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    Synchron

    Also known as Synchron Inc, Stentrode

    Synchron is a New York-based company whose Stentrode brain-computer interface is threaded through the jugular vein to a vein beside the brain, so no open-brain surgery is needed.[1][2] Small Australian and US studies reported no serious device-related adverse events over a year, and as of November 2025 the device had been implanted in 10 people; the company is raising money for pivotal trials.[3][4][5][6]

    Editor reviewedStrict sourcingUpdated Neuroscience and brain-computer interfacesHealth and medicineLife sciences
    Key facts

    How the Stentrode works

    The Stentrode is a stent-like electrode array. In its first study, surgeons delivered it by catheter through the jugular vein to the superior sagittal sinus, a large vein that runs over the brain’s motor areas.[1] The electrodes connected to an electronics unit under the skin, which communicated wirelessly with an external device for computer control.[3]

    It records brain signals from inside a blood vessel rather than from electrodes in brain tissue.[1] GAO describes it as the one type of implantable BCI that is inserted through a vein in the neck.[7]

    Clinical evidence

    SWITCH (Australia). The first-in-human study ran at the Royal Melbourne Hospital from 2019 to 2022. All four patients analysed completed 12 months of follow-up with no serious adverse events, no blood vessel blockage and no device movement, and each controlled a computer.[3]

    COMMAND (US). This early feasibility study enrolled six patients with severe paralysis at three US sites. In October 2024 Synchron reported that all six met the primary endpoint of no device-related serious adverse events causing death or permanent increased disability during the first year.[4]

    As of November 2025 the Stentrode had been implanted in 10 patients across trials in the US and Australia.[5]

    Signal quality

    SWITCH reported a mean signal bandwidth of 233 Hz that stayed stable over 12 months, and at least five types of attempted movement could be decoded offline.[8] The study’s authors concluded that it is possible to record neural signals from a blood vessel.[1] COMMAND ran at three US sites: the Gates Vascular Institute in Buffalo, Mount Sinai in New York and UPMC in Pittsburgh.[9]

    Consumer integrations

    In May 2025 Apple announced a protocol letting iOS, iPadOS and visionOS accept input from brain-computer interfaces through Switch Control.[10] Synchron announced native integration with iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision Pro that month, and a thought-controlled iPad demonstration using the protocol in August 2025.[11] It also announced a partnership with NVIDIA’s Holoscan platform and a brain “foundation model” called Chiral.[12]

    AI and computing

    Holoscan is NVIDIA‘s AI platform for processing sensor data. Synchron uses it to try to make decoding faster and more accurate, which would shorten the delay between a user’s intended movement and the device’s response.[13] At NVIDIA’s GTC conference in March 2025, Synchron showed a trial participant using the BCI with an Apple Vision Pro to control devices in his home.[13] Other BCI groups are also turning to AI models: GAO notes that language models that predict what a user intends to say can shorten calibration, and Neuralink reports decoders pretrained on 50,000 hours of brain data.[14][15] For the hardware side, see nvidia and the AI chip supply concentration analysis.

    Funding and what comes next

    Synchron raised a $200 million Series D in November 2025, bringing total funding to $345 million, according to MassDevice and Pulse 2.0. It said the money would accelerate pivotal trials ahead of a launch and fund a next-generation, high-channel interface also delivered by catheter.[6][16] FDA’s 2021 guidance for implanted BCIs covers both early feasibility studies, like COMMAND, and the pivotal studies that come after them.[17]

    Questions readers ask

    Does the Stentrode require brain surgery?

    No open-brain surgery. It is delivered by catheter through the jugular vein to the superior sagittal sinus, a large vein over the brain.[1]

    Is the Stentrode safe?

    In the small SWITCH and COMMAND studies, no patients had device-related serious adverse events causing death or permanent disability over 12 months. Those studies analysed 4 and 6 patients respectively.[3][4]

    Can a Stentrode user control an iPhone?

    Synchron announced native integration with iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision Pro in 2025, using Apple's new BCI protocol for Switch Control.[11][10]

    Sources

    Each numbered claim is a statement we checked against the sources listed with it. Status shows how well established it is.

