{"id":10431,"date":"2026-11-12T16:19:29","date_gmt":"2026-11-12T16:19:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=10431"},"modified":"2026-11-12T16:19:29","modified_gmt":"2026-11-12T16:19:29","slug":"synchron-pauses-trials-of-its-brain-implant-due-to-performance-issues","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=10431","title":{"rendered":"Synchron Pauses Trials of Its Brain Implant Due to Performance Issues"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div>\n<p><strong><span class=\"body lead-in-text\">Brain implant company<\/span><\/strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/synchron-brain-computer-interface-five-years-als\/\" class=\"text link\">Synchron<\/a> has paused clinical trials of its second-generation device after it failed to perform as expected in initial study participants, WIRED has learned.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">The Brooklyn-based startup, a competitor to Elon Musk\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/tag\/neuralink\/\" class=\"text link\">Neuralink<\/a>, is also undergoing a restructuring, which includes eliminating jobs and scaling back its footprint in New York while building up a team in San Diego to support the development of an entirely new device.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Synchron is one of several companies developing <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/tag\/brain-computer-interfaces\/\" class=\"text link\">brain-computer interface<\/a> technology meant to allow people to control digital devices by reading brain signals and translating those signals into output commands. The company has touted its technology, dubbed the Stentrode, as minimally invasive since it does not rest in the brain itself or require brain surgery.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Instead, the stent-like mesh tube is inserted into the jugular vein at the base of the neck, then guided with a catheter to sit on top of the brain\u2019s motor cortex. The company\u2019s first-generation Stentrode connected using an external wire resting on a user\u2019s chest. Ten volunteers across the US and Australia received that device and were able to send emails, text, browse the internet, and do online shopping and banking with their thoughts. Synchron has also enabled volunteers to control an Amazon Alexa and Apple\u2019s iPad and Vision Pro without using their hands or voice.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">Synchron\u2019s second-generation device has fewer electrodes and is fully wireless, using <a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/bluetooth-headphone-troubleshooting-tips\/\" class=\"text link\">Bluetooth<\/a> to connect. The company launched a multisite trial in the US earlier this spring with sister sites in Australia and Canada to evaluate the newer Stentrode, and some participants have already had it implanted. Those sites have recently paused enrollment, however, because the device is not working as intended, according to sources familiar with the trials who asked to remain anonymous.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">In a statement to WIRED, Synchron says it voluntarily paused enrollment \u201cafter identifying a performance issue involving the lead, the cable that carries signals from the Stentrode to the implanted electronics.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">\u201cThe issue does not involve the Stentrode itself and no safety issues related to the device have been identified. The pause was a company decision, not an FDA-directed action,\u201d the statement continues.<\/p>\n<p class=\"paywall\">The company says it has since brought lead design and manufacturing in-house. Instead of fixing the lead alone, Synchron says it is upgrading the whole Stentrode system and will resume trial enrollment once the hardware upgrades are complete.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p><br \/>\n<br \/><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/story\/synchron-pauses-trials-of-its-brain-implant-due-to-performance-issues\/\">Source link <\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Brain implant company Synchron has paused clinical trials of its second-generation device after it failed to perform as expected in initial study participants, WIRED has learned. The Brooklyn-based startup, a competitor to Elon Musk\u2019s Neuralink, is also undergoing a restructuring, which includes eliminating jobs and scaling back its footprint in New York while building up [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":10432,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[780,1169,904,95,584],"class_list":["post-10431","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-gadgets","tag-biotech","tag-brain-computer-interfaces","tag-brains","tag-layoffs","tag-neuroscience"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.8 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Synchron Pauses Trials of Its Brain Implant Due to Performance Issues - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"After its latest device failed to perform, brain-computer interface startup Synchon halted clinical trials. The company says it will upgrade the implant\u2019s hardware and is at work on a new device.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/silvybrand.com\/?p=10431\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Synchron Pauses Trials of Its Brain Implant Due to Performance Issues - Silvybrand Lifestyle Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"After its latest device failed to perform, brain-computer interface startup Synchon halted clinical trials. 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