Brain-computer interface successfully implanted in the U.S. for first time

Endovascular brain-computer interface (BCI) company Synchron announced the first successful human brain-computer interface implantation within the U.S. on Tuesday. Beating Tesla titan Elon Musk’s Neuralink to the punch. Clinical investigator Shahram Majidi, MD, assistant professor of neurosurgery, neurology and radiology at the Icahn School of Medicine at New York’s Mount Sinai West medical center, led the procedure.

The procedure was carried out within the center’s angiography suite “with a minimally invasive, endovascular approach.”

“The procedure marks the first U.S. patient implant in Synchron’s COMMAND trial, which is being conducted under the first investigational device exemption (IDE) awarded by the FDA to a company assessing a permanently implanted BCI,” the company said in a news release on Tuesday. “The U.S.-based trial is being conducted with support from the NIH Neural Interfaces Program.”

Synchron previously implanted devices in four Australian patients suffering from severe paralysis. The company reported no serious adverse events a full 12 months after the devices were implanted.

“The first-in-human implant of an endovascular BCI in the U.S. is a major clinical milestone that opens up new possibilities for patients with paralysis,” Tom Oxley, MD, PhD, CEO & Founder, Synchron, said in the news release. “Our technology is for the millions of people who have lost the ability to use their hands to control digital devices. We’re excited to advance a scalable BCI solution to market, one that has the potential to transform so many lives.”

According to Majidi, it’s a human achievement with serious implications for the field.

“This is an incredibly exciting milestone for the field, because of its implications and huge potential,” Majidi said. “The implantation procedure went extremely well, and the patient was able to go home 48 hours after the surgery.”