Neurotech startup Synchron announced on Tuesday that it has successfully connected its brain implant to Apple’s Vision Pro headset. This breakthrough allows patients with limited physical mobility to control the device using only their thoughts.
Synchron is developing a brain-computer interface (BCI) to help patients with paralysis operate technology like smartphones and computers. The company has implanted its BCI in six patients in the U.S. and four in Australia, and is awaiting approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to commercialize its technology further.
The Vision Pro, which Apple released earlier this year, is typically controlled by eye movements, voice commands, and hand gestures. Synchron’s integration aims to make the device accessible to patients who cannot speak or move their upper limbs. Synchron CEO Thomas Oxley praised Apple’s iOS accessibility platform as best in class and noted that the company focused on Apple’s ecosystem first. He also mentioned that Apple has been very supportive of the Vision Pro integration.
Synchron is part of a competitive BCI industry that includes companies like Paradromics, Precision Neuroscience, Blackrock Neurotech, and Elon Musk’s Neuralink. Synchron’s BCI is unique in that it is inserted through a patient’s jugular vein, avoiding the need for open brain surgery. The device is delivered to the blood vessel on the brain’s motor cortex surface and connected to an antenna under the skin in the chest. This antenna collects brain data and sends it to external devices.