After surviving a life-threatening accident and living with severe nerve damage pain, Richard Hanbury began building for a population of one: himself. That personal search for relief ultimately became Sana Health, which is developing noninvasive technology across pain and mental health. We spoke with Hanbury about the experience that inspired the company, why better outcomes matter more than complex mechanisms, and how AgeTech Collaborative from AARP has helped Sana Health turn promising technology into meaningful connections and new opportunities.
Who or what were you building for, and what made you realize this wasn't a niche problem?
In 1992, I had to crash a Jeep off a bridge in Yemen. We fell 60 feet into a dry riverbed, causing TBI, SCI, and PTSD. I was clinically dead for eight minutes, came back from that into a coma, and was then given a five-year life expectancy because of the amount of pain I was in.
My original niche was a population of one: me. I developed the device to be a better painkiller, and it ended up eliminating all of my nerve damage pain. It then took me six months to feel confident that the pain was not going to return. That was when I started asking, “Who else could I help?”
I was in my university dorm room, so it started with one person experiencing panic attacks and then three people with PTSD. That was when I realized I wasn't dealing with a niche problem.
Over time, I began to realize that almost everyone I spoke with had either personally experienced—or loved someone experiencing—pain, anxiety, depression, PTSD, or one of the other conditions we are currently working on. It became my mission in life to help everyone who comes into contact with me or Sana technology breathe easier.
What's one assumption about aging that your product proves wrong?
That aging inevitably leads to increased pain, a decreased ability to sleep, and the belief that drugs are the answer to pain and mental health care.
At Sana, we now fully believe that all pain and mental health care should be multimodal. Drugs play a role in that care, but a much smaller one than they currently play in the standard of care.
What's a moment when you got it wrong that taught you the most about building for older adults?
In 2020, AARP tested our messaging with 533 patients, and the feedback was clear: “Neuromodulation” meant nothing to them. We had built a device anyone could use but described it in terms only a neurologist would understand. Older adults don't buy a mechanism—they want to know whether they'll sleep tonight or take fewer pills.
The usage data drove the point home: Those who dropped off did so before their fifth session, while those who made it past that point were still using the device two years later. We stopped explaining brainwaves and focused on the first week instead.
What's one specific way AgeTech Collaborative™ from AARP has helped Sana Health?
Access. A six-person company can't secure meetings with payers or health systems alone. AARP's innovation team supported us beginning with the 2020 MassChallenge cohort, and the Collaborative turned that support into opportunities: payer introductions long before we had FDA clearance and, in November, a presence on the HLTH USA show floor with Market Connect meetings involving more than 700 buyers from hospitals, health systems, payers, and benefits organizations.
The difference between attending a conference and building a pipeline is who backs you. The Collaborative backs us.
If someone walking the HLTH USA show floor remembers one sentence about your company, what should it be?
Sana provides relief on demand, with FDA De Novo clearance for neuropathic pain and a platform designed to extend across pain and mental health.
Join Richard and Sana Health at HLTH USA 2026 November 15-18 in Las Vegas. Register here.
