Synchron's BCI implants may help paralyzed patients reconnect with the world

"We're not building a BCI to control Spotify or to watch Netflix," the CEO of medical device startup Synchron tersely told Engadget via videocall last week. "There's all this hype and excitement about BCI, about where it might go," Oxley continued. "But the reality is, what's it gonna do for patients? We describe this problem for patients, not around wanting to super-augment their brain or body, but wanting to restore the fundamental agency and autonomy that [able-bodied people] take for granted." Around 31,000 Americans currently live with Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) with another 5,000 diagnosed every year. Nearly 300,000 Americans suffer from spinal cord paralysis, and another approximately 18,000 people join those ranks annually.