Bold Research. Real Impact.
Patty and Martha "Marty" Meagher [Photo courtesy of Patty Meagher]
By Ann Comer-Woods, USF Research
After returning from a six-week trip abroad in 2017, Patty Meagher noticed how rapidly her 82-year-old mother鈥檚 cognitive abilities had declined. Soon after, Martha 鈥淢arty鈥� Meagher was diagnosed with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease. Once a full-time teacher with an active lifestyle, she began to struggle with simple tasks.
鈥淭o make herself breakfast, she would count out 10 almonds and have a glass of juice because she wasn鈥檛 comfortable cooking,鈥� Patty said. 鈥淪he鈥檇 read something funny that her favorite author, Irma Bombeck, had written, but when I鈥檇 asked her about it, she鈥檇 forgotten what she鈥檇 read.鈥�
Instead of deteriorating, as is often the case with Alzheimer鈥檚, Marty鈥檚 mental capacity improved. Just three years after diagnosis, she planned and cooked the family鈥檚 Thanksgiving dinner and spoke at great depth about Winston Churchill鈥檚 750-page book, 鈥淭he Gathering Storm.鈥�
Head cap with TEMT-RF technology [Courtesy of NeuroEM Therapeutics]
TEMT-RF penetration into the brain [Courtesy of NeuroEM Therapeutics]
Her remarkable transformation was thanks to a technology invented at the University of South Florida 鈥� the Transcranial Electromagnetic Technology using Radio Frequencies (TEMT-RF) 鈥� a head cap that emits high-frequency electromagnetic waves that break apart the toxic proteins at the root of Alzheimer鈥檚 disease.
Gary Arendash, USF professor emeritus [Photo courtesy of Gary Arendash]
The technology stems from a 2009 discovery made by Gary Arendash, professor emeritus in the USF Department of Molecular Biosciences and former neuroscientist at the . Testing a theory that radio frequency exposure might harm the brain, Arendash exposed mice with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease to electromagnetic waves that are similar to those emitted by cell phones. He then made a surprising discovery. Instead of accelerating cognitive decline, their cognitive abilities improved.
鈥淚 thought it had to be wrong, but when we repeated the experiments, the findings were clear,鈥� Arendash said.
Realizing he had uncovered a potential new therapeutic pathway for Alzheimer鈥檚 disease, Arendash approached Byrd Institute researcher Chuanhai Cao, a professor in the Taneja College of Pharmacy. Cao successfully replicated the experiment and the two began a long-term research collaboration.
USF Professor Chuanhai Cao [Photo by Torie Doll, University Communications and Marketing]
Their study started small. Twice a day for an hour, eight people with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease wore an early prototype of the TEMT-RF head cap, which emitted electromagnetic waves into their brains. After two months, 88% of the participants showed significant improvements in memory performance.
鈥淚t was really quite amazing because there hadn鈥檛 been anything up to that point 鈥� and there still isn鈥檛 any sort of therapeutic shown to reverse memory impairment in Alzheimer鈥檚 patients,鈥� Arendash said.
鈥淲e also discovered that TEMT-RF replenishes mitochondria, the powerhouse of the human cell, and it helps rebalance the immune system,鈥� Cao said. 鈥淎s a trained immunologist, I believe many diseases begin with immune imbalance, and this technology appears to influence those pathways in meaningful ways.鈥�
Martha 鈥淢arty鈥� Meagher wearing the TEMT-RF head cap [Photo courtesy of Patty Meagher]
With assistance from USF鈥檚 Technology Transfer Office, Arendash secured two foundational patents for the technology that would become TEMT-RF, and in 2013, launched .
Fast forward to early 2020, when Patty Meagher鈥檚 mother began wearing the TEMT-RF head cap for two, one-hour sessions a day as part of a subsequent study. She鈥檚 now 91 and continuing to use it to this day.
鈥淲e could see anecdotally that some things were improving, but the cognitive testing showed absolutely nothing,鈥� Meagher said. 鈥淲hen we got to four months, there was an improvement in her data, and by six months, there was a significant improvement."
鈥淲hen she started to use this technology, the light came back into her eyes.鈥欌��
Patty Meagher
Daughter of Martha "Marty" Meagher
[Image courtesy of NeuroEM]
While Arendash鈥檚 early research laid the foundation for TEMT-RF technology, he has not been involved in NeuroEM鈥檚 operations or management since the end of 2023. The company has since transitioned into a commercialization-focused organization led by an experienced executive and scientific leadership.
The company has evolved the original design of the head cap into a sleeker, consumer-friendly product designed for scalability and precision. The current design incorporates five strategically placed antennae that deliver rapid, high-frequency pulses of radio waves. Delivered at carefully calibrated strengths, frequencies and angles, these signals are designed to influence harmful protein aggregation and support the brain鈥檚 natural glymphatic clearance processes.
鈥淲e鈥檝e moved the technology from something that looked like it was designed by an engineer and neuroscientist to a product that appeals to the market,鈥� said Chuck Papageorgiou, CEO of NeuroEM Therapeutics. 鈥淭he goal has been to preserve scientific rigor while making the technology practical, comfortable and accessible.鈥�
Chuck Papageorgiou, CEO of NeuroEM Therapeutics [Photo courtesy of NeuroEM Therapeutics]
NeuroEM continues to maintain an active research relationship with USF, collaborating closely with Cao and his team on advanced studies aimed at refining treatment parameters and deepening scientific understanding of how TEMT-RF affects the brain.
Building on insights gained through Alzheimer鈥檚 research, NeuroEM launched a wellness-focused subsidiary, , in 2025. After gathering user feedback and conducting an internal study, the company expects to bring its first TEMT-RF wellness device to market in late 2026, targeting consumers interested in improving their concentration, focus and learning speed without pharmaceuticals or invasive procedures.
At the same time, NeuroEM continues to pursue a medical-grade version of the technology for Alzheimer鈥檚 disease and potentially other neurological conditions, including traumatic brain injury and Parkinson鈥檚 disease, which share similar patterns of protein aggregation. The company has partnered with CareOne Concierge on a study that will enroll up to 1,000 participants diagnosed with Alzheimer鈥檚 disease or dementia.
鈥淥ur strategy has always been two-fold,鈥� Papageorgiou said. 鈥淥ne pathway is clinical 鈥� focused on serious neurological disease 鈥� the other is preventive and wellness-oriented, aimed at protecting brain health earlier in life.鈥�
With Alzheimer鈥檚 affecting roughly 700,000 new patients annually in the U.S. alone, NeuroEM鈥檚 leadership views the mission as more than commercial success. 鈥淚f we can align brain health with biological longevity, we can change the world 鈥� an ambition rooted in more than a decade of USF-led research now advancing toward real-world impact,鈥� Papageorgiou said.