla question. Designed, prototyped, and deployed the VCMF™ architecture from the ground up.

"The brain is exquisitely sensitive. We kept building hammers when it needed a feather."

Sankalp Shah

Co-Founder & CEO

Category creation specialist with a track record of building markets from scratch. Led commercial growth for the $7B+ CGM category. Managed $125M+ P&L across global operations. 16+ years of B2B and clinical-scale commercial architecture across healthcare and life sciences.

"852 million people are not sleeping. The market is not the problem. The solution is."
Commercial Partner Humble Ventures

Ajit Verghese

Founder & Partner

Fortune 100 growth advisor. 20+ years of commercial architecture across digital transformation, innovation strategy, and scaling emerging-technology companies from early traction to institutional adoption.

Ritesh Patel

Partner

Digital health pioneer with deep expertise at the intersection of technology and healthcare. Early builder of the digital health category — bringing clinical credibility and distribution strategy to emerging med-tech.

Tim Darcy

Partner

20+ years in distribution, content, and platform growth across media and entertainment. Brings consumer acquisition playbooks and partnership architecture to the Evolv28 commercial launch.

PR & Communications SparksCG

SaraJane Sparks

Founder, SparksCG

Leading PR and communications strategy for the Evolv28 launch. SparksCG brings category-defining communications experience — shaping narratives for breakthrough health and wellness companies at the moment they enter the public conversation. SaraJane ensures the Evolv28 story reaches the right journalists, clinicians, and consumers with clarity and credibility.

The science is published.
The devices are ready.

Join the waitlist and we'll be in touch when yours is.