On May 4 local time, synchron, a competitor of neuralink, announced the start of the first human clinical trial called the command study in the United States, teslati reported** The first command patient participated in a clinical trial at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York.
"The command study has made progress in synchron's technology development in the feasibility stage because we are preparing for our key experiments." Tom Oxley, MD, CEO and founder of synchron, said: "according to the research equipment device exemption (IDE) of permanent implantable brain computer interface (BCI), the first recruitment of patients is an important milestone in the whole field because we have promoted solutions for 5 million paralyzed patients in the United States."
Synchron has developed a device called stentrode to help patients with severe paralysis. The company's goal is to allow patients to pass through intravascular brain implants without having to control digital devices by hand. Stentrode passes through the jugular vein until it reaches the brain. It is made of a mesh material and has 16 sensors that can be extended to the blood vessel wall. Synchron's stentrode is connected to an electronic device in the chest that relays brain signals from the motor cortex.
"Our research is exciting because other devices require craniotomy, and this brain computer interface device is much less traumatic. It receives electrical signals from the brain and enables people to control computers through thinking," said Bruce Campbell, M.D.
In contrast, neuralink's device is implanted directly into the brain by a robot similar to a computer numerical control (CNC) machine. Neuralink's device consists of a spherical substance connected to a thin hair like flexible electrode.
During its switch clinical trial, synchron conducted successful human trials on four patients in Australia. Bruce Campbell is the author of a study reporting on synchron's human trials in Australia. The researchers monitored participants in the switch trial for a whole year. They observed that stentrode was safe because the trial resulted in "zero adverse events".
During the switch trial in Australia, all four patients used the stentrode device. They use synchron's equipment at home without supervision. Patients can also send text messages, shop online, and manage their finances on the Internet. In December 2021, synchronous patient Philip O'Keefe successfully posted a tweet using stentrode for the first time.