What “non-invasive” actually rules out

If you or someone in your family has lost the ability to speak, you have probably been handed a lot of words. This is an attempt to use fewer of them.

What “non-invasive” means here

It means nothing goes inside the body. No operation, no hardware under the skin, no hardware in the brain. The device is worn, the way you would wear headphones or a headband, and it can be taken off.

That is the whole of what the word promises. It does not promise the device is better than an implant, or that it will be available soon, or that it will work for a particular person.

What it does not mean

It does not mean we are reading your thoughts. What a system like this aims to pick up is the activity associated with deliberately trying to say something — the same intent that would move your mouth if it could. Something you are actively trying to communicate. Not your inner monologue, not your private thinking, not anything you have not chosen to send.

It does not mean the device works through a wall, from a distance, or without you knowing. It is worn, and you put it on.

Where we actually are

We are early. There is no product to buy and no trial you can join today. We cannot tell you when that will change, and we would rather say that plainly than give you a date we would have to walk back.

What we would ask

Please do not make decisions about your care based on us. If you are weighing up options now, talk to your clinical team about what is available now. Existing communication aids have helped a great many people, and they exist today. We are not a treatment plan.

If you want to know when something changes, join the list on the homepage. We will write when there is something real to say — including if something does not work.