The quest for human-machine interfaces is increasingly driving CVC investments.

Blurring the lines between man and machine is an ambition lifted straight from the pages of science fiction. Take for instance Imp, a disembodied and progressively unhinged human brain sent into space to control humanity’s interplanetary monitoring platform in Joseph McElroy’s 1977 post-modern story, Plus. Sci-fi anticipates the invention of technologies we hope to utilise one day. And while Imp’s invention remains unlikely – the concept almost certainly violates Isaac Asimov’s Laws of Robotics in terms of causing harm to a human being – researchers still hope to deliver brain-computer interfaces that put our minds directly in control. For example, using brain signals as a control point could enable medical applications that empower the patient, perhaps even detecting illnesses automatically. Returning to sci-fi for inspiration, we could instead cite The Terminal Man, published in 1972, whose protagonist relies on a neuromodulator to temper the frequency of violently epileptic seizures. Twenty-five years later, a vagus nerve stimulator received US regulatory approval to manage epilepsies resistant to medication and surgery. More recently, demonstrations on mice have shown how an implant could flag up potential health complications by interpreting body-brain nerve signals, in a study led by Theodoros Zanos, an assistant professor at the Feinstein Institute for Medical Research’s Neural Decoding and Data Analytics Laboratory, with support from GE Global Research, the R&D division of industrial technology manufacturer General Electric. Other brain-computer interfaces could make it easier for the disabled to engage with the world around them. Social network operator Facebook’s new research unit, Building 8, is working on one such technology, a neurological imaging implant that could enable us to type, using only our brains, at a rate of 100 words per minute. Elsewhere, US-based Synchron has closed a $10m series A round ahead of clinical trials of a miniaturised neurological device that could one day help paralysed patients control communication aids or robotic limbs. Nearer-term developments in interface technologies may seem more mundane by comparison. Human-machine interfaces (HMIs) broadly include any system through which people interact with their computers, and thus we must also consider the successors to the humble mouse and keyboard. Consumers are now accustomed to needling their smartphone touch screens, dictating memos to voice-activated assistants or even immersing themselves in virtual or augmented reality. Healthcare CVCs, among others, are increasingly looking at similar functionality for their systems. The number of deals in the four health subsectors most likely to generate HMIs rose to 98 in 2017 from 84…

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