Paradromics Implants Brain-Chip Device in Patient for First Time

A University of Michigan surgical team implanted Paradromics' Connexus brain-chip device in a Michigan woman with a motor neuron disease in early June. The procedure took place at University of Michigan Health as part of an FDA-approved clinical study. It lasted about four hours, after which the patient returned home to recover.

Angle said testing will start in the coming weeks. The goal is to translate the woman's attempted speech into text or synthesized speech on a computer. The Connexus device is about the size of a dime and sits on the brain's surface. It uses 421 platinum-iridium microwires, each thinner than half the diameter of a human hair, to record neural signals.

Extension leads run under the skin from the brain implant down the link neck to a transceiver implanted beneath the left clavicle. The transceiver communicates wirelessly with an external receiver.

Angle said the company will collect data over the coming year on safety, communication speed, and vocabulary size. The patient will be followed for six years total. Paradromics, founded in 2015 and based in Austin, develops brain-computer interfaces to help people with severe motor impairments communicate.

Connexus does not repair vocal cords or muscles but decodes brain signals linked to speech. >"The surgery went well," Angle said. " Neuralink, founded by Elon Musk in 2016, remains the dominant player in the brain-chip field. Its first patient received an implant in January 2024.