Paradromics 与 Siemens Healthineers 合作开发脑机接口植入体影像工作流

Paradromics and Siemens Healthineers have announced a collaboration to develop a multimodal imaging workflow to improve patient assessment, surgical planning and long-term monitoring for implantable brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).

The initiative will combine Siemens Healthineers' medical imaging technology with Paradromics' experience developing implantable BCIs, which translate neural activity into commands for communication and other functions.

The companies plan to integrate structural MR, functional MR, vascular imaging and CT into a standardized workflow spanning patient selection, neural target identification, surgical navigation, implant localization and outcomes assessment.

The effort builds on existing imaging protocols Paradromics uses with Siemens Healthineers scanners. Planned developments include improved image acquisition, co-registration, processing and automated analysis, with the goal of making the workflow available across medical centers equipped with Siemens Healthineers systems.

“Building the best hardware is only part of the story. BCI performance begins before an implant ever reaches the brain,” said Matt Angle, founder and CEO of Paradromics.

A key component of the collaboration involves comparing preoperative functional imaging findings with neural activity recorded directly from implanted Paradromics devices. Those comparisons could help researchers assess the accuracy of imaging-based brain mapping and refine implant targeting methods.

Development will involve clinical research investigators, including Dr. Daniel Rubin of the Mass General Brigham Neuroscience Institute's Center for Neurotechnology and Neurorecovery.

Initial work will focus on speech-motor function, supporting Paradromics' efforts to restore communication in people with severe motor impairments. The companies may eventually expand the workflow to applications involving hand movement and language restoration following stroke.

Paradromics is developing its Connexus BCI platform to record neural activity at the individual-neuron level and translate those signals into intended speech and other commands.

The companies did not disclose financial terms or a timeline for deploying the imaging workflow.