Mind-controlled devices are already here - and 2025 could be the year they go mainstream
Neuralink and other companies are pioneering brain-computer interfaces, allowing individuals with severe spinal injuries to control technology through thought.
In the next year, the number of people with brain-computer interfaces – devices that connect the brain to technology – is expected to double. These implants are already helping people with paralysis control computers and may soon let them move prosthetic limbs with their thoughts, says a report in the Wall Street Journal.
The race to read the mind
So far, fewer than 100 people in history have had these devices permanently implanted. But if trials go well, that number will more than double over the next 12 months. Tech companies and ‘neurotech’ startups are racing to develop these devices, hoping they’ll one day be used by millions. Apple has even said it plans to make its iPhones controllable via brain implants.
The four frontrunners
Four companies are leading the race to bring brain implants to market: Neuralink (founded by Elon Musk), Synchron, Precision Neuroscience and Paradromics. Each uses a different method of getting information from the brain and has its own pros and cons.
Synchron: The least invasive
“Synchron’s brain-computer interface (BCI) aims to restore the control of a touchscreen for patients with limited hand mobility using only their thoughts,” says the company’s website.
Synchron, a company that has collaborated with Apple, threads its implant through a blood vessel in the brain. According to the Wall Street Journal, this avoids opening the skull and makes surgery simpler. However, the device’s readings are less precise. Users need to wear Apple’s Vision Pro goggles and still rely on eye-tracking and big imagined movements to click.
Precision Neuroscience: Sitting on the surface
Precision’s device sits on the surface of the brain, not deep inside it. It currently has wires but aims to go fully wireless. The company hopes it could eventually help people speak through thoughts alone. Clinical trials are already underway, with plans to implant the device in up to 100 people in the coming year.
With new FDA approval, Precision can now implant its system in patients’ heads for up to 30 days. Over the next year, the company plans to install the device in anywhere from several dozen to around a hundred people, according to CEO Michael Mager. If those trials go well, Precision will move on to testing longer-term implants.
Paradromics: Going deep
Paradromics is an American brain–computer interface company headquartered in Austin, Texas. Paradromics uses tiny electrodes that push 1.5 mm into the brain, offering a strong and fast connection. So far, the company has tested the device in sheep, with plans to begin human trials soon. The device may allow for very detailed readings of brain activity, like those of Neuralink.
Neuralink: The most ambitious
Elon Musk’s Neuralink places its chip deep in the motor cortex, the brain area that controls movement. Threads thinner than a hair carry signals to a chip, which then sends data wirelessly to a computer. Patients can control a computer cursor just by thinking. Three patients have been implanted so far, according to founder Musk. The goal is to help people with severe spinal injuries use technology more independently.
