Coherence Neuro has started its first clinical study
Tuesday June 23rd, 2026
Coherence Neuro Global, Inc., a neurotechnology company pioneering implantable cancer neurotechnologies has started its first-in-human trial. This first step of clinical translation, led by renowned Neurosurgeon, Dr Andrew Morokoff, at the Royal Melbourne Hospital represents a significant milestone for the San Francisco based startup.
Witnessing the first procedure live, Australian Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, Elise Jenkins, PhD, remarked how “few words that can describe the feeling of seeing the device pulled out of sterile packaging and carefully placed on a human brain cortex for the first time.”
In under 15 months, the Coherence team developed and received Human Research Ethics (HREC) approval to begin human clinical studies using a highly flexible, electrode-dense thin-film cortical probe designed to record brain activity and deliver electrical stimulation with ultra-high-spatial resolution. The investigational device, called the CIPHER System, is bi-directional, meaning it was designed to both record and stimulate. Coherence's rapid pace is otherwise unmatched in the brain computer interface (BCI) space, with competitors taking well over 2 years to achieve a similar milestone.
Coherence’s CIPHER System is initially being investigated to perform neurophysiological mapping and stimulation during brain tumor resection surgery. The study aims to evaluate the safety, basic performance, and handling characteristics of the system during short-duration intraoperative use.
Dr Morokoff, also known for being the first to implant Synchron’s vascular BCI, reported that he was "proud to collaborate with Coherence on such a critical problem." Adding that he and fellow Neurosurgeons have been "waiting for a system like this for some time."
Unlike other BCI companies, Coherence’s platform development is uniquely focused on mapping how cancer electrically integrates into the body and subsequently treating it with electrical stimulation. Though it has been known that cancer is electrically active for some time, Coherence is the first to approach the problem with an implanted, device-based system.
Coherence’s Director of Clinical Translation, Dr Jason Miranda, described an “immense feeling of pride thinking back to all the work the team has done to create this moment and watching the clinical team work together to flawlessly execute the procedure.”
The team’s exceptional speed and technical prowess has attracted world-class talent. Head Neurosurgeon at the $9 billion Elon-musk led Neuralink, Dr Matthew MacDougal, is an advisor and investor. MacDougal and fellow Neuralink colleague and Neurosurgeon, Dr Rory Murphy, are slated to be involved in US clinical trials planned over the coming years.
Whilst it is too early for patients to see direct benefits from this technology, reaching a clinical (i.e. human) stage study establishes Coherence as a serious player in the neurotechnology space. The company now has a qualitatively different risk profile than one with only animal data.
In a soon-to-be released pre-print, Coherence will be the first in the world to demonstrate how cancer’s presence and stage can be classified continuously in an animal model from electrical signals alone. Coherence will investigate how these earlier findings will compare to the outcomes of the CIPHER study, bridging the gap from animal to human and ultimately informing the design of their second generation device—SOMA-1.
SOMA-1 is a bi-directional implant being developed to sense electrical activity in the tumor microenvironment and stimulate in response. Electrical fields have already been proven to shrink tumors with the FDA-approved Optune Gio device, but Coherence will be the first to develop this in an implantable setting.
Co-Founder and CEO, Ben Woodington, PhD, stated that while “the transition to a clinical stage company is a phenomenal achievement, our real work is only just beginning." The team is “on a mission to transform the lives of people with cancer, starting with the brain.” “We are developing the world’s first platform to record and modulate cancer in real time” he said, describing a future where “everyone diagnosed with cancer will be continuously monitored and treated from the comfort of their homes.”
Such an evolution marks a significant departure from the way cancer is currently managed, where information on the diseases’ progression is only available across sparse timepoints like a blood draw or MRI spaced months to years apart. The addition of continuous measurement via electrical recordings is a gamechanger in cancer medicine.
From left to right, Dr Emma Brunton, Isabel Dziuba, Dr Jason Miranda, Dr Andrew Morokoff, Dr Elise Jenkins, and Ryan Hamer pictured after the completion of the first procedure.
Disclaimer: Coherence devices are investigational and not approved by the TGA or the FDA.
Contacts:
Ben Woodington (CEO & Co-Founder), ben@coherenceneuro.com
The body runs on a bioelectronic
The body runs on a bioelectronic
Bioelectronic therapy at the cutting edge
Bioelectronic devices — tiny implants, smart wearables, and AI-powered neural systems — are a new interface between the human body and therapeutic technology.
The cutting edge of medicine is not only digital; it’s electric.
The body electric
Our bodies communicate both through chemicals like hormones and neurotransmitters and through electricity.
Tiny pulses of energy travel through nerves and tissues, orchestrating everything from your heartbeat to your thoughts. Neurons fire electrochemical impulses. The brain and nervous system function as complex, living circuits. Every sensation, movement, and emotion begins as an electrical signal.
This electrical activity forms the bioelectronic code — a language of patterns, frequencies, and pulses that governs how we function, feel, and heal.
Health and disease are not just chemical or genetic. They are also electrical.
When signals misfire or communication breaks down, illness can follow — from chronic pain and depression to autoimmune disorders, paralysis, and aggressive cancers like glioblastoma.
Cancer rewritten
Cancer isn’t just a genetic anomaly. It’s an active participant in the body’s electrical system.
Cancer monitors the body’s bioelectronic signals and responds with its own, hijacking the neural pathways used for healing and immune coordination to fuel its own growth.
At Coherence, we’re overwriting cancer’s bioelectronic signals.
The fourth pillar of cancer therapy
Cancer therapy has three pillars: drugs, radiotherapy, and surgery. We’re introducing a fourth pillar: electricity, via bioelectronic therapy. Bioelectronic therapy is divided into three primary modalities.
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A new era in disease management
Coherence products read the body’s electrical signals and deliver precise electrical modulation to areas affected by disease. This rebalances tissue function, relieves symptoms, supercharges immune response, and slows disease progression.
By bringing bioelectronic systems into stasis, we extend and improve quality of life.
Unlike chemotherapy or other systemic drugs, targeted bioelectronic therapy contends with disease at its source. Electrically modulating aberrant bioelectrical signals offers a precise approach to treating disease while substantially minimizing side effects compared to conventional cancer treatment.
Targeted bioelectronic therapy shows promise across many conditions:
- Restoring movement after paralysis through spinal or brain stimulation
- Reversing stroke damage by reactivating dormant neural pathways
- Treating depression or PTSD by rebalancing malfunctioning brain circuits
- Boosting immunity or suppressing cancer by modulating nerve-to-immune signals
The Coherence platform
Our approach is built on three interconnected pillars:
Neurotechnology
We design implantable electronics capable of sensing and stimulating with unmatched precision.
They’re small enough to fit on your fingertip, yet powerