Synchron is rivaling billionaire Elon Musk’s Neuralink with clinical trials of a brain implant that allows a wearer to control a computer just by thinking.
The implant, known as a stentrode, which is to be implanted into the brain, is the size of a paper clip.
And according to what the “Daily Mail” reported, “Stentrod” is now implanted in 6 patients in New York and Pittsburgh, who suffer from severe paralysis.
The implant allows patients to control digital devices only by thinking and gives them the ability to perform everyday tasks, including texting, e-mailing and online shopping.
Although the implant has been tested in Australian patients, the new clinical trial is the first of its kind in the United States.
If these experiments are successful, according to the publication, the brain implant can be sold as a commercial product, targeting paralyzed patients, with the aim of restoring their independence and quality of life.
To get a head start, Synchron is quick to advance its trials before Neuralink, reaching a clinical trial known as ‘Command’ under the FDA’s First Investigative Device Exemption.
IDE allows the device to be used in a clinical study, in order to collect data on its safety and efficacy.
In this regard, Synchron CEO and founder Tom Oxley said that enrolling the first patient under an IDE for a permanently implanted BCI is a milestone in the entire field: “We are developing our solution for the 5 million people in the United States who suffer from paralysis.” .
In contrast, Oxley declined to identify patients or provide demographic details.
Despite this, sources revealed to the British newspaper, that New York patients will be at Mount Sinai Hospital in Manhattan, while Pittsburgh patients will be at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center.
About the implant composition
The Stentrode consists of a scaffold made of a flexible alloy called nitinol, which is dotted with electrodes that can record nerve signals in the brain.
The device can be implanted in a blood vessel located above the motor cortex, which is the area responsible for movement in the brain.
The implant requires a minimally invasive procedure, which involves making a small “keyhole” in the neck, similar to inserting a stent into the heart.
Once in place, it expands to press the electrodes once morest the blood vessel wall near the brain, where it can record nerve signals.
These signals are transmitted from the brain directly to the target areas, where a unit is implanted under the skin in the chest, through an electrode network along a wire connecting it to the device in the chest.
The company revealed that this unit, located in the chest, is programmed to continuously capture brain signals, and when connected to an external receiver it can send it to a computer.
Hence, the above-mentioned steps mean that the patient can control what appears on the computer screen, such as the cursor or the keyboard on the screen.
In this regard, the company said: “The brain control center is now directly linked to the software, and the patient will try to train their brain to directly control the operating system.”
