The
software platform, NeuroKey, interfaces with multiple brain signal
acquisition sources and devices, extending the reach of brain-computer
interface applications
GENEVA & SALT LAKE CITY-Tuesday 11 August 2020 [ AETOS Wire ]
(BUSINESS
WIRE)-- The Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering has granted a
worldwide license to Blackrock Microsystems to commercialize its neural
signal processing and decoding software platform for research and
clinical applications. The agreement follows a long-standing
collaborative relationship and represents the first of many important
neurotechnology developments the Wyss Center and Blackrock Microsystems
intend to advance together.
“One
limitation of neural signal processing applications is that there is no
single software platform that directly works with the multiple devices
collecting brain signals. Researchers and clinicians have to develop
their own software to analyze the signals from a patient, which limits
effectiveness and slows down the implementation of solutions to the
clinic,” said David Ibanez, Ph.D., Brain Machine Interface Scientist at
the Wyss Center. Ibanez has been leading the Wyss Center’s software
platform development efforts over recent months.
Optimized
for use with implantable, high-channel count brain-computer interfaces
(BCIs), the Wyss Center’s high-performance data analysis platform,
called NeuroKey, is an important building block for complete real-time
neural interface research and clinical applications, including
restoration of movement, communication and control of assistive devices.
The
medical-grade platform is compatible with commercial hardware and
sensors and can be adapted to custom-made devices. NeuroKey has the
potential to accelerate BCI technology research and development for
clinical deployment in the lab and at home.
“Access
to enabling devices at home, would give me greater independence and
freedom,” said Ian Burkhart. Known as a BCI Pioneer, Ian has an enabling
neural interface developed by Blackrock Microsystems. He sustained a
spinal cord injury during a diving accident in 2010. "Currently BCI
devices can only be used under extreme supervision in controlled
environments, however, this innovation from Blackrock Microsystems and
the Wyss Center pushes research to a stage where these devices can
advance into the real world.”
The
partnership between the Wyss Center and Blackrock Microsystems is a
strong example of the Center’s translational approach. It combines the
technical talent and research and development efforts of the Center’s
staff with the clinical and market knowledge of Blackrock Microsystems,
who has been the leading provider of reliable invasive brain computer
interface technology to researchers and BCI Pioneers (tetraplegic
patients) for more than a decade.
“Blackrock
Microsystems is proud to be collaborating with the Wyss Center in an
effort to bring life-changing innovation and neuro technology to
patients,” said Marcus Gerhardt, MPhil, MA, Blackrock Microsystem’s
co-founder and CEO.
“We
hope that this is the first of many joint neurotechnology developments
with Blackrock Microsystems, that will have a big impact on many
people’s lives,” added Wyss Center’s CEO Mary Tolikas, Ph.D., MBA.
ENDS
About the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering, Geneva, Switzerland
The
Wyss Center is an independent, non-profit research and development
organization that advances our understanding of the brain to realize
therapies and improve lives.
The
Wyss Center staff, together with the Center’s academic and industrial
collaborators, pursue innovations and new approaches in neurobiology,
neuroradiology and neurotechnology, to reveal unique insights into the
mechanisms underlying the dynamics of the brain and the treatment of
disease and to accelerate the development of devices and therapies for
unmet medical needs.
The
Wyss Center was established by a generous donation from the Swiss
entrepreneur and philanthropist Hansjörg Wyss in 2014. Additional
resources from funding agencies and other sources help the Wyss Center
accelerate its mission.
www.wysscenter.ch/
About Blackrock Microsystems LLC
Blackrock
Microsystems, based in Salt Lake City, Utah, was founded in 2008 and is
the world’s leading provider of technology in the neuroscience, neural
engineering, and neural prosthetics space. The company’s technology is
at the core of worldwide innovations in Brain-Machine Interfaces
(BMI/BCI), implantable bionic technologies and epilepsy diagnostics.
Most impactful implantations of the Utah Array have been in some
tetraplegic individuals from University of Pittsburgh’s Nathan Copeland,
who controlled a prosthetic arm to fist bump US President Barack Obama
in 2016; Ohio State University’s Ian Burkhart who is learning to control
an automobile, and CalTech’s Nancy Smith who is learning to play a
virtual piano. Seemingly easy tasks, all have used the Utah Array to
translate their thoughts into action to restore function.
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Contacts
MEDIA CONTACTS:
Wyss Center
Jo Bowler, Media and Public Relations Manager
+41 (0) 58 201 03 09
johanna.bowler@wysscenter.ch
Blackrock Microsystems
Shilo Case, Marketing Manager
+1 (801) 582-5533
Scase@blackrockmicro.com
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