Blackrock Neurotech Archives - Medical Design Sourcing

BCI maker Blackrock Neurotech picks up $200M investment from cryptocurrency company

Neuralace visually looks like a piece of lace. It is thinner than an eyelash. It’s possible to engineer it with a variety of materials and patterns, and it can go on wide swaths of the brain’s surface. [Image courtesy of Blackrock Neurotech]Tether, a digital asset industry leader, announced today that it made a $200 million strategic investment in Blackrock Neurotech.

With the investment — made through a newly formed venture division called Tether Evo — Tether is now the majority stakeholder in Blackrock Neurotech, a maker of neurotechnology such as brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).

Blackrock Neurotech develops the NeuroPort Array neural interfacing system. The system, used in human BCIs since 2004, helped patients regain tactile function, movement of limbs and prosthetics and the ability to control digital devices. They can achieve this despite diagnoses of paralysis and other neurological disorders.

The company said next-generation BCIs could extend…

Blackrock Neurotech unveils next-generation BCI interface

[Image from Milad Fakurian on Unsplash]Blackrock Neurotech announced today that it revealed its Neuralace next-generation neural interface for brain-computer interface (BCI) technology.

Salt Lake City-based Blackrock unveiled the interface at the Society for Neuroscience 2022 event this week.

It designed the Neuralace platform as an ultra-high channel count, flexible electrode. The company said in a news release that it provides a glimpse into the technology set to fuel its future BCIs.

“Neuralace demonstrates our belief in where the science must go in order to unlock the true potential of BCI,” said Marcus Gerhardt, co-founder and CEO of Blackrock. “This concept technology is the start of Blackrock’s journey toward whole-brain data capture that will transform the way neurological disorders are treated.”

Building upon established technology

Blackrock develops the NeuroPort Array neural interfacing system. The system, use…

Pushing the boundaries of brain-computer interface software

[Image from Milad Fakurian on Unsplash]

Neuroscientist Sumner Norman and AE Studio develop open-source and free tools for the brain-computer interface (BCI) space.

BCI technology has become one of the hottest areas of medtech. Companies are developing a multitude of methods with their own systems that would allow patients to control a computer with their brain. Such technology could enable immobile people to control a mouse cursor, keyboard, mobile device/tablet, wheelchair or prosthetic device by only thinking.

“My goal is to give abilities back to those that have lost them, and eventually, to improve how all of us interact with technology and each other — the ultimate human-machine interface,” Norman told Medical Design & Outsourcing. “And what’s more human than our brain, the organ that contains our every memory, thought and intention?”

How the Utah Array is advancing BCI science

Blackrock Neurotech’s Utah array is used in its brain-computer interface to sense brain signals. [Photo courtesy of Blackrock]

This gold-standard brain-computer interface technology is creating a platform for better patient outcomes.

Florian Solzbacher, Blackrock Neurotech

Brain-computer interface (BCI) science has seen exciting advances and heightened public attention in recent years, and for good reason. The promise of BCI for individuals with paralysis is monumental: To intuitively restore communication, control external devices, and provide the independence that many able-bodied people take for granted.

Sitting at the core of today’s BCI innovation is a tiny device that has quietly powered advances in the field for decades: the Utah Array.

Studied in humans since 2004, this bundle of microelectrodes, also known as the NeuroPort Array, remains the only FDA-cleared high-channel microel…

7 brain-computer interface companies you need to know

[Image from Milad Fakurian on Unsplash] Blackrock Neurotech, BrainGate, ClearPoint Neuro, Neuralink, Synchron and more race to bring brain-computer interface (BCI) tech to market.

They’re using a multitude of methods — and developing their own systems that would allow patients to control a computer with their brain.

Such technology could potentially enable countless immobile people someday to control a mouse cursor, keyboard, mobile device/tablet, wheelchair or prosthetic device by only thinking.

The FDA last year issued leapfrog guidance for nonclinical testing and study design related to implanted brain-computer interface (BCI) devices. Leapfrog guidance allows the agency to share its initial thoughts on emerging technologies that are early in development but appear likely to be of importance to public health.

