| Prof Nicholas Opie |
| The University of Melbourne |
| Paralysis |
| Device |
Key outcomes:
- Establishment of spin-off company, Synchron which is now valued at approximately A$1.5 billion
- Released its first-ever public demonstration of an individual using an iPad controlled entirely by thoughts in August 2025
- Successfully raised over A$212m, including A$110m (Series C)
- Received seed funding from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) ONR Global and the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), $1,331,325 + $154,823
- Successfully implanted the StentrodeTM into four participants with severe paralysis due to MND
- StrentrodeTM granted Breakthrough Device designation by the U.S. FDA
- Synchron received nearly $1m from the MRFF
- $1,651,685m NHMRC project grant to expand the clinical study of the StrentrodeTM
- NHMRC Development grant, $810,382
“This project received funding in 2017-2018 from NFMRI to support safety validation of the StentrodeTM, which was developed by A/Prof. Nicholas Opie and his team. The StentrodeTM is an end-vascular brain-machine interface that can record neural signals from within a blood vessel. This technology is designed to restore instrumental activities of daily living in people with paralysis by sensing brain activity and translating these signals into discrete electrical commands which enable direct brain control of computers and assistive technology”