The startup has developed a secure interface for communication «by the power of thought», which is implanted into the brain through blood vessels.
According to ReutersSynchron is preparing for a large-scale clinical trial and today launches an online registry for potential patients and more than a hundred clinical trial centers that have expressed their willingness to join the study.
The New York-based company is further along than its main competitor, Neuralink. Both share a common goal — to help paralyzed patients regain the ability to communicate through a brain-computer interface (BCI) that sends signals from the brain to a computer that translates them into appropriate actions or words.
While competitors in the industry implant devices through open brain surgery, Synchron relies on a less invasive approach based on endovascular methods (insertion of implants through blood vessels).
Synchron received U.S. pre-market approval in July 2021 and implanted your device 6 patients. Preliminary testing of 4 patients in Australia showed no serious side effects. Data from US patients will be needed for a further large-scale study — the company is currently awaiting approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
According to Oxley, Synchron is looking to reach patients who are paralyzed as a result of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, stroke, and multiple sclerosis. Testing the device on a person with a stroke can be particularly challenging because the person’s brain may be so severely damaged that there are not enough neural signals to record.
The FDA has asked Synchron to test stroke patients with a non-invasive test to determine whether they would respond to the implant, Oxley said.
In 2020, Synchron reported that patients were able to use its first-generation device to type an average of 16 characters per minute. These results are — better than non-invasive devices have shown (up to 8 characters per minute).
In May, Synchron announced that it had acquired a stake in medical component company Acquandas to secure manufacturing capabilities. Synchron’s investors include billionaires Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.
Musk, according to Reuters, has also approached the startup about investing. His Neuralink also recently implanted its device in the first patientand later demonstrated how he plays chess on a computer with his mind. At the same time, no company has yet received final U.S. approval to sell a brain implant.