Synchron is making tangible progress. In August 2020, the company was granted an investigational device exemption from the FDA, allowing it to become the first company to conduct clinical trials of a permanently implanted BCI. To reach this point took five years and a “huge amount of work,” says Oxley. A trial in Australia followed four patients who had been implanted with the device for 12 months and suggested that such prolonged use of the device was safe.
The company is now engaged in the safety and feasibility part of its testing—finding out if the procedure can be performed on multiple patients
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