Employees at a brain interface startup called Synchron are developing technology that will revolutionize everyday life for people with paralysis in a Brooklyn lab crammed with 3D printers and a makeshift pickleball court.
People with no or very little physical mobility can use the Synchron Switch, which is implanted through blood vessels, to control technology like cursors and smart house appliances. The emerging technology has thus far been applied to three people in the United States and four in Australia.
In an interview with CNBC, Synchron CEO Tom Oxley said, “I’ve seen moments between patient and partner, or patient and spouse, where it’s extremely joyful and empowering to have recovered an ability to be a little bit more independent than before.” They can interact in ways that we take for granted thanks to it.
Synchron, which was established in 2012, is a player in the rapidly growing brain-computer interface (BCI) market. A BCI is a device that interprets brain impulses and converts them into instructions for remote technologies. Neuralink may be the most well-known brand in the industry as a result of its founder Elon Musk’s high image as the CEO of Tesla, SpaceX, and Twitter.
Musk isn’t the only tech billionaire, though, who is betting on the BCI’s ultimate transformation from radical scientific experiment to thriving medical industry. Bill Gates, the co-founder of Microsoft, and Jeff Bezos, the founder of Amazon, both invested in Synchron’s $75 million financing round, which was revealed in December.
More scalable’
The Food and Drug Administration awarded Synchron the title of “Breakthrough Device” in August 2020, which is given to medical devices with the potential to enhance treatment for crippling or fatal conditions. The FDA granted Synchron the first Investigational Device Exemption the following year so that it could perform trials on humans using a BCI that could be permanently implanted.
Patients are being enrolled by Synchron in an early feasibility trial, which seeks to demonstrate the technology’s safety for use in people. Kurt Hagstrom, chief commercial officer of Synchron, said the company is presently about halfway through the study, which involves implanting the BCI in six patients.
According to a spokesperson, Synchron isn’t commenting on how much the procedure will ultimately cost because the business hasn’t yet generated any revenue.
While many rivals must perform open brain surgery to implant their BCIs, Synchron depends on a less invasive strategy that draws on decades-old endovascular techniques, the company claimed.
The blood vessels, which Oxley refers to as the “natural highways” into the brain, are used to implant Synchron’s BCI. The Stentrode, a stent made by Synchron, is implanted into a large vein next to the motor cortex and is equipped with small sensors. The Stentrode is linked to a chest-under-skin antenna that gathers and transmits unprocessed brain data to outside devices.
The brain signal’s quality isn’t ideal because the device isn’t implanted directly into the brain tissue, according to Peter Yoo, associate director of neuroscience at Synchron. But according to Yoo, the process is more accessible because it is less invasive and the brain dislikes being touched by foreign items.
According to Yoo, there are 2,000 interventionists who are qualified to carry out these operations. Compared to procedures like burr incisions or open brain surgery, which can only be done by neurosurgeons, it is a little more scaleable.
With Synchron’s technology, people who have severe paralysis or degenerative diseases like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, can regain their ability to interact with loved ones and the outside world by typing, texting, or even using social media.
Patients can use Synchron’s BCI to handle their finances, their health, and their online shopping, but Oxley claimed that text messaging is frequently what gets their attention the most.
Losing the ability to text is extremely isolating, according to Oxley. It is a very emotional restoration of power to be able to contact friends and family again.
Oxley transferred control of his Twitter account to an ALS patient called Philip O’Keefe in December 2021. O’Keefe has trouble moving his hands. O’Keefe had the BCI from Synchron implanted about 20 months previously.
“Hello, universe! brief text Monumental progress,” O’Keefe tweeted using the BCI on Oxley’s profile.
Competitors of Synchron are interested in its technology. According to a Reuters report, Musk contacted the business last year to inquire about a possible investment. Refusing to remark on the report, Synchron A request for feedback from Neuralink was ignored.
While the company hasn’t tested its product in people yet, Musk has expressed his hope that Neuralink will do so this year. Neuralink is creating a BCI that is intended to be inserted directly into the brain tissue.
Haggstrom claimed that Synchron’s product development will be sped up thanks to financing from his business, which will also push the company closer to a crucial clinical trial that will pave the way for commercialization.
While Synchron’s device may seem like something out of science fiction, it is based on “real science,” and it is already making a major impact in patients’ lives, according to Khosla Ventures partner Alex Morgan, who oversaw an earlier financing round.
In an interview, he claimed that “Synchron is truly helping people as of right now, today.” “That is really extraordinary in my opinion,”
The findings of a trial of Synchron’s BCI system in Australia, which were peer-reviewed and concerned with long-term safety, were released in January in the medical journal JAMA Neurology. The research revealed that over a 12-month period, the technology stayed secure and didn’t degrade in terms of signal quality or performance.
“That was a huge publication for us,” Haggstrom said.
Haggstrom said commercialization is key for all the players in the industry.
“I always like to be competitive, and so for me, being first to market is critical,” Haggstrom said. “We meet future patients to talk to about their needs and stuff, and so when you see that, and you talk to these families and the caregivers, you want to race as fast as you can to provide them assistance in their daily life.”
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