You can count the Apple Vision Pro and Amazon Alexa-powered smart home devices to a growing list of technology that people can control with their thoughts, thanks to a brain implant called a Stentrode, reports CNET.
Made by Synchron, the implant is designed to allow patients living with paralysis to control their digital devices using signals from their brain. The company announced the results of its latest study at the Congress of Neurological Surgeons today. The study followed six patients with Synchron’s brain implant during a 12-month period and concluded that no serious adverse events (meaning medical complications like blood clots or stroke) related to the Stentrode were reported.
CNET says the success of this latest trial means Synchron will be moving on to a larger study with more participants. Synchron’s founding CEO Tom Oxley says this next chapter in the Stentrode’s development will be about reliability, gathering more brain data and using that data to make the device more powerful, more intuitive to work with and more empowering for its users. There’s a registry on Synchron’s website where people interested in participating in future studies can sign up.
In July the brain-computer interface (BCI) company announced the world’s first-ever use of Apple Vision Pro, by one of the patients implanted with the Synchron brain computer interface.
Mark, a 64-year old man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), successfully used his direct thoughts to control the cursor on the spatial computer when he played Solitaire, watched Apple TV and sent text messages using the Synchron brain computer interface, hands-free. Mark is otherwise unable to use the Apple Vision Pro due to the loss of function of his upper limbs. Apple Vision Pro requires hand gestures to make item selections.
Synchron’s new BCI integration with Apple Vision Pro, allows for the first time – users who have lost mobility of their hands and voice to engage with the device, according to Tom Oxley, CEO and founder, Synchron. The BCI system is designed to be simple to use and easy to learn, he adds.
