Image Credit: Synchron
Synchron is a Silicon Valley company that spun out of the University of Melbourne, Australia in 2012. It was started by Thomas Oxley, MD, PhD to develop a new concept for a Brain-Computer Interface
Synchron’s Stentrode™ is an endovascular neural interface. It is essentially an electrode array shaped as an endovascular stent that can be implanted via the jugular vein and advanced into the brain to the motor cortex. Neural signals are detected by the electrodes on the Stentrode™ and sent to a processing and communications unit implanted subcutaneously in the chest, and then wirelessly to an external receiver. The idea is that the device can interpret signals from the brain for patients with paralysis to control a computer operating system and set of applications that interact with assistive technologies.
Synchron is currently preparing for pilot clinical trials of the Stentrode™ to evaluate the safety and efficacy of this breakthrough technology.
Synchron’s website is at: https://www.synchronmed.com
Conceptual use of the Stentrode device
Image Credit: University of Melbourne