Singapore start-up’s neural device lets severely impaired patients communicate using brainwaves and blinks.
Tan Tock Seng Hospital will trial a palm-sized brain-computer interface from local start-up Neural Drive that lets patients with severe movement and speech impairments express their needs using eye blinks and focused thoughts.
New Neural Device At TTSH
Tan Tock Seng Hospital will begin an 18-month clinical trial in June with about 30 patients, including stroke survivors, people with motor neurone disease and those with cerebral palsy, using Neural Drive’s brain-computer interface to help those who cannot speak, write or point communicate more independently.
How The System Works
Electrodes placed behind the ears and above one eye detect brainwaves and eye blinks, which are translated into commands to navigate a personalised web-based menu of tasks, such as asking for food, turning on lights or watching television, and to trigger simple messages via apps like YouTube and WhatsApp.
Affordability And Clinical Use
Co-founded in 2025 by four Singapore Polytechnic alumni and students, Neural Drive prices each unit to hospitals at about $2,500, far below eye-gaze systems that can cost up to $15,000 or invasive intracortical interfaces, making it easier for public hospitals to adopt the device across acute care, rehabilitation and home-based speech therapy.
Patient Stories And Reliability
Co-founder Khambhati Mohammed Huzefa, inspired by stroke cases he encountered as a national service medic, said the AI model is tuned for dependable intent detection rather than full brain diagnostics; early home trials with about 60 users, including a partially paralysed stroke patient from Myanmar, suggest the device can ease families’ mental strain and restore a sense of control for patients.
Scaling Access And Future Plans
Backed by funding from SUTD and innovation prizes such as the Entrepreneurs Next Star And Million Prize Global Challenge, Neural Drive plans to launch a lower cost consumer version after hospital approval and is in talks to donate about 1,000 sets, with the founders framing the project as a mission to turn existing AI and neural technology into accessible tools for everyday communication.
Neural Drive’s trial at TTSH shows how affordable brain-computer interfaces can move from research labs into real homes, offering new communication lifelines for people with severe disabilities. For Indonesians, such solutions highlight how regional innovation can bridge gaps in rehabilitation and long-term care; for Singaporeans, the project underlines the role of local start-ups and public hospitals in turning cutting-edge AI into practical tools that preserve dignity, independence and family connection.
Sources: Straits Times (2026)
Keywords: Neural Drive, Tan Tock Seng Hospital, Brain Computer Interface, Speech Impairment, Affordable Device
