Assistive and Emerging Technologies in ALS

Written by Margaret Anne Rockwood | Last updated May 19th, 2026
Medically reviewed by Doreen Ho, MD and Jennifer Morganroth, MD, MBA

We live in an era marked by a cascade of smart biochip interface devices and motor-cortex–targeted neuromodulation that, once mainstream, may provide quality of life enhancements for people with ALS. It also describes some new experimental approaches that researchers are investigating. It is important to note that many of these technologies are still in early stages of development or clinical testing – they are not yet standard treatments, and what works for one person may not work for another.

These rapidly advancing brain-computer interfaces (BCI) and assistive technologies and the more experimental neuromodulation strategies together illustrate a shift from a culture of solely symptom management toward one in which integrated systems help preserve communication, mobility, and independence, while disease-targeted approaches evolve.

Non-Invasive Assistive Technologies

Widely available technologies for people with ALS: Voice preservation, voice banking and eye-tracking to extend communication capabilities:

• Voice Banking and AI Voice Cloning: Voice banking allows people to record their natural speech while it is still intact, creating a digital voice that can be used later with a speech-generating device.  The Impact Program offers free professional voice clones for people with ALS. My Own Voice can create a personalized voice from as few as 50 recorded sentences. Patients can “bank” their voice and AI then can create a digital twin that sounds exactly like them. These tools work with a range of Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) devices.
• Eye-Tracking Communication: Files are uploaded to an Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) device, such as Coginixion One or TD Pilot, enabling individuals to use iPads with eye-tracking to select words and sentences. With augmented reality and BCI (EEG), users can control devices like lights, TVs, and thermostats by focusing on digital overlays.
• Organizations like Team Gleason often provide financial assistance to cover the costs of software and provide loaner equipment for the recording process.

There are several technologies that are in clinical trials and are not yet clinically available.

• Exoskeletons and other biomechanical devices may soon help ALS patients with ambulation. Using microprocessors that communicate through a serial bus, exoskeletons enable people with partial paralysis or limb weakness to move in and out of chairs and walk.  Like a legged Segway™, it moves in accordance with the way the wearer leans and includes vibration alerts as a check on errant movements. While primarily used in gait training for patients with spinal cord or stroke injury, researchers are exploring potential applications for mobility assistance in ALS.

• Soft Robotic Gloves: A lightweight, wearable robotic gloves that detect faint muscle signals to help patients with “dropped hands” grip objects like forks or cups, restoring a level of manual independence.

Neuromodulation

Cortical and spinal hyperexcitability is central to ALS, driving neuropathological alterations and cell loss. In animals, neuromodulation, therapies that use electrical or magnetic stimulation to modify nerve activity have demonstrated that direct spinal stimulation can restore neural pathways damaged by ALS by normalizing pathway overactivity and reduce protein aggregation in motor neurons.

Animal studies of the non-invasive MyoRegulator® neurostimulation device have generated encouraging data showing that delivering stimulation to multiple layers of the lumbar spine counteracts hyperexcitability and may slow neurodegenerative disease progression in numerous “dying forward” diseases.

Researchers are studying MyoRegulator® in humans to determine whether its benefits can help slow ALS progression or ease symptoms. Although this area of research is active, most strategies are still in early or preclinical phases, and none have shown evidence of altering ALS’s course during human trials. Human trials aren’t open for enrollment yet, but MyoRegulator® has earned FDA Breakthrough Device Designation for spasticity in ALS, which means it will undergo a faster review process by the FDA.

Transcranial Static Magnetic Stimulation (tSMS): tSMS can suppress motor cortex excitability. In ALS, a six-month study found no effect on disease progression, though longer-term follow-up suggested a possible increase in tracheostomy-free survival; further research is needed to confirm this.

Brain Computer Interface (BCI) Devices

A brain-computer interface, or BCI, is a device that reads electrical signals from the brain and translates them into commands for external devices, such as a computer, tablet, or communication system. BCIs can be non-invasive (worn on the outside of the head) or surgically implanted. The goal is to allow people who have lost the ability to move or speak to control technology using thought alone. BCI research is one of the most active areas in ALS technology, though most devices are still being studied in clinical trials and are not yet widely available.

• The COMMAND Trial (Stentrode® Device): The Stentrode is an endovascular BCI placed inside a blood vessel near the brain, making it less invasive than traditional implants. In early studies involving a small number of patients with severe paralysis, including some with ALS, participants were able to perform tasks such as texting and online banking, using thought.
• Enrolling: The COMMAND Trial is ongoing and has expanded trial sites in New York, Pennsylvania, and Australia.
• Neuralink: Neuralink has developed a surgically implanted BCI that wirelessly connects to external devices for cursor control and text generation. Only a very small number of people with ALS have received the implant to date, and long-term safety and effectiveness data in ALS are not yet available. This technology is being studied through the PRIME and CONVOY trials at select US sites. It warrants monitoring as research progresses.
• Enrolling: PRIME & CONVOY Studies: Currently recruiting in the US (with sites that include the Barrow Neurological Institute and other Centers for Neural Restoration).
• Speech Neuroprosthetics: Researchers have demonstrated a BCI that translates brain signals into speech with high accuracy in a single research participant with ALS. While this is a meaningful scientific step, it is important to note that this was a proof-of-oncept study in one person under carefully controlled research conditions.

The technologies described in this section represent some of the most active areas of ALS research and device development. Assistive technologies, particularly communication tools and BCIs for digital interaction, are the most mature and stand to offer meaningful quality-of-life benefits for many people with ALS today.

References

1. Motor neuroprosthesis implanted with neurointerventional surgery improves capacity for activities of daily living tasks in severe paralysis: The Stentrode Study. Oxley, T. J., et al. (2020). Journal of NeuroInterventional Surgery, 13(2), 102–108.
2. PRIME Study: Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface. Neuralink. (2024). ClinicalTrials.gov Identifier: NCT06429735.
3. BCI restores speech with 97% accuracy for person with ALS. UC Davis Health. (2024). UC Davis Health News.
4. Voice banking and AI cloning for ALS. Bridging Voice. (2024).
5. Cognixion ONE Welcome Portal. Cognixion.
6. Soft robotic glove for hand rehabilitation and assistance. Wyss Institute. (2024). Harvard University.
7. PathMaker Neurosystems receives FDA breakthrough device designation for use of MyoRegulator® in ALS. Pathmaker Neurosystems. (2025, December 17). GlobalNewswire.
8. Multi-path direct current spinal stimulation extended survival in the SOD1-G93A model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Ahmed, Z., et al. (2025). Frontiers in Neurology, 16, 1594169.
9. Diaphragm pacing in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: A randomised controlled trial. Miller, R.G. & Lewis, R. A. (2016). The Lancet Neurology, 14(12), 1183–1192.
10. A high-performance speech neuroprosthesis. Willett, F. R., et al. (2023). Nature, 620(7976), 1031–1039.
11. Voice Banking Resources and Support. BridgingVoice.