Cognixion, a developer of noninvasive brain-computer interface (BCI) technology, announced that Blackrock Neurotech, a company that makes implantable BCIs, will provide Cognixion’s Axon-R wearable neural interface platform to research institutions via its distribution network.
Blackrock Neurotech will act as an unrestricted distributor of Cognixion’s Axon-R, a noninvasive wearable that allows exact measurement and modulation of brain activity via visual stimuli, biofeedback and neurofeedback.
Axon-R is a research-grade device intended exclusively for investigational use in neuroscience, educational use and neurorehabilitation. It is not cleared by the FDA for clinical or therapeutic applications.
In a statement, Blackrock Neurotech said that its core focus will remain on implantable, sovereign BCIs that restore speech, movement and sensation; however, it highlights that the availability of research-grade tools, such as the Axon-R, opens the door for multidisciplinary innovation.
“This collaboration represents a powerful alignment of complementary technologies that will have an outsized impact across neurotechnology applications,” Andreas Forsland, CEO of Cognixion, said in a statement.
“Blackrock Neurotech’s implant technology combined with Cognixion’s AI and augmented reality platform will open new doors for researchers and clinicians alike, while providing transformative solutions to the individuals we ultimately serve.”
Marcus Gerhardt, CEO of Blackrock Neurotech, said his company’s mission is to restore capability.
“By expanding access to research-grade tools like Axon-R, we aim to support the early exploration of neural interfaces while maintaining our clinical focus on sovereign, high-fidelity implantable technologies that restore speech, movement and sensation,” Gerhardt said in a statement.
THE LARGER TREND
In March, Cognixion’s Forsland spoke with HIMSS TV about using augmented reality, AI and brain-computer interface technologies to allow patients with traumatic brain injuries, stroke and ALS to communicate using their eyes.
In 2024, Noldus Information Technology collaborated with Blackrock Neurotech to integrate Noldus’ EthoVision XT behavioral tracking software with Blackrock’s electrophysiology systems, creating a unified behavioral and neural research platform.
The integration permits real-time synchronization of EthoVision XT’s behavioral tracking data with Blackrock’s EEG recordings for mice and rats.
The aim was to allow researchers to link real-time neural activity to behavioral outcomes with greater accuracy and efficiency.
Other companies in the BCI space include New York-based Synchron, which announced this week that it will be the first BCI company to reach native integration with Apple’s BCI Human Interface Device (BCI HID) profile.
The company’s technology is intended to allow people to control digital devices, such as iPhones, iPads and Apple Vision Pro, using their thoughts.
Earlier this month, Elon Musk’s Neuralink announced it implanted its brain-computer interface into a man named Brad Smith, who has ALS and is completely non-verbal, allowing him to communicate now using telepathy.
Smith released a video on X about his experience with Neuralink, which is narrated using an AI-generated replica of Smith’s voice cloned from previous recordings.
In March, Neuralink filed applications with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) to trademark the terms “Telepathy,” “Blindsight” and “Telekinesis.”
The applications are related to Neuralink’s offerings. Telepathy is a brain-computer interface that aims to enable users to control devices with their thoughts, Blindsight is an implant that aims to restore vision in individuals who are blind, and Telekinesis is a term Musk has used interchangeably with Telepathy to refer to controlling devices using one’s mind.
Last year, Neuralink received approval from Health Canada to perform a clinical trial on its N1 brain implant and R1 robot, which is used to place the implant into the brain.
The “Canadian Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface” (CAN-PRIME) study was performed by the University Health Network hospital at its Toronto Western Hospital.
CAN-PRIME assessed the safety of the company’s N1 implant, designed to allow individuals to control a computer or mobile device using their mind and the company’s R1 surgical Robot, used to place each of the 64 threads of the N1 implant into a patient’s brain.
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