Companies have faced a number of challenges as they try to bring brain-computer interface technology to the market, but they continue to …

Blackrock Neurotech and Pitt work on first at-home BCI system for remote trials

Blackrock Neurotech’s Utah array is used in its brain-computer interface implant to sense brain signals. [Photo courtesy of Blackrock]Blackrock Neurotech and the University of Pittsburgh’s Rehab Neural Engineering Labs (Pitt RNEL) are working together on the first portable brain-computer interface (BCI) to allow patients to participate in research trials from home.

A Blackrock representative said it’s the final step as the company prepares to launch its first commercial product early next year.

Salt Lake City-based Blackrock plans to submit its first commercial BCI device, called MoveAgain, to the FDA this year.

Blackrock wants its BCI platform to be the first one that’s commercially available to people with paralysis. Its implant has been used in patients since 2004 through research studies, with zero FDA-reported serious adverse events since then.

Get the full story at our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

Blackrock Neurotech and Pitt work on first at-home BCI system for remote trials

Blackrock Neurotech’s Utah array is used in its brain-computer interface implant to sense brain signals [Photo courtesy of Blackrock]

Blackrock Neurotech and the University of Pittsburgh’s Rehab Neural Engineering Labs (Pitt RNEL) are working together on the first portable brain-computer interface (BCI) to allow patients to participate in research trials from home.

A Blackrock representative said it’s the final step as the company prepares to launch its first commercial product early next year.

Salt Lake City-based Blackrock plans to submit its first commercial BCI device, called MoveAgain, to the FDA this year.

Blackrock wants its BCI platform to be the first one that’s commercially available to people with paralysis. Its implant has been used in patients since 2004 through research studies, with zero FDA-reported serious adverse events since then.

“Through this expansion…

FDA grants breakthrough nod to Blackrock Neurotech’s brain-computer interface

The Utah Array platform [Image from Blackrock Neurotech/ClearPoint Neuro]Blackrock Neurotech announced that it received FDA breakthrough device designation for its MoveAgain brain-computer interface (BCI) system.

Salt Lake City-based Blackrock Neurotech designed its MoveAgain BCI system to provide immobile patients the ability to control a mouse cursor, keyboard, mobile device/tablet, wheelchair or prosthetic device by only thinking, according to a news release.

The company said the results of its portable MoveAgain BCI could include improved mobility and independence that leads to returning to work, participating in leisure activities and communicating more effectively and quickly.

MoveAgain BCI includes an array implanted in the brain, which decodes movement from neuronal activity. Signals are then transmitted wirelessly to an external device, like a cursor or wheelchair, providing people control of their external environment.

“We look forward to w…

Blackrock Neurotech and ClearPoint Neuro want to automate brain implant surgeries

The Utah Array platform [Image from Blackrock Neurotech/ClearPoint Neuro]ClearPoint Neuro (NSDQ:CLPT) announced an agreement with Blackrock Neurotech to develop automated technologies for brain implant surgeries.

The partnership will seek to develop an automated surgical solution for implanting brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) into patients with neurological disorders including from paralysis, ALS, blindness and hearing loss, among others.

Get the full story at our sister site, Medical Design & Outsourcing.

Blackrock Neurotech and ClearPoint Neuro want to automate brain implant surgeries

The Utah Array platform [Image from Blackrock Neurotech/ClearPoint Neuro]

ClearPoint Neuro (NSDQ:CLPT) announced an agreement with Blackrock Neurotech to develop automated technologies for brain implant surgeries.

The partnership will seek to develop an automated surgical solution for implanting brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) into patients with neurological disorders including from paralysis, ALS, blindness and hearing loss, among others.

Solana Beach, Calif.-based ClearPoint Neuro said in a news release that the partnership aims to leverage its platform and software with Blackrock Neurotech’s Utah Array to deliver a clinical solution for surgeons that is more streamlined and effective than other BCI implantation surgeries performed to date.

Salt Lake City-based Blackrock Neurotech’s Utah Array, touted as the leader in implantable BCIs and the only electrode array of its kind, holds …