Elon Musk has much riding on his brain-chip project, yet there is strong competition for its success.
Synchron, one of Neuralink’s competitors, recently secured FDA clearance to initiate human trials of its device and former president Max Hodak announced Friday he is investing in it, without intending for this as any form of criticism against Neuralink.
Founders
Elon Musk has recently come under fire for pushing Neuralink ahead of schedule, yet according to Reuters report from Friday he may have other intentions in mind. According to this source he may be investing in one of Neuralink’s direct competitors as reported by Reuters on Friday.
Synchron’s mission is to enable paralyzed patients to use digital devices with just their minds. Their brain computer interface (BCI) connects directly with blood vessels in the body – something its founder Thomas Oxley refers to as natural highways into the brain.
This system then transmits these signals to a robotic limb or monitor for use by users to connect with family and friends or browse the Internet.
Company CEO Elon Musk has been testing his BCI with several patients, such as Philip O’Keefe who became the first person to tweet with it. Now its SWITCH trial has started enrolling patients across the US. Furthermore, some key manufacturing is now under their own roof as another way of cutting costs and speeding development.
Investors
Elon Musk isn’t the only tech billionaire betting on brain-computer interface (BCI) technology as a lucrative medical business venture. Synchron’s BCI chip recently received approval from the Food and Drug Administration to begin human trials of its chip that deciphers brain signals and transmits them externally for processing by external technology.
The company’s stentrode can detect and wirelessly transmit motor intent, helping severely paralyzed patients use their hands with 92% accuracy by point-and-click control. It is currently being studied in both the US and Australia.
Synchron recently raised $75 million through ARCH Venture Partners’ Series C Funding Round, including investments managed by Bezos Expeditions and Gates Frontier – owned by Amazon founder Jeff Bezos and Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates respectively. According to Reuters reports, Elon Musk approached Synchron’s founder Tom Oxley regarding a potential partnership or investment (citing four anonymous individuals “familiar with the matter.”)
Technology
Synchron, an AV portfolio company, has designed a brain-machine interface that enables paralyzed patients to control digital devices using only their thoughts. Their implant, the Stentrode, is implanted into blood vessels – considered “natural highways” into the brain – which then interprets electrical signals coming from motor cortex of the brain, transmitting them through blood vessels into an antenna implanted in chest that communicates with external devices.
This device allows people to text, shop and manage their health and finances among other activities – designed specifically to assist people living with Lou Gehrig’s disease, ALS, stroke or injury who cannot use their legs.
Elon Musk has taken notice of Synchron’s technology, according to reports by Reuters’ sources. According to them, Musk approached Synchron about investing; although, according to our understanding of their conversations it remains unclear whether Musk plans on purchasing competitors or investing in them as an acceleration mechanism for development.
Trials
Synchron is making progress toward commercializing its brain-computer interface device, the Stentrode motor neuroprosthesis. With six patients participating in what it describes as an early feasibility study, Synchron is getting closer to commercializing this brain-computer interface device. Deciphering brain signals is used to control digital devices such as computers and tablets; intended for people living with Lou Gehrig’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, stroke or injury who experience severe paralysis.
Recently, COMMAND announced it received approval from the US FDA to begin conducting what they call “the first investigational device exemption for an evaluation of a permanently implanted BCI”. Their COMMAND trial will assess safety and quantified efficacy measures of their implant for patients suffering severe paralysis.
Synchron is one of a select few companies working in the emerging field of brain-computer interface technology, and one of three to pass FDA’s stringent human clinical testing requirement. Furthermore, its earlier Australian trial saw four participants with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis using the implant to send text messages and emails, shop online and participate in telehealth appointments – an incredible milestone achieved.
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