Brain-computer interfaces have become a limited reality in the US. Synchron has announced that it is the first company in the US to implant a brain-computer interface into a patient. Doctors in Mount Sinai West, New York, inserted a 1.5-inch device into the motor cortex of an ALS patient. This study aims to measure the usefulness and safety of brain-computer interfaces to provide hands-free device control to people with severe paralysis.
Ideally, these technologies will provide independence to paralyzed people who want to email, text, and perform other digital tasks. The surgeons placed the implant using an endovascular procedure without performing open neurosurgical intervention through the carotid artery. The operation went “extremely well,” and the patient was able to return home 48 hours later, according to Synchron.
Brain-computer interfaces could enable paralyzed people to move
An ongoing trial in Australia has also been successful so far. Four patients are still living a healthy life one year after their implants were placed. It may take a long time for doctors to present Synchron’s brain-computer interfaces to patients. The company continues its trials, gaining US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for human trials in July 2021.
The success of the Synchron company also represents a competitive victory. Elon Musk’s Neuralink has not yet received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration for its own implant. Emphasizing that they will start placing chips in the human brain in 2022, Musk lagged behind Synchron in this regard.
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