Cognixion Launches NIH-Funded Clinical Trial of Non-Invasive EEG and AR Brain-Computer Interface

Santa Barbara neurotechnology developer Cognixion has launched CHOICE, an NIH-funded 12-week clinical trial enrolling 30 adults with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to evaluate its non-invasive electroencephalography (EEG), eye-tracking, and contextual AI communication headset in home use against conventional eye-gaze devices, Neurofounders editor-in-chief Dominic Borkelmans reported on November 10, 2026.

Unlike surgical implants from Neuralink or Paradromics, Cognixion's headset reads visual-cortex EEG signals to confirm selections identified by eye tracking—eliminating gaze-dwell delays—and pairs with personalized AI language models and an 'Author-of-Record' confirmation protocol. In an earlier home feasibility study integrating Cognixion's EEG hardware with Apple Vision Pro across three ALS patients and one chronic stroke patient, participants reached a median communication speed of 8.6 words per minute, with one late-stage ALS user achieving 12.3 WPM compared to 4.5 WPM on their existing eye tracker.

The company is now introducing lighter augmented-reality glasses and a tablet configuration aimed at cutting caregiver setup time from 10-15 minutes to under five minutes, while also referencing University of Waterloo research that used its earlier Axon-R headset to steer a powered wheelchair.