SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS RADIO) – Saying “Alexa, play KCBS Radio,” without having to speak at all may soon be a reality. This week, the brain-computer interface (BCI) company Synchron announced that a man accessed Amazon’s speaker with his direct thoughts.
Identified as “Mark,” this 64-year-old man with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis is one of the trial participants with a Synchron brain-computer interface implant. According to a press release from Synchron , Mark used the Tap to Alexa feature on his Amazon Fire tablet to control his smart home.
“This capability allows Mark to utilize the Synchron brain computer interface to select customized tiles that perform pre-set Alexa actions, like turning on and off lights, making video calls, playing music and shows, controlling smart home devices, reading books on Kindle or purchasing items on Amazon – entirely hands and voice-free,” said the release.
ALS, is a progressive neurodegenerative disease that impacts nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, according to the ALS Association . In 1939 it became well known when beloved baseball player Lou Gehrig was diagnosed with the disease. So far, there is no cure for the disease.
Motor neurons that govern voluntary movements and muscle control by sending messages from the brain to the spinal cord and then to the muscles deteriorate in patients with ALS. Once these neurons die, the brain loses the ability to initiate and control muscle movement. Patients lose the ability to speak, eat, move and even breathe.
Mark’s Synchron BCI was implanted in the blood vessel on the surface of the motor cortex of the brain via the jugular vein through a minimally-invasive endovascular procedure, said the company. It is designed to detect and wirelessly transmit motor intent out of the brain. A video shared by Synchron shows how participant Graham Felstead has been able to control technology with his brain and do things like send emails.
Through the trial with Alexa, Synchron aims to show how users can control their environment and make their everyday routines more accessible. With Alexa, they can interact with a variety of devices – including lights, thermostats and cameras – without needing to use their voice or touch a screen.
“The integration with smart technology and my BCI is something I’m really excited about. It’s hard to imagine living in our modern world without the ability to access or control connected devices like Amazon’s Alexa and Echo products that are so prevalent in my daily life,” said Mark. “To be able to manage important aspects of my environment and control access to entertainment gives me back the independence that I’m losing.”
According to Synchron, the BCI is designed to be easy to learn.
“Synchron’s BCI is bridging the gap between neurotechnology and consumer tech, making it possible for people with paralysis to regain control of their environment. While many smart home systems rely on voice or touch, we are sending control signals directly from the brain, bypassing the need for these inputs,” said Tom Oxley, CEO and founder of Synchron. “We’re thrilled to utilize our BCI to access Alexa capabilities, so patients can interact with devices in their home hands and voice-free, using only their thoughts, to address a critical unmet need for millions of people with mobility and voice impairment.”
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In July, the company announced that Mark was also able to use Apple Vision Pro headset with the BCI device.
Synchron has been working to develop “a solution that avoids the need for open brain surgery by using a minimally-invasive procedure, since 2012, according to the company. Elon Musk-founded Neuralink is another company working on BCI technology.
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