Name: 腦機接口：無需開顱手術 🧠 (Brain-Computer Interface: No Open Brain Surgery Required 🧠)
Uploaded: 2025-10-19T05:20:49.000Z
Duration: 5 min 30 s

基礎被動語態

This device is made to be inserted into the brain, allowing people living with paralysis to control their phones, computers, and

這個裝置被設計植入大腦，讓中風或癱瘓的患者能用意念控制手機、電腦，

分詞構句

我可以用我的意念跟你們說話。

We visited Synchron, the company developing this technology, to learn about how it works, how it gets into the brain without open brain surgery, and

我們拜訪了開發這項技術的 Synchron 公司，想了解它的運作方式、如何在不開顱手術的情況下植入大腦，

The dream of controlling computers with brain waves, known as a brain computer interface, or BCI for short, has been around for decades.

用腦波控制電腦的夢想，也就是所謂的腦機介面，或簡稱 BCI，已經存在數十年了。

So far, most of these technologies have primarily stayed within the domain of clinical trials and studies, especially when it comes to devices that are actually implanted inside the skull itself.

到目前為止，這些技術大多還停留在臨床試驗和研究階段，特別是那些實際植入顱骨內部的裝置。

Synchron 的目標就是要改變這一切。

Synchron is bringing electronics into the brain in a minimally invasive way, and

Synchron 以微創的方式將電子設備帶入大腦，

it's going to be useful for brain computer interfaces, for brain monitoring, for brain mapping, and

對於腦機介面、腦部監測、腦部繪製，以及

腦部刺激同步化都會很有幫助。

Synchron says it's been able to get around the need for open brain surgery by building off of stents and catheters, pre existing medical devices that enter the body via the blood vessels.

Synchron 表示，他們透過結合現有的醫療器材，像是血管內支架和導管，來避免開顱手術，這些器材都是透過血管進入人體。

We enter into the jugular vein in the neck, make our way up into the brain, and

我們會從頸部的頸靜脈進入，一路進入大腦，然後

then the stent opens up over that area of the brain called the motor cortex, and

支架會在稱為運動皮質的大腦區域展開，並且

it communicates wirelessly with the outside world to control personal devices.

透過無線方式與外界溝通，來控制個人裝置。

The resulting implant is called a Stentrode, and the full system is called the Synchron switch.

這樣植入的裝置稱為 Stentrode，而整個系統則稱為 Synchron switch。

Oxley demonstrated the insertion for us on a model brain used for training by doctors before they go on to perform the procedure on human beings.

Oxley 在一個供醫生在進行人體手術前訓練使用的模型大腦上，為我們示範了植入過程。

所以，我現在要打開這個，然後

then this is gonna go up through the jugular vein up into the brain.

Tom said that the prevalence of cath labs, places where catheter based procedures occur, creates a good jumping off point for the Stentrode to become a more widely accessible medical device.

Tom 說，心導管實驗室（進行導管手術的地方）的普及，為 Stentrode 成為更廣泛使用的醫療器材打下了良好的基礎。

Our philosophy for a BCI to be successful, for a large number of people to be scalable, is that it had to be simple.

我們認為，要讓一個腦機介面成功，並且能大規模普及給許多人使用，就必須夠簡單。

And one way to do that is to really simplify what you're looking for.

而其中一個方法就是真正簡化你所尋找的目標。

In the brain patterns and in the part of the brain that we're in, there are aggregations of activity that represent attempted movement.

在大腦的模式以及我們所在的腦部區域，有一些活動的聚集，代表著嘗試移動。

The antennas inside the Stentrode pick up the signals inside the brain, and

Stentrode 裡面的天線會接收大腦裡的訊號，然後

the synchron switch transmits them wirelessly to perform the desired action.

Synchron switch 會將訊號無線傳輸出去，執行想要的動作。

The simplest elements of control are point and click.

Stare at it and think about moving for a long time and it'll start zooming in.

你只要盯著它，然後想著要移動，過一段時間它就會開始放大。

So you made a click, your first click with your brain.

所以你就成功用大腦點擊了，這是你的第一次點擊。

You're going to see videos of our patients using iOS to send health reports, to do text messaging.

你會看到我們的病患使用 iOS 來傳送健康報告、傳送簡訊的影片。

In combination with other accessibility platforms like eye tracking.

結合像眼球追蹤這樣的其他輔助工具。

Getting back your ability to control a personal device can be hugely empowering.

