Mark uses Vision Pro with his BCI
Provided by Synchronicity
Neurotech startup Synchron announced Tuesday that it has connected its brain implant to appleVision Pro headphones. Now patients with limited physical mobility can control the device using only their thoughts.
Synchron is building a brain-computer interface (BCI) designed to help paralyzed patients use their thoughts to operate technologies such as smartphones and computers. The company has implanted its brain-computer interface in six patients in the United States and four in Australia. It still needs approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to commercialize its technology more broadly.
Apple released the Vision Pro earlier this year, and users typically control it through eye movements, voice commands and gestures. Synchron has been working to make it accessible to patients who cannot speak or move their upper limbs.
Synchron CEO Thomas Oxley said he believes Apple’s iOS accessibility platform is the best of its kind, which is why the company initially focused on helping patients control devices within the Apple ecosystem. He said Synchron may work on connecting its BCI to other headsets, but starting with the Vision Pro first.
He added that Apple has been “very supportive” of Vision Pro integration.
“I think BCI is very capable of adding tremendous value through synergistic integration with the Apple ecosystem,” Oxley told CNBC.
Synchron, part of the increasingly competitive BCI industry, said Tuesday it was the first to connect its system to Apple’s Vision Pro. Other companies such as Paradromics, Precision Neuroscience, Blackrock Neurotech and Elon Musk’s Neuralink are also developing BCI systems, although their designs and goals vary.
Synchron’s BCI is inserted through the patient’s jugular vein, so no craniotomy is required. It is delivered to blood vessels located on the surface of the brain’s motor cortex. This stent-like device connects to an antenna located under the skin of the chest. The antenna collects raw brain data and sends it to an external device.
Apple did not respond to CNBC’s request for comment.
Synchron said a 64-year-old patient named Mark has been a pioneer in the company’s work on the Vision Pro headset.
Mark, who asked CNBC not to use his last name for privacy reasons, was implanted with Synchron’s BCI in August 2023. This can cause the patient to gradually lose control of their muscles.
Since his diagnosis in January 2021, Mark has lost function in his shoulders, arms and hands, but he can still talk and walk short distances.
Mark meets with Synchron twice a week for two hours each time to practice different skills and functions with his BCI. He said he has been testing the Vision Pro on and off since April and that he has been able to use it to send text messages, play card games and watch TV.
He said that using BCI to control headphones is not much different from controlling iPhones, iPads and computers. Some apps in the headset are more restrictive and challenging than others, and he’s still trying out new ways to use them.
“This is another way for me to experience independence,” Mark told CNBC.
For example, Mark said he can no longer lift his arms to draw, so he is learning how to use Vision Pro to create art. He said he also likes using an app that allows him to view constellations in the sky.
Mark was starting to lose some strength in his neck, but he said he found the headphones easy to put on. He was able to use it for two hours without fatigue, adding that he had no cases of motion sickness.
“It’s actually pretty amazing,” Mark said.
Synchron is preparing a larger clinical study involving more patients, and Mark said he hopes his headset work will improve the experience for others.
Oxley said the integration with Vision Pro demonstrates how brain-computer interfaces can help paralyzed patients access consumer technology.
“This is the beginning of a new class of treatment options designed to restore the ability to use digital technology that we take for granted,” Oxley said. “This is what it represents.”
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