If you’ve watched Stranger Things, this is likely the best text that you will come across today. Explain Synchronous, a brain-computer interface company, who made it possible for a 64-year-old man to click on an icon on an Amazon Fire tablet.
“The United States was the first country in the world where patients have interacted with the Amazon Alexa to Implant Brain Computer Interface, Interact with others and Influence their environment”, the company added in a press release.
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is the condition from which the man suffers. As per the New York based company, he is able to give orders to Alexa with the help of his brain by asking her to carry out different tasks including making video calls, playing movies, turning on lights and other devices, shopping, and even reading.
How is it possible?
The patients interact with the Synchron system differently from watching TV. They use a brain-computer interface (BCI) to choose the appropriate window in which preset actions are stored (for example, light off, video call) or arrange new tiles with smart-display-outlining functionalities or household objects.
“The ability to have control over the control of search and selection of redeemable activities as well as availability of control of how other people would like to use some aspects of my environment helped me feel like I was regaining the loss of control I was experiencing,” the patient explained.
The system, which is self-explanatory and can be mastered quickly, also facilitates further use and strengthens the autonomy of the badly paralyzed individuals. “It is Synchron’s BCI that strategically positions itself between the neuro-technology and consumer technologies of today which helps paralyzed persons in controlling their surroundings. Most of the smart home technologies use voice or touch inputs but we transport the control signals from the person’s brain and not these inputs,” observed Tom Oxley, CEO & Founder of Synchron.
How does this implantation take place?
The BCI is placed in blood vessels located on the surface area of the brain, precisely the motor cortex part, traveling through the jugular vein. The technique of insertion is done through an endovascular approach and therefore is referred to as minimally invasive. “It is designed to wirelessly register and transmit motor intentions of the brain, what aims at delegating previously paralyzed individuals the ability to control devices without sights or touches.”
