Kernel Team Showcases New Flow Headset and Recruits Early Adopters

October 2020 issue

Kernel, the Venice, CA developer of brain sensing and analysis systems launched in 2016 by Internet entrepreneur Bryan Johnson, took to the Internet earlier this month to demonstrate the company’s new Flow headset. The livestream featured interviews with key neuroscientists who discussed the function and applications of the new device.

Kernel Flow is a noninvasive brain interface which records real-time, cortical hemodynamics to establish precise patterns of brain activity. It takes advantage of the relative transparency of the skull and brain tissue to near-infrared light by beaming photons through the skull and measuring their scattering and absorption, allowing inference about blood flow and oxygenation.

Johnson said that 50 of the devices would be available in January as part of a partner program. The company plans to give away 10 systems and offer the other 40 at a price of $5000 to selected applicants. “Our goal is to make it so you have immediate access to your own brain so that anyone can gain valuable insights on the thing that makes you, you,” he said. He spoke of a new era of “neural quantification” the device will enable.

Johnson discussed his plans for Kernel with NBR editor James Cavuoto at the 2020 Neurotech Leaders Forum on November 17.