Clinical trials of the first commercial Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) system, developed by Synchron, have started in the United States. If the trials are deemed successful, the system might be used everywhere, and patients with paralysis might once once more be in contact with the outside world.
Image Source: synchron.com
At the initial stage before the system Stentrode the task is to confirm their safety, as well as the ability to work effectively with digital devices without the help of hands. Synchron, the company that developed the system, is thus ahead of its well-known competitor in the face of Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which receives more funding, but has not yet fully formed the staff. Last year, Neuralink raised $205 million, while Synchron only raised $70 million.
Brain-computer interface systems can make it much easier for people with disabilities to communicate with the outside world. According to official figures, there are 5 million potential users of such systems in the US alone. When implanted, Stentrode electrodes travel through the blood vessels to the brain (in Neuralink they are implanted directly into the skull), and the system begins to translate brain activity into electrical signals, allowing you to work with text messages, email, online shopping or other relatively simple tasks.
So far, Synchron said, such projects have received only permits for short-term series of experiments in the laboratory. However, if the new series of trials is successful, the program will be expanded to allow patients to use the systems on a long-term basis. And in the next few years, Stentrode will probably already go on sale.
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