    1. [1]

      The SWITCH study delivered Stentrode recording electrodes by catheter through the jugular vein to the superior sagittal sinus, avoiding open-brain surgery. confirmedas of 2023-03-01

    2. [2]

      Synchron is headquartered in New York and has an engineering hub in San Diego. confirmedas of 2025-11-06

    3. [3]

      In the first-in-human SWITCH study in Australia, four analysed patients completed 12 months of follow-up with no serious adverse events, no vessel occlusion or device migration, and each controlled a computer with the BCI. confirmedas of 2023-03-01

    4. [4]

      Synchron's US COMMAND early feasibility study enrolled six patients with severe paralysis, and all met the primary endpoint of no device-related serious adverse events causing death or permanent increased disability over one year. confirmedas of 2024-10-03

    5. [5]

      As of November 2025 Synchron's Stentrode had been implanted in 10 patients with paralysis across trials in the US and Australia. confirmedas of 2025-11-06

    6. [6]

      Synchron raised a $200 million Series D in November 2025, bringing its total funding to $345 million, to prepare pivotal trials and develop a next-generation high-channel interface delivered by catheter. confirmedas of 2025-11-06

    7. [7]

      Implantable BCIs are usually placed in, on or near the surface of the brain, though one type is inserted through a vein in the neck; wearable BCIs take the form of a tight-fitting cap or headband. confirmedas of 2024-12-17

    8. [8]

      In the SWITCH study the Stentrode's mean signal bandwidth was 233 Hz and stayed stable over 12 months, and at least five attempted movement types were decoded offline. confirmedas of 2023-03-01

    9. [9]

      COMMAND was run at three US sites, UB Neurosurgery/Gates Vascular Institute in Buffalo, Mount Sinai Health System in New York and UPMC in Pittsburgh. confirmedas of 2024-10-03

    10. [10]

      In May 2025 Apple announced that iOS, iPadOS and visionOS would add a protocol supporting Switch Control for brain-computer interfaces. confirmedas of 2025-05-13

    11. [11]

      Synchron announced native BCI integration with iPhone, iPad and Apple Vision Pro in May 2025, and in August 2025 a thought-controlled iPad experience using Apple's BCI Human Interface Device protocol. confirmedas of 2025-08-04

      • News · Synchron · August 4, 2025 press release listing (retrieved 2026-10-10)
    12. [12]

      In March 2025 Synchron unveiled Chiral, which it described as a cognitive AI brain foundation model, and in January 2025 announced a partnership with NVIDIA's Holoscan platform. confirmedas of 2025-03-19

      • News · Synchron · March 19, 2025 press release listing (retrieved 2026-10-10)
    13. [13]

      Synchron uses NVIDIA's Holoscan, an AI sensor-processing platform, to try to make decoding faster and more accurate, and demonstrated its system with an Apple Vision Pro at NVIDIA's GTC conference in March 2025. confirmedas of 2025-03-19

    14. [14]

      GAO reports that BCIs must be individually calibrated to each user's brain signals, and that AI, including language models that predict what a user intends to say, can cut calibration time and make devices faster and more accurate. confirmedas of 2024-12-17

    15. [16]

      Synchron's chief executive described the company's next device as a transcatheter high-channel whole-brain interface. confirmedas of 2025-11-06

    16. [17]

      FDA issued final guidance in May 2021 on non-clinical testing and clinical study design for implanted BCI devices for patients with paralysis or amputation, covering both feasibility and pivotal studies. confirmedas of 2021-05-20

    17. [19]

      In April 2025 Precision Neuroscience received FDA 510(k) clearance for its Layer 7 Cortical Interface, authorizing commercial use with implantation of up to 30 days. confirmedas of 2025-04-17

    18. [20]

      In November 2025 FDA granted Paradromics an Investigational Device Exemption for the Connect-One early feasibility study of its Connexus BCI to restore speech and computer control, initially enrolling two participants. confirmedas of 2025-11-20

    Revision history (2)
    1. Page created.
    2. Refresh: added an AI and computing section on the NVIDIA Holoscan work and the March 2025 demonstration; the $345 million total is now also sourced to MassDevice.

    Created Oct 10, 2026. Last reviewed by an editor on Oct 10, 2026. Next scheduled review: Jan 10, 2027.

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