Patients could soon talk through Apple Vision Pro with just their thoughts

California startup Cognixion is working on a new clinical trial, using the Apple Vision Pro to help people with paralysis communicate using only their thoughts.

The company intends to blend its brain-computer interface (BCI) technology with Apple’s mixed reality headset.

The goal is to give patients with severe speech disorders caused by conditions like ALS, spinal cord injury, or stroke the ability to ‘speak’ without moving a muscle.

While other companies, like Elon Musk’s Neuralink, are working on invasive brain implants, Cognixion’s approach is entirely noninvasive.

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The Apple Vision Pro

According to Wired, Cognixion has created custom software and hardware that work with the Apple Vision Pro.

The company replaces Apple’s headband with its own, which includes six EEG sensors that pick up brain signals from the back of the head.

These signals detect when a person is focusing their gaze on an option, allowing them to select words or commands without touching anything.

This is a similar concept to something built by a Twitch streamer, which allows her to play games entirely through her thoughts.

A small computing pack worn at the hip processes the data, while the Vision Pro provides the visual interface.

Cognixion’s app also uses generative AI trained on an individual’s speech history, capturing their humor, style, and phrases.

Inside the headset, users can choose from AI-generated suggestions or form their own sentences.

Cognixion’s founder, Andreas Forsland, was inspired to start the company after his mother, intubated in the ICU, could not communicate with doctors.

Current tools like eye-tracking or letterboards are slow, expensive, and often unreliable.

By contrast, Cognixion’s technology aims to bring speed and normal conversation back to people who have lost their voice.

In earlier tests with its own headset, the Axon-R, patients with ALS were able to respond at near conversational pace for several hours at a time.

Experts say noninvasive BCIs face hurdles

Jonathan Kao, a UCLA researcher interviewed by Wired, noted that brain signals captured from outside the skull were much weaker and noisier than implanted versions like Elon Musk’s Neuralink.

This making the brain signals harder to decode quickly.

However, advances in AI may help close that gap, making the technology more practical for everyday use.

Cognixion believes its noninvasive approach could reach patients faster and with fewer risks than implanted devices.

The company’s current trial will involve up to 10 participants, with larger studies planned before the US Food and Drug Administration evaluates it as a medical device.

If successful, this will give many people their voice back, through nothing more than their thoughts and a headset.

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