Neuralink’s Rival: The Mind-Reading Tech That Could Beat It
▼ Summary
– Mark Jackson, a paralyzed 65-year-old, controls a computer game using only his thoughts via a brain-computer interface (BCI) implanted by Synchron.
– The BCI allows Jackson to perform tasks like gaming, texting, emailing, and online shopping by decoding his brain signals.
– Jackson has ALS, a neurodegenerative disease that gradually robs muscle control, leading to his paralysis and loss of independence.
– The Synchron BCI implant, placed via a vein in his neck, connects to his motor cortex and processes brain signals through a chest device.
– Despite not slowing ALS progression, the BCI restores some autonomy for Jackson, who joined the trial to regain lost capabilities.
Mark Jackson controls a computer game with his mind, no joystick or keyboard required. Lying in bed, he focuses on a laptop screen displaying three blue circles. One flashes red, signaling his target. Using only his thoughts, Jackson maneuvers a white circle to hit the mark while avoiding obstacles. To move left, he imagines clenching his right fist once. For right, he visualizes doing it twice. The game resembles Pac-Man, but with a groundbreaking twist: brain-computer interface (BCI) technology translates his neural activity into digital commands.
Jackson, 65 and paralyzed due to ALS, excels at the task, hitting the target 14 out of 15 times. His skill comes from practice, he’s been using Synchron’s experimental BCI implant for nearly two years. The New York-based startup’s device decodes his brain signals, enabling him to text, email, shop online, and even play games. He’s one of just 10 participants worldwide testing the technology in an early feasibility study.
His journey began five years ago when he misattributed early symptoms to a pinched nerve. The devastating diagnosis, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, came in 2021. ALS progressively destroys motor neurons, robbing patients of muscle control. Jackson joined a drug trial but eventually lost the ability to work or care for himself. By late 2022, he relocated to Pittsburgh to live with his brother.
When Synchron’s trial launched at the University of Pittsburgh, Jackson saw hope. Though the implant couldn’t halt his ALS, it promised to restore some independence. “I was immediately excited,” he recalls. After a rigorous screening process, surgeons implanted the Stentrode, a matchstick-sized mesh tube, through his jugular vein. Guided by a catheter, the device traveled to his motor cortex, the brain region governing voluntary movement. A small processor beneath his collarbone relays signals to an external receiver, which translates them into actions.
Now, when the system activates, twin green lights glow through his shirt, a visible reminder of the invisible connection between mind and machine. For Jackson, it’s more than technology; it’s a lifeline to the world.
(Source: Wired)
