Synchron, a brain-computer interface company, beat Musk to carry out human experiments.

brain-computer interface company Synchron beat Musk to carry out human trials

brain-computer interface company Synchron beat Musk to carry out human trials, brain-computer interface company Synchron announced the start of the first human clinical trial named "COMMAND" research in the United States, and brain-computer interface company Synchron beat Musk to carry out human trials. Brain-computer interface company Synchron beat Musk to carry out human trials 1

Neuralink, Musk's brain-computer interface company, has always been an ardent advocate of human clinical trials. Since 22, the technology tycoon and the richest man in the world have mentioned the news that the company will conduct human trials more than once. However, the reality is that the dreams of Neuralink and Musk are still far away, and one of their competitors, Synchron, has recently started a human clinical trial called "COMMAND".

Yesterday, Synchron announced that it had recruited the first volunteer for the "COMMAND" project, and the experiment will be conducted at Mount Sinai Hospital in new york. Although the company did not elaborate on the volunteer's situation, the "COMMAND" experiment was set up for patients with severe paralysis. Based on this, it seems that the volunteer's situation is not difficult to guess.

In July last year, Synchron obtained the regulatory approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), becoming the only company in the world to obtain the "clinical trial license for permanent implantation of BCI"-an honor that Musk dreamed of.

According to the published news, the research direction of Synchron Company is also implantable brain-computer interface, but unlike Neuralink of Musk, Synchron's scheme "Stentrode" does not need to punch holes in the skull, but implants electrodes into the brain through veins. After the electrode enters the brain from jugular vein, it will fuse with the vascular wall of the brain after 14 days of cell growth.

Generally speaking, the brain-computer interface of Synchron is more like a mature heart stent scheme.

With the help of the system, the current generated by the patient's brain will be led out from the electrode at the chest through wires, and then connected to the signal processing equipment. In this step, Synchron's self-developed BrainOS operating system will decode the signal read by the sensor and then convert it into a universal signal. In the end, users can control electronic devices, such as computers, with only their eyes and thoughts.

Previously, Synchron has tried this scheme on four volunteers, and the results are quite good-Stentrode is well fixed on them, and the equipment can be used at home, and the volunteers can keep the equipment running safely without supervision.

Take Philip O'Keefe, a 62-year-old patient with gradual freezing, as an example. His condition has deteriorated to the point where he can barely use a mouse. However, after implantation surgery and initial training, he can easily complete operations such as sending emails and shopping by moving his eyes. In December last year, he also sent a tweet entitled "Hello World!" with the help of the Twitter account of the CEO of Synchron Company. Twitter.

"This system is amazing. It takes practice just like learning to ride a bike, but once you start rolling, it will become natural." O'Keefe described his feelings in a statement.

At present, Synchron is planning to further strengthen Stentrode. According to their idea, brain signal sensors should be arranged in all corners of the brain through blood vessels, so that more signals and instructions can be read, helping disabled patients to achieve more complicated operations.

While Synchron is steadily advancing its plan, other brain-computer interface companies are also improving their own nerve implants. Among them, the most striking thing is undoubtedly Neuralink, which is inseparable from Musk's all-time "bringing goods" behavior on social media.

According to the promotional video released by Neuralink in 221, the brain implant developed by the company consists of a "small ball", which contains electronic devices and flexible electrodes, with a width of about 5μm, a thickness of 5μm and a length of about 2mm. After implantation, the electrodes will read brain activity by sensing or stimulating neurons, and even theoretically "write" brain activity.

because it is impossible to carry out human experiments, Neuralink's previous experiments were done on monkeys. After the chip was implanted, they tried to let a monkey play games through it. From the published experimental video, when the monkey uses the joystick, the chip will record its brain activity and send the data back to the computer to analyze the corresponding relationship between its movements and brain activity. After that, the computer will disable the joystick. Although the monkey is still used to playing games with the joystick, it is its brain that actually controls the game.

Musk believes that this scheme can help patients control artificial limbs, because its principle is "no different" from that of monkeys playing games.

Of course, the shortcomings of this scheme are obvious. As mentioned above, the Neuralink brain machine implant needs to perform craniotomy on the patient, remove a piece of skull the size of a coin, then implant the chip into the brain, and then sew the sensor to the surface of the cerebral cortex with special surgical equipment-all of which should be carefully avoided by the patient's blood vessels.

