According to Synchron, it is the first American company to implant a human-brain-computer interface. was performed at Mount Sinai Health System in New York, NY.
image courtesy Synchron
In the United States, brain-computer interfaces have become a feasible (though restricted) reality. Synchron claims to be the first company in the country to implant a BCI in a human patient. The historic treatment was carried out by clinical investigators at Mount Sinai Health System in New York, NY, supervised by Shahram Majidi, MD, an assistant professor of neurosurgery, neurology, and radiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai.
The operation was carried out using a less invasive, endovascular method in the angiography suite. The company's Stentrode was implanted in the motor cortex of a participant in Synchron's COMMAND experiment, which aims to assess the effectiveness and safety of BCIs for giving hands-free device control to persons with severe paralysis. In an ideal world, technologies such as Stentrode will provide freedom to those who desire to email, text, and perform other digital duties that others take for granted.
“This is an incredibly exciting milestone for the field, because of its implications and huge potential,” Majidi.
Surgeons used an endovascular method to put the device, which avoids the intrusiveness of open-brain surgery by passing through the jugular vein. According to Synchron, the procedure went "very successfully" and allowed the patient to return home 48 hours later. So far, an ongoing Australian experiment has been successful, with four patients still alive a year after getting their implants.
It may be some years before doctors are able to provide Synchron's BCIs to patients. The business gained FDA clearance for human studies in July 2021, and the COMMAND study is still being expanded as of this writing. Nonetheless, the surgery in the United States represents a big step toward greater autonomy for those with paralysis. It is also a competitive triumph, as Elon Musk's Neuralink has yet to get FDA approval for its own implant. Neuralink was formed in 2016 in San Francisco, California. In July 2021, the firm announced a $205 million series C investment led by Google Ventures, Peter Thiel's Founders Fund, and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.