Xiao Cha was sent from The Temple of Oufei
Qubits reports | Official account QbitAI
A 62-year-old alzone with alzheimer's disease sent out his first tweet, and he became the first person in the world to tweet using an implantable brain-computer interface.
No keys or sounds are needed, this tweet is sent by me alone by my mind.
However, the tweet was not released through the patient's own account, but through the account of the CEO of Synchron.
Synchron is a company like this one that provides brain-computer interface devices.
See the device on the user's chest? That's his brain-computer interface.
Intravenously implanted brain-computer interface
The frostbite sufferer, Philip O'Keefe, underwent brain-computer interface surgery in April 2020.
Unlike Musk's Neuralink, Synchron doesn't need to punch holes in the skull, but instead implants electrodes into the brain through veins.
In terms of surgical methods and implants, Synchron's brain-computer interface is quite similar to that of a heart stent.
Synchron calls the technique the "Stent Electrode Recording Array" Stentrode.
The electrode is inserted from the jugular vein into the brain, and after 14 days of cell growth, the electrode will eventually fuse with the wall of the blood vessel in the brain.
The current generated by the brain is drawn out of the electrodes in the chest through wires and then connected to the signal processing device.
Once trained, the user can control the mouse with eyeballs and minds. O'Keefe can now "click wherever you want" on the computer, and can complete operations such as sending emails, logging in to the bank, and shopping online.
But learning a new skill through brain-computer interfaces isn't easy, O'Keefe's daughter said, adding that the father learned for 4 hours to post the tweet.
The trial has been approved by the FDA
Synchron's stent electrodes were approved by the FDA in July to allow trials on volunteers.
The company's founder and CEO is Australian neuroscientist Thomas Oxley, Synchron, who has been developing medical implants and testing them using sheep since its inception in 2010.
Synchron's goal is to develop a plantation that translates the paralyzed person's thoughts into motion on smartphones and tablets. Last November, two people with frostbite underwent human trials.
The company's early results showed that the two patients achieved an average mouse click accuracy of 92 percent and were able to enter 14 to 20 characters per minute without the help of predictive algorithms.
Synchron just completed a $40 million Series B funding round in June and received $10 million in research funding from the National Institutes of Health in July.
Oxley said devices for humans will be available in three to five years.
Synchron is one of the few startups to make significant advances in brain-computer interface technology, and Musk's Neuralink also plans to start human trials in 2022.