Neuralink has always ensured the safety of surgery, but no one knows whether such a "rough" implantation method will cause infection or even irreversible damage to the brain. Perhaps because of this, the FDA has been slow to approve Neuralink's request for human clinical trials. At least for now, Neuralink can only attack monkeys-and after the outside world accused Neuralink of "abusing" experimental monkeys, how long such experiments can be done also needs to be questioned.

It should be noted that this is not only the risk that Neuralink needs to face, but also the problem of many BCI companies including Synchron. With the extension of time, any electrode that enters human tissue may cause inflammation. Whether or not to develop materials that can be implanted into human brain for a long time without self-deterioration or infection is a difficult problem that brain-computer interface companies need to overcome in the future.

On the other hand, how to avoid the moral and ethical problems of BCI also needs the attention of technology companies. As mentioned above, programs such as Neuralink can theoretically affect some brain activities of patients; In addition, the patient's original brain data, that is, ideas, which should not be known by anyone, will there be a risk of leakage in the era of brain-computer interface? All kinds of problems are still hovering over this young technical field. Brain-computer interface company Synchron beat Musk to carry out human trials 2

According to foreign media reports, brain-computer interface company Synchron announced that it would start the first human clinical trial called "COMMAND" research in the United States, and the first COMMAND patient participated in the clinical trial at Mount Sinai Hospital in new york.

It is reported that Synchron has developed a device called Stentrode to help severely paralyzed patients. The company's goal is to enable patients to control digital devices through intravascular brain implants.

Stentrode is minimally invasive implanted into the motor cortex of the brain through the jugular vein. It is made of mesh material with 16 sensors. The sensors can be extended to the blood vessel wall and then connected to an electronic device in the chest to relay brain signals from the motor cortex, enabling patients to complete daily tasks including text messages, emails, online shopping and telemedicine services.

Bruce Campbell, M.D., pointed out that unlike other devices requiring craniotomy, this brain-computer interface device is much less traumatic.

Tom Oxley, MD, CEO and founder of Synchron, said that the research of COMMAND made progress in the feasibility stage of Synchron's technology development, and promoted solutions for 5 million paralyzed patients in the United States.

last month, Synchron's recent' SWITCH' clinical trial in Australia was announced at the American Academy of Neurology. Researchers monitored the participants in the SWITCH trial for a whole year. The recent research shows that Stentrode is safe. Participants can use Synchron's equipment without supervision, and they can also send text messages, shop online and manage money. Brain-computer interface company Synchron beat Musk to carry out human trials 3

Synchron, a competitor of Musk's brain-computer interface company Neuralink, announced the start of the first human clinical trial called "COMMAND" research in the United States, and the first COMMAND patient participated in the clinical trial at Mount Sinai Hospital in new york.

Tom Oxley, MD, CEO and founder of Synchron Company, said: "COMMAND research has made progress in the feasibility stage of Synchron technology development, because we are preparing for our key experiments. Recruiting patients for the first time is an important milestone in the whole field because we have promoted solutions for 5 million paralyzed patients in the United States. "

I learned that Synchron developed a device called Stentrode to help patients with severe paralysis. The company's goal is to enable patients to control digital devices through intravascular brain implants, rather than by hand. Stentrode passes through the jugular vein and reaches the brain. It is made of a mesh material and has 16 sensors, which can be extended to the blood vessel wall. Stentrode of Synchron is connected to an electronic device in the chest, which relays brain signals from the motor cortex.

Bruce Campbell, MD, pointed out: "Our research is exciting, because other devices need craniotomy, and this brain-computer interface device is much less traumatic. It receives electrical signals from the brain and enables people to control the computer through thinking. "

In contrast, the equipment of Neuralink Company of Musk is directly implanted into the brain by a robot similar to a computer numerical control (CNC) machine. The equipment consists of a spherical substance connected to a flexible electrode with fine hair.

during its SWITCH clinical trial, Synchron conducted a successful human trial on four patients in Australia. Bruce Campbell is the author of a research report on the human trials of Synchron in Australia, and the researchers monitored the participants in the SWITCH trial for a whole year. They observed that Stentrode was safe because the experiment had "zero adverse events" that eventually led to disability or death.

in the SWITCH trial in Australia, Stentrode was fixed well on all four patients, who used Synchron equipment at home without supervision. Patients can also send text messages, shop online and manage their finances on the Internet. In December 221, Synchron patient Philip OKeefe posted the first message on social media through Stentrode thinking on Twitter.