Brain interface for the iPad: Synchron shows demos of BCI-HDI
US company Synchron has developed a minimally invasive brain interface for digital devices. In cooperation with Apple, it now controls devices such as tablets.
iPad-BCI user Mark: Due to an ALS disease, he can no longer move his hands.
(Image: Synchron)
The US manufacturer Synchron will in the future use a standardized human interface device protocol (HDI) for its brain-computer interface (BCI) that can interact with Apple devices. The technology, which was developed in collaboration with the Mac manufacturer, communicates with an iPad via Bluetooth, for example, as the BCI specialist demonstrates in a video. The video shows a man paralyzed by ALS who can control an iPad entirely with his brain – he launches apps, navigates through them, or enters text. BCI-HDI uses Apple's well-known accessibility feature, Switch Control. The work is being carried out as part of a clinical trial in the USA called “COMMAND,” which has been running for several years.
Minimally invasive insertion of the “stentrode”
The special feature of Synchron's approach is the use of a comparatively simple sensor, the so-called stentrode. This can be implanted minimally invasively – in contrast to more complex (but also more data-rich) solutions, such as those from Elon Musk's company Neuralink.
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Synchron's stent is inserted via the blood vessels (jugular vein) in the neck and is then placed in the area of the motor cortex. This enables the system to pick up and interpret the electrical signals generated there. Synchron has developed its own machine learning model for this purpose. If the user thinks of certain movements, the BCI receives them and then translates them onto the screen using BCI-HDI via Bluetooth.
Interface becomes part of all systems
Synchron has been working with Apple for several years. In 2024, Apple showed for the first time how its BCI can also be used to control the Vision Pro. Other platforms such as the Mac could be added this year via BCI-HID. Synchron says it has currently implanted the stentrode in ten patients. They are located in the USA and Australia. It is still unclear whether the technology can be worn permanently.
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Synchron suggests that the stentrode approach ensures that scarring occurs less frequently than with “large” BCIs, which sometimes have to be removed after a few years because the sginal deteriorates. It is not yet clear when commercial marketing will be possible. The current trials are being carried out under special rules of the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) (“Investigational Device Exemption”).
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(bsc)
