New feature includes AI-driven emotion and language predictions for users in real-time, hands-free without the need for eye tracker or voice control
Synchron, the brain-computer interface (BCI) company developing endovascular technology to restore functionality in individuals with motor impairment, announced the integration of generative AI, powered by OpenAI, into its brain-computer interface (BCI) platform in a new chat feature.
With OpenAI’s advanced generative AI system, Synchron further enhances the capability of its BCI technology to enable people with severe paralysis who have lost upper limb mobility to interact with the digital world hands-free, through thought alone.
Synchron’s BCI chat feature, powered by OpenAI, is designed to be simple to use and easy to learn. It can now generate automated prompts for texting and chatting, categorized by contextual inputs, including the user’s emotion. This integration reflects the company’s commitment to patient-first innovation in neurotechnology. Synchron does not share the BCI user’s brain data with OpenAI.
“As someone who will likely lose the ability to communicate as my disease progresses, this technology gives me hope that in the future I’ll still have a way to easily connect with loved ones. This will be a game changer,” said Mark, a person living with ALS who is using Synchron’s BCI platform.
“Our users have lost the ability to make choices due to neurological disorders. Generative AI can offer predictions that are contextual to your environment, and the BCI enables individual choices to be made,” said Tom Oxley, CEO & Founder, Synchron. “BCIs preserve and extend a fundamental human right: the freedom of expression. We take our autonomy for granted, until it is gone. This is a pivotal moment at the convergence of powerful technologies that can restore lives.”
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OpenAI’s multimodal GPT generates content across text and audio, allowing for more natural, real-time human-AI interactions. This is critical for individuals with neurological disorders, who may otherwise have trouble generating complex responses contextual to their environment. Synchron will continue to assess state-of-the-art LLMs that best suit the needs of Synchron BCI users.
The Synchron BCI is 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. Once implanted, it is designed to detect and wirelessly transmit motor intent out of the brain, intended to restore the capability for severely paralyzed people to control personal devices with hands-free point-and-click.
The updated BCI platform, powered by OpenAI’s advanced generative AI models, offers users the ability to text more efficiently. This includes faster response times, natural conversational speeds and interaction with texting. These advancements will benefit a wide range of users, including users with upper limb mobility impairment and other neurological disease. Synchron’s mission is to develop a first-in-class commercial BCI to enable millions of people worldwide with upper limb impairment to connect with the world.
Source: Businesswire
