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Synchron raises $75M Series C for BCI with investments from Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos

[Image from Synchron]Synchron announced today that it raised an oversubscribed $75 million Series C financing round for its brain-computer interface (BCI) technology.

Gates Frontier (Bill Gates’ investment fund) and Bezos Expeditions (Jeff Bezos’ investment fund) participated in the round. ARCH Venture Partners led the funding. Reliance Digital Health, Greenoaks, Alumni Ventures,Moore Strategic Ventures and Project X also joined.

Existing investors participating included Khosla Ventures, NeuroTechnology Investors, METIS, Forepont Capital Partners, ID8 Investments, Shanda Group and University of Melbourne. According to a news release, the Series C brings Synchron’s total fundraising to $145 million.

“We have an opportunity to deliver a first-in-class commercial BCI. The problem of paralysis is much larger than people realize. 100 million people worldwide have upper limb impairment,” said Dr. Tom Oxley, CEO & founder, Synchron. “We are e…

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?”

Synchron to begin enrollment at UPMC for brain-computer interface trial

The Synchron brain-computer interface system relays signals from the brain to a device in the chest, then translates the signals into action on a computer. [Image courtesy of Synchron]Synchron announced today that it started enrollment in the Command trial for its brain-computer interface (BCI) technology.

The company commenced enrollment at the University of Pittsburgh in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It plans for its early feasibility study to primarily assess safety while exploring quantified efficacy measures of the Synchron Stentrode.

Synchron’s study, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), involves patients with severe paralysis. It aims to enable the patient to control digital devices, hands-free.

READ: 7 brain-computer interface companies you need to know

The study operates under an FDA investigational device exemption (IDE). Synchron said in a news release that it marks the first such IDE for assessi…

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 …

Report: Elon Musk looks to invest in brain-computer interface competitor Synchron

[Image from Synchron]Reuters is reporting that Elon Musk has approached his Neuralink company’s rival, Synchron, over a potential investment.

Musk’s Neuralink recently fell behind Synchron in the brain-computer interface (BCI) space after the latter announced that it completed the first-in-human brain-computer interface (BCI) implant in the U.S. using an endovascular BCI approach, which does not require invasive open-brain surgery.

Synchron’s Stentrode is implanted within the major cortex through the jugular vein in a minimally invasive endovascular procedure. Once implanted, it detects and wirelessly transmits motor intent using a proprietary digital language to allow severely paralyzed patients to control personal devices with hands-free point-and-click.

Neuralink is working to develop an implant placed in the brain through a robot-assisted procedure. While Musk and company officials said they planned to file for FDA approval for human trials …

Synchron completes first U.S. human implant of brain-computer interface rivaling Elon Musk’s Neuralink

[Image from Synchron]Synchron announced today that it completed the first-in-human brain-computer interface (BCI) implant in the U.S.

The procedure, performed at Mount Sinai West in New York, represents the first such implant to occur in the U.S. using an endovascular BCI approach, which does not require invasive open-brain surgery.

Dr. Shahram Majidi, assistant professor of neurosurgery, neurology and radiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, led the procedure, which was performed in the angiography suite with a minimally invasive, endovascular approach. Earlier this year, Synchron’s neuroscience chief explained how this type of catheter delivery could enable better brain implants.

It was the first patient implant in Synchron’s Command trial, operating under FDA investigational device exemption to assess a permanently implanted BCI. Command will assess the safety and efficacy of the company’s motor BCI technology, includin…

Catheter delivery could enable better brain implants: Synchron’s neuroscience chief explains how

The Synchron brain-computer interface system relays signals from the brain to a device in the chest, then translates the signals into action on a computer. [Image courtesy of Synchron] Synchron’s catheter delivery could make brain-computer interface technology simpler, safer and more accessible than the leading alternative: open-brain surgery.

Officials at Synchron — developer of the catheter-delivered Stentrode brain-computer interface (BCI) implant — believe they’re the only BCI company tapping into blood vessels to capture signals from the brain.

They say they’ve already enabled a small group of paralyzed ALS patients to control a computer with their minds, and hope there will be more technology applications.

Shortly after the New York–based company released new results of a safety study for its implant, Synchron Director of Neuroscience Peter Yoo spoke with Medical Design & Outsourcing about the Stentrode implant and how catheter deliv…

Synchron’s neuroscience director explains the brain implant technology and potential applications

The Synchron brain-computer interface system relays signals from the brain to a device in the chest, then translates the signals into action on a computer. [Image courtesy of Synchron]

Officials at Synchron, the developer of the catheter-delivered Stentrode brain-computer interface (BCI) implant, believe they’re the only BCI company tapping into blood vessels to capture signals from the brain.

They say they’ve already enabled a small group of paralyzed ALS patients to control a computer with their minds, and hope there will be more applications of their technology.

Shortly after the New York-based company released new results of a safety study for its implant, Synchron Director of Neuroscience Peter Yoo spoke with Medical Design & Outsourcing about the Stentrode implant and how catheter delivery could make BCI technology simpler, safer and more accessible than the leading alternative: ope…

Synchron says study shows safety of its brain-computer interface implant

Synchron’s Stentrode device expands inside a blood vessel on the brain to relay motor signals. [Illustration courtesy of Synchron]Four ALS patients with a Synchron Stentrode brain implant had no serious adverse events one year after their procedure, which allowed the paralyzed patients to control a computer for online shopping, banking and text communication without using their hands or voice for input.

New York-based Synchron said this study demonstrated the safety of its brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. The device is delivered by catheter rather than the open-brain surgeries used by other neurotech developers like Elon Musk’s Neuralink.

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Synchron says study shows safety of its brain-computer interface implant

Synchron’s Stentrode device expands inside a blood vessel on the brain to relay motor signals [Illustration courtesy of Synchron]

Four ALS patients with a Synchron Stentrode brain implant had no serious adverse events one year after their procedure, which allowed the paralyzed patients to control a computer for online shopping, banking and text communication without using their hands or voice for input.

New York-based Synchron said the study — allowed by the FDA under an Investigational Device Exemption — demonstrated the safety of its brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. The device is delivered by catheter rather than the open-brain surgeries used by other neurotech developers like Elon Musk’s Neuralink.

Synchron uses the catheter to feed the Stentrode device through a patient’s vein to the blood vessels on the brain (the YouTube video below from 2021 shows the process). Then, th…