The Australia-based start-up that beat Elon Musk’s Neuralink to the punch … 3 times

Synchron’s implants are now in the brains of four Australians and an ALS sufferer in the United States who lost the ability to move and speak

The devices allow the patients to communicate by using their thoughts to send emails and texts. Neuralink, meanwhile, hasn’t even got FDA approval yet

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Elon Musk had predicted Neuralink could begin human trials as early as 2020. Most recently, he said last year that the company planned to start implanting its computer chip in humans by 2022. Photo: AFP

Published: 9:08am, 19 Jul 2022Updated: 9:25am, 19 Jul 2022

Synchron, an Australian brain-computer interface start-up, reportedly implanted its first device in a US patient earlier this month – overtaking Elon Musk’s Neuralink for the third time.

The start-up implanted a 1.5-inch (3.8cm) device into the brain of a patient with motor neurone disease, who had lost the ability to move and speak, at Mount Sinai West medical centre in New York on July 6, Bloomberg first reported. Motor neurone disease is also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig’s disease. The late Dr Stephen Hawking was one of the world’s most famous sufferers.

The purpose of Synchron’s device is to allow the patient to communicate – even after they have lost the ability to move – by using their thoughts to send emails and texts. Bloomberg reported that Synchron has already implanted the device in four patients in Australia who have been able to use the brain implant to send messages on WhatsApp and shop online.

Last year, the Australia-based start-up received permission from the United States’ Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin human trials on six US patients who have been severely paralysed. In 2019, the company implanted its device into its first human patient in Melbourne, Australia.

Meanwhile, Neuralink has yet to receive FDA approval, though Musk had predicted the company could begin human trials as early as 2020. Most recently, he said last year that the company planned to start implanting its computer chip in humans by 2022. The announcement came after the billionaire and co-founder shared a video of a monkey playing a video game using only its mind via a Neuralink brain chip.

Earlier this year, the co-founder and former president of Neuralink, Max Hodak, revealed he had invested in Synchron after leaving Musk’s start-up.

Synchon and Neuralink’s implants have similar immediate applications. They are both designed to translate human thoughts into computer commands and could help patients with neurological diseases like Parkinson’s or ALS.