ABILITY NEUROTECH MOVES IMPLANTABLE BCIS TOWARD CLINICAL USE

At Switzerland Innovation Park Network West EPFL – Site Campus Biotech Geneva, ABILITY Neurotech is advancing a fully implantable optical-link BCI designed to restore communication for people with ALS and other severe neurological conditions.

«With patients involved from the start, we aim to develop more holistic solutions.»

Rotem Kopel

Co-founder and CEO, ABILITY Neurotech

For people living with severe neurological conditions such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) or certain brainstem strokes, the ability to communicate can gradually disappear. ABILITY Neurotech is working to change that. Based at Campus Biotech in Geneva, the company is developing a next-generation brain-computer interface (BCI) designed to decode neural signals associated with intended speech and translate them into digital communication.

The company’s platform combines implantable sensing technology, a laser-based transcutaneous optical data link and AI-based decoding software in a single clinical system. ABILITY describes its device as fully implantable, battery-free and designed to stream raw neural data wirelessly through intact skin. Its first clinical focus is speech and communication restoration, with future applications potentially extending to movement and other neurological functions.

ABILITY’s journey reflects Geneva’s strength in translational neuroscience. The technology grew out of work at the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering, where a multidisciplinary programme was launched in 2018 to bring a high-fidelity implantable BCI architecture closer to clinical use. In March 2025, the project spun out as ABILITY Neurotech, bringing together expertise in neuroscience, medical device engineering, machine learning, quality and regulatory affairs.

In May 2026, ABILITY Neurotech received IMDD approval in the Netherlands to initiate the first chronic implantation study of its fully implantable wireless optical-link ECoG BCI in people with ALS. Conducted at UMC Utrecht under the INTRECOM consortium with TU Graz, CorTec and ABILITY, the study marks an important transition from intraoperative testing toward long-term clinical investigation.

At Switzerland Innovation Park Network West EPFL – Site Campus Biotech Geneva, ABILITY benefits from a translational environment designed to connect scientific excellence, engineering, clinical expertise and industrial development. Proximity to the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering, EPFL-linked neuroengineering expertise, clinical partners and a broader innovation ecosystem is particularly relevant for a patient-centred medical device where technical performance must be matched by usability, safety and acceptance in daily life. For ABILITY, Campus Biotech is not only a location, but part of the pathway from research architecture to clinical validation.

Key Facts

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    High-density ECoG neural recording platform

     

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    Reported broadband wireless optical neural data transmission through intact skin

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    ABILITY Neurotech spun out from the Wyss Center for Bio and Neuroengineering as an independent company

     

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    IMDD approval received to initiate the first chronic implantation study of the fully implantable wireless optical-link ECoG BCI in people with ALS

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