Solve for X: Innovations to Change the World

Mind over matter: Could brain-computer interfaces lead to a new era of innovation and healing?

Mar 26, 2026

Guest

Anne Vanhoestenberghe

Guest

Adam Kirton

Anne Vanhoestenberghe, a professor who builds long-lasting neural implants, and Dr. Adam Kirton, a pediatric neurologist pioneering BCI for injured children, discuss brain-computer interfaces. They explore implant and wearable tech for speech and movement. They cover pediatric-specific challenges, home-friendly EEG systems like Think2Switch, engineering hurdles, ethical risks around neural data, and why including children matters.

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ANECDOTE

ICU Game Revealed Awareness In Locked-In Teen

A locked-in 13-year-old in Adam Kirton's ICU used a simple BCI to play a game and proved she was fully aware.
The moment shifted clinician assumptions and changed how staff communicated with her, showing immediate clinical impact.

INSIGHT

Pediatric Disabilities Are A Huge Untapped BCI Need

Pediatric-onset severe neurological disabilities (like cerebral palsy) represent the largest long-term group needing BCI solutions.
Many children have normal or high intellect but cannot move or speak, making BCI uniquely transformative for decades-long need.

INSIGHT

BCI Plus Stimulation Can Restore Movement

Current BCIs either decode speech or detect movement intention and can be paired with stimulators to restore mobility.
Combined systems (brain decoding plus spinal stimulation) enabled participants to take steps and sometimes regain voluntary movement.

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Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) have been allowing humans to control objects with their minds for nearly half a century. But in recent years, thanks partly to advances in AI, the technology has evolved dramatically; wearable and implantable devices are now being used to restore speech and movement to stroke survivors, alleviate depression and treat pain. While companies like Elon Musk’s Neuralink grab headlines, a somewhat quieter revolution is happening in Canada, where researchers are using BCI to help a historically underserved population: disabled children. In this episode, we explore BCI’s potential to transform medicine, the knotty ethical questions at its core and how the tech might just bring us closer together.

Featured in this episode:

Dr. Adam Kirton is a professor of pediatrics, radiology and clinical neurosciences at the University of Calgary, where he’s also the director of the BCI4Kids program. He is also the director of the Calgary Pediatric Stroke Program and is a practicing pediatric neurologist at the Alberta Children’s Hospital. He co-founded, and is the CMO, of Possibility Neurotechnologies

Anne Vanhoestenberghe is a professor of active implantable medical devices at King’s College London and director of MAISi, a facility for the manufacture of active implants and surgical instruments, housed at St. Thomas’ Hospital in London, England.

Dion Kelly is a clinical neuroscientist and the co-founder and CEO of Possibility Technologies. Dion and Adam launched the company in 2022 to commercialize their brain-controlled technology, which transforms thoughts into actions.

Stephanie Sonnenberg and her daughter, Claire, live outside of Calgary, Alberta. Claire was one of the first users of Possibility Technologies’ BCI device, Think2Switch.