For the first time ever, a person might be able to control a digital device directly with their brain. A brain-computer interface (BCI) from endovascular BCI company Synchron was implanted in a human patient for the first time in the United States two weeks ago. The procedure was conducted at the Mount Sinai West medical centre in New York two weeks ago.
This procedure was part of Synchron’s COMMAND trial, which the company is conducting using a first investigational device exemption (IDE) awarded by the United States FDA. The COMMAND study is aimed at assessing the safety and efficacy of the company’s motor BCI technology platform in patients with severe paralysis. The goal is to enable patients to control digital devices hands-free.
“This is an incredibly exciting milestone for the field, because of its implications and huge potential. The implantation procedure went extremely well, and the patient was able to go home 48 hours after the surgery,” said Shahram Majidi, MD, the neurointerventional surgeon who performed the procedure, in a press statement.
@MajidiShahram presenting the next frontier in #neurointervention where he discusses the first US implant of an #endovascular #bci for subjects with severe #quadriparesis pic.twitter.com/8ESF9BdxTn
— Synchron (@synchroninc) July 27, 2022
Synchron’s Stendrode is an endovascular brain implant designed to allow patients to wirelessly control digital devices using their thoughts, helping improve their functional independence. The device is implanted through the jugular vein using the kind of surgical techniques used to treat strokes. This does not require drilling into the skull or open-brain surgery.
After the device is implanted, it detects and wirelessly transmits motor intent using a proprietary digital language. This should allow severely paralysed patients to control personal devices without using their limbs. The COMMAND trial will assess the impact of everyday tasks including texting, emailing, online shopping and accessing telehealth services.
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