Neurotech startup Synchron today announced that its brain implant has successfully connected to Apple’s Vision Pro headset. The brain-computer interface (BCI) developed by Synchron is designed to help paralyzed patients control technological devices with their minds. To date, the company has implanted BCIs in six patients in the US and four in Australia.

Users typically control Apple’s Vision Pro augmented reality headset using eye movements, voice commands, and hand gestures. Synchron has made the headset accessible to patients who can’t speak or move their upper limbs. According to Synchron CEO Thomas Oxley, Apple’s platform is there “Best in class” That’s why the company initially developed the interface specifically for the Apple ecosystem. The company plans to connect its BCI to headsets from other manufacturers in the future.

Apple according to Oxley “very supportive” Vision Pro integration. “I think BCI is very well positioned to add tremendous value by integrating synergistically into the Apple ecosystem.”added.

Synchron’s BCI is administered through a patient’s carotid artery, eliminating the need for open brain surgery. The device is delivered to a blood vessel on the surface of the brain’s motor cortex. An antenna implanted under the skin in the chest area collects raw brain data and sends it to external devices.

Patient Mark, 64, pioneered Synchron with his Vision Pro headset. Mark, whose last name the company is withholding for privacy reasons, was implanted with BCI Synchron in August 2023. He has a degenerative disease called amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, which causes patients to gradually lose control of their muscles. Since his diagnosis in January 2021, Mark has lost muscle function in his shoulders, arms and hands, but he can still talk and walk short distances.

Mark works with Synchron for two hours twice a week to practice the various skills and functions of his BCI. He said he’s been testing the Vision Pro periodically since April and can use it for texting, playing solitaire, and watching TV. For him, using the BCI to control a headset isn’t much different than using it to control an iPhone, iPad, or computer. Some of the headset’s applications are more limited and complicated than others, and he’s still experimenting with new ways to use them.

“For me it’s just another chance to gain some independence — says Mark. — It’s actually great.” He can no longer use his hands to draw, so he’s learning to use Vision Pro to create images. He also likes using a program that lets him study constellations in the sky. Mark’s neck muscles are starting to deteriorate, but so far he can use the headset for two hours without getting tired or experiencing motion sickness.

Synchron is preparing for a larger clinical trial involving more patients, and Mark said he hopes his work with the headset will improve the quality of care for others. According to Oxley, “This is the beginning of a new treatment option to restore the ability to use digital technologies that we take for granted.”

Synchron is part of an increasingly competitive brain implant industry, where companies such as Paradromics, Precision Neuroscience, Blackrock Neurotech, and Neuralink compete, but their goals, designs, and ambitions are quite different. Further commercialization of Synchron’s new technology requires approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).