Paradromics Inc.

A brain-computer interface (BCI) may enable many different capabilities, but they all depend on one essential standard: it must work reliably for the people who depend on it, for years to come. This comes down to three factors, working together in harmony. Safety comes first, always. Performance is tied to capturing neural signals at the highest possible resolution and turning them into communication that conveys the user’s intent at a natural speed as opposed to feeling stilted or robotic. And durability means a device is engineered to last for years without a replacement. Without all three, BCIs will remain experimental. With them, they can become technology people trust and rely on for years. In our blog, Chief Scientific Officer Vikash Gilja, Ph.D, and Chief Medical Officer Stephen Ryu, M.D., break down the design choices behind the Connexus® BCI and highlight why these three pillars should set the standard for the field. Read on: t.co/dBqEO93Fl7

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Encouraging to see brain-computer interfaces rank #1 in interest. The field is moving quickly from scientific possibility toward real-world applications that could restore communication, mobility and independence. @paradromics #connexus #BCI #neurotech x.com/IEEEBrain/stat…

Ten years ago, tech writer @camilletuutti decided to get an RFID chip implanted in her hand at a party in Stockholm, just because she thought it was cool. It’s roughly the size of a grain of rice, and if you scan her hand with a phone, her contact information will pop up. Her conversation with Paradromics Founder and CEO @Matt_R_Angle covered how the field of implantable tech has come from a novelty device you could get at a party to a brain-computer interface (BCI) designed to restore lost functionality. They also confronted a challenge that’s yet to be solved: reimbursement. Without established billing codes, first-in-class BCIs can wait a year or more for Medicare coverage, and this gap is what stands between the technology and the people it’s built to serve. While new efforts like the FDA-CMS RAPID program are currently underway to help streamline the process, there’s still much work – and collaboration – to be done. Read the full article for more: t.co/JKmNNhHyFR

When someone uses a brain-computer interface (BCI) to speak and thoughts transform seamlessly into words, it can almost seem like magic. But in reality, a speech BCI is designed to work by reading intended actions directly from the brain. This occurs in three stages: recording the neural signals produced when someone attempts to speak, decoding those signals into intended words (often by first identifying phonemes, the building-block sounds of language), and outputting a desired action like text or synthesized speech, the latter of which can even be in the user’s own voice if they conducted voice banking. For the hundreds of thousands of people living with ALS and other neurodegenerative conditions, the loss of speech also means the loss of independence, interaction, and the individual voice needed to advocate for oneself. Restoring even part of it – especially at the speed and nuance of real conversation – would play a central part in giving that back. Our latest blog explores how speech decoding actually works, stage by stage. Read more: t.co/PIps1eMalA

Longevity and safety are two necessary pillars of a successful brain-computer interface (BCI). A device designed to last a lifetime must prove it remains both safe and functional for years, and a recently published study from our APEX partners Jennifer Collinger and Robert Gaunt demonstrates just that. Their work represents the longest-running safety study of an intracortical micro-stimulation (ICMS) system, a technology that aims to restore a sense of touch by delivering small electrical pulses to the brain’s sensory cortex. Over a combined implant duration of 27 years across five participants with spinal cord injury, the system delivered more than 168 million pulses with no serious adverse events. The majority of electrodes continued to reliably evoke sensations of touch localized to the hand, some for as long as 10 years. Feedback from the hand is essential for coordinated movement and control, and evidence that these systems can safely and durably deliver that feedback over a decade marks a significant step toward building BCIs that patients can depend on for the long haul. Studies like this build the collective foundation supporting the safety and longevity of intracortical BCI systems. Read the full study: t.co/bSjURgFFIo

Even when someone can no longer move the muscles required for speech, the part of the brain that plans those movements can remain active. It may still be sending the signals for ideas the body can no longer express. That is why we developed the Connexus® BCI, the highest-data-rate brain-computer interface in the world. By recording and decoding neural activity from individual neurons and processing that data in real time, the device is designed to restore natural human speech for those who have lost it. We cannot yet cure every disease. But we can help restore one of the most human capabilities of all: not just communication, but the ability to express who we are.

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A brain-computer interface (BCI) succeeds only if its design can deliver purposeful, reliable functionality for the people it is intended to serve. Achieving that requires deliberate engineering choices built around three foundational pillars: safety, performance, and durability. Decades of experience with implantable medical devices and neurosurgery have demonstrated that long-term implantation can be performed safely. For any BCI designed to remain in the body for years, however, safety must always be the first non-negotiable pillar. Performance determines whether a BCI can capture neural intent at the highest possible resolution and translate it into meaningful improvements in communication and mobility. Durability ensures that the device can continue delivering reliable function for a decade or longer without requiring replacement. Only by delivering all three can BCIs become trusted, clinically viable technologies capable of reaching the people who depend on them. In our latest blog, Chief Scientific Officer Vikash Gilja, PhD, and Chief Medical Officer Stephen Ryu, MD, explain the engineering design choices behind the Connexus® BCI, why safety, performance, and durability guide our work, and why they should set the standard for BCI development. Learn more: t.co/MHFhFlttwK

"Brain-computer interfaces are entering a moment similar to earlier chapters in neuromodulation, when decades of scientific and technical progress begin to become routine clinical care." - William J. Marks, Jr., MD, MS That perspective reflects the clinical discipline, translational experience, and long-term view required to move BCI from breakthrough technology toward trusted care. That is why we are honored to welcome Bill Marks as Paradromics' new Chief Clinical Officer. Dr. Marks spent nearly two decades at UCSF, helped shape Medtronic's global deep brain stimulation business, and built clinical science organizations at Verily. Weeks after the first human implantation of the Connexus® BCI, he will help guide the clinical strategy that carries Paradromics from these early milestones toward trusted, global care. Read the full release to learn more: t.co/ocdFLbq4wA

From proven medical-device materials to a surgical approach grounded in familiar neurosurgical practices, every element of the Connexus Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) was designed to deliver high performance while prioritizing safety and reliability. Paradromics Chief Scientific Officer Vikash Gilja explains how we engineered our solution to match standards and techniques neurosurgeons already know. This way, surgical teams have a clear, familiar path from the first procedure forward.

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