重新獲得控制個人裝置的能力，這會讓人覺得非常有力量。

Like a traditional stent, the stentrode is made to remain inside the body indefinitely.

就像傳統的支架一樣，Stentrode 是為了永久留在體內而設計的。

The biggest risk of the procedure is that there can be a blood clot that forms inside the device when it's sitting inside the blood vessel.

手術最大的風險是，當 Stentrode 待在血管內時，可能會形成血栓。

Over about a 90 day period, cells grow over the device and it incorporates into the wall of the blood vessel, kind of like a tail.

大約 90 天後，細胞會長到裝置上，並與血管壁融合，有點像長出尾巴一樣。

From that point on, the risk of blood clotting is much lower.

從那時候起，血栓形成的風險就大大降低了。

But patients are still staying on aspirin after the device has been inserted.

但裝置植入後，病患還是會持續服用阿斯匹靈。

A common concern when dealing with any sort of Internet connected device is privacy.

對於任何聯網裝置，大家最關心的就是隱私問題。

Let alone a device that can listen to and interpret your thoughts if privacy concerns are real.

更何況是能聽懂你想法的裝置，隱私問題更是真實存在。

If there was to be a privacy leak, at worst it would be able to predict as a corollary the way that you were say, moving your mouse on a screen.

如果發生隱私外洩，最糟的情況可能就是推測出你操作滑鼠的習慣。

And there's a history of other implanted devices like cardiac pacemakers and cochlear hearing devices that also have privacy concerns.

過去像是心臟節律器和人工耳蝸等植入式裝置，也曾出現過隱私疑慮。

So in this field, it's highly regulated and we work with the FDA to meet very high standards.

所以這個領域受到嚴格規範，我們與 FDA 合作以達到非常高的標準。

The 10th patient to receive the Synchron switch implant was the last required for Synchron's current round of clinical testing.

第十位接受 Synchron switch 植入的病患，是 Synchron 目前臨床測試階段所需的最後一位。

And one more pivotal trial will be required before getting market approval from the fda.

在獲得 FDA 的上市許可前，還需要進行另一項關鍵性試驗。

We were the first company to enroll and now complete enrollment for a human implantable clinical trial.

我們是第一家完成人體植入臨床試驗的受試者招募的公司。

所以現在是個非常令人興奮的時刻。

And the patients that we've worked with have been an inspiration.

我們合作過的病患們都給了我們許多啟發。

With a less invasive route inside the brain, Synchron's technology could open up a lot of other possibilities for treatment monitoring and beyond.

透過更微創的大腦路徑，Synchron 的技術能為治療監測及其他方面開啟更多可能性。

When people have seizures, they have to go to their doctor and the doctor says, how many seizures have you had?

當人們癲癇發作時，他們必須去看醫生，醫生會問：「你發作了幾次？」

And you can't actually remember when a seizure happened.

而你其實記不清癲癇是什麼時候發生的。

So there is an absence of technology that monitors long term brain activity.

所以，目前缺乏能夠長期監測腦部活動的技術。

And then another big area is deep brain stimulation.

另一個重要的領域是深層腦部刺激。

And the first example was Parkinson's disease.

So you see these videos of people having a brain implant.

你會看到這些影片，人們植入了腦部植入物。

They switch on the device and the tremor stops.

他們開啟裝置，顫抖就停止了。

That typically requires open brain surgery.

這通常需要進行開放式腦部手術。

And so there is a need to look for less invasive examples of how we can control those sorts of conditions.

所以我們需要尋找比較不具侵入性的方法來控制這些病症。

And we think that the blood vessels are again an avenue that are going to provide treatment options where typically have required open brain surgery.

我們認為血管再次提供了一種治療選擇，而這種選擇過去通常需要開放式腦部手術。

Oxley says the synchron switch will cost between 50 to $100,000, and

Oxley 表示，Synchron switch 的價格會在 5 萬到 10 萬美元之間，

he hinted that the company is working on integrating AI into its technology.

他暗示該公司正致力於將 AI 整合到其技術中。

We're really excited about the interaction between our switch system and OpenAI or ChatGPT type integrations.

我們對我們的 Synchron switch 系統與 OpenAI 或 ChatGPT 類型的整合之間的互動感到非常興奮。

What other technologies would you like to see us feature on with the future?

未來還有哪些技術是你們希望我們介紹的呢？