Neuralink competitor Synchron gives thoughts management with Apple Imaginative and prescient Professional
Mark uses Vision Pro with his BCI
Courtesy of Synchron
Neurotech startup Synchron announced on Tuesday that it has developed its brain implant with AppleThe Vision Pro headset from . This now makes it possible for patients with limited physical mobility to control the device using only their thoughts.
Synchron is developing a brain-computer interface (BCI) that is designed to help paralyzed patients operate technology such as smartphones and computers using their minds. The company has already implanted its BCI in six patients in the US and four in Australia. The technology still needs approval from the US Food and Drug Administration before it can be widely marketed.
Apple launched Vision Pro earlier this year and users typically control it with eye movements, voice commands and hand gestures. Synchron has been working to make it accessible to patients who cannot speak or move their upper limbs.
Synchron CEO Thomas Oxley said he believes Apple's iOS accessibility platform is best in class, so the company initially focused on helping patients control devices within the Apple ecosystem. He said Synchron will likely work on connecting its BCI to other headsets, but is starting with the Vision Pro.
Apple was “very supportive” of Vision Pro integration, he added.
“I think BCI is very well positioned to create tremendous value as a synergistic integration into the Apple ecosystem,” Oxley said in an interview with CNBC.
Synchron is part of an increasingly competitive BCI industry, and the company announced Tuesday that it was the first to connect its system to Apple's Vision Pro. Other companies such as Paradromics, Precision Neuroscience, Blackrock Neurotech and Elon Musk's Neuralink are also developing BCI systems, though their designs and ambitions are all different.
Synchron's BCI is inserted through the patient's jugular vein, so no open brain surgery is required. It is inserted into the blood vessel that lies on the surface of the brain's motor cortex. The stent-like device is connected to an antenna that sits under the skin in the chest. The antenna collects raw data from the brain and sends it to external devices.
Apple did not respond to CNBC's request for comment.
According to Synchron, a 64-year-old patient named Mark pioneered the company's work with the Vision Pro headset.
Mark, who asked CNBC not to use his last name for privacy reasons, was implanted with Synchron's BCI in August 2023. He suffers from a degenerative disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), in which patients gradually lose control of their muscles.
Since his diagnosis in January 2021, Mark has lost function of his shoulders, arms and hands, but he can still speak and walk short distances.
Mark meets with Synchron twice a week for two hours to practice various skills and functions with his BCI. He said he has been testing the Vision Pro occasionally since April and has been able to use it to send text messages, play solitaire and watch TV.
He said that using his BCI to control the headset is not much different from using it to control his iPhone, iPad and computer. Some uses within the headset are more limiting and demanding than others, and he is still experimenting with new ways to use it.
“It’s just another opportunity for me to experience a little independence,” Mark said in an interview with CNBC.
For example, Mark said he can no longer lift his arms to paint, so he is learning how to create artwork with the Vision Pro. He also likes to use an app that lets him look at constellations in the sky, he said.
Mark is starting to lose some strength in his neck, but he says he finds the headset comfortable to wear. He can wear it for two hours without getting tired, and he doesn't suffer from motion sickness either.
“It’s actually pretty amazing,” Mark said.
Synchron is preparing for a large-scale clinical trial with more patients, and Mark said he hopes his work with the headset will improve the experience for other people.
Oxley said the integration with Vision Pro shows how BCIs can help paralyzed patients utilize consumer technologies.
“This is the beginning of a new therapeutic option to restore the ability to engage with digital technology that we take for granted,” Oxley said. “That's what this represents.”
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