What it’s like to have a brain implant for 5 years

Initially, Gorham used a brain-computer interface to make single clicks, Oxley says. It then moved on to multi-click controls and eventually to swipe controls, which are like turning up a volume knob. Now he can move the computer cursor, which is an example of 2D control – horizontal and vertical movements in a two-dimensional plane.

Over the years, Gorham has tried various devices with his implant. Zafar Faraz, a clinical engineer at Synchron, says Gorham directly contributed to the development of Switch Control, Apple’s novel accessibility feature announced last year that allows brain-computer interface users to control iPhones, iPads and Vision Pros with their thoughts.

In video demonstration shown at the Nvidia conference last year in San Jose, California, Gorham demonstrates using his implant to play music from a clever speaker, turn on a fan, adjust lights, activate an automatic pet feeder and run an automatic vacuum cleaner in his home in Melbourne, Australia.

“Rodney pushes the boundaries of what is possible,” says Faraz.

As a clinical field engineer, Faraz visits Gorham at his home twice a week to conduct brain-computer interface sessions. Faraz’s job is to monitor the device’s performance, troubleshoot problems, and learn the range of things Gorham can and cannot do with it. Synchron uses this data to improve the reliability and ease of employ of its system.

Over the years of working with Gorham, the two conducted many experiments to see what was possible with the implant. Faraz says that on one occasion, Gorham was using two iPads side by side and switching between playing a game on one and listening to music on the other. Another time, Gorham was playing a computer game in which he had to grab blocks from a shelf. The game was linked to an actual robotic arm at the University of Melbourne, about six miles from Gorham’s home, that remotely moved real blocks in the lab.

Gorham, who was an IBM software salesman before he was diagnosed with ALS in 2016, is excited to play a key role in developing the technology, says his wife, Caroline.

“It matches Rodney’s life skill set,” he says. “He spent 30 years in IT, talking to customers, finding out what they needed from their software, and then went back to the tech industry to actually develop what the customer needed. Now the tables have turned. ” After a session with Faraz, Gorham will often be smiling from ear to ear.

During site visits, the Synchron team realized that they needed to reconfigure their system. Currently, a wire cable with a paddle on one end must be placed on the user’s chest. The paddle collects brain signals sent through the chest and sends them through a wire to an external unit that converts these signals into commands. In its second-generation system, Synchron removes this cable.

“If you have a wearable that has a delicate communication layer, we’ve found that to be a problem,” Oxley says. “With a paralyzed population, you have to rely on someone to come in, modify the wearables and make sure the link works. That was a huge lesson for us.”