US-based brain-implant companies create group to support nascent industry

MAJOR implanted brain-computer interface companies are creating an industry group to address issues facing the nascent field as it tries to build confidence among patients, regulators and the general public.

The Implanted Brain Computer-Interface Collaborative Community, or iBCI-CC, also includes the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) as a member, according to an announcement on Monday. The FDA regulates medical devices, including brain implants.

The iBCI-CC will work on topics ranging from interoperability to ethics to data privacy, according to its website, subjects that have taken on new urgency as the field grows closer to commercialization.

Earlier this year, Elon Musk said that Neuralink Corp. — a startup he co-founded — had implanted a device in a human patient. Synchron, Inc., meanwhile, has several devices in human brains.

One key area issue is deciding on the objectives of the technology, said Paradromics, Inc. Chief Executive Officer Matt Angle. When it’s meant to improve a patient’s communication, for instance, “how do you know it’s working well enough?” he said. “Is it words per minute? Is it how happy the patient is?”

Paradromics plans to join the group, he said. And he expects Neuralink, Blackrock Neurotech, Precision Neuroscience Corp. and Synchron to sign onto the endeavor as well, Mr. Angle said. Patient advocates and ethicists are also part of the initiative, according to the announcement.

The group came together after key players in the field met last year at a conference hosted by the US Commerce Department, Mr. Angle said.

Neurologist Leigh Hochberg — principal investigator at BrainGate, a consortium working on an implanted BCI system — is a key organizer, along with neurotechnology patient advocate Jennifer French and BostonGene Chief Scientific Officer Joe Lennerz. Health care provider Mass General Brigham convened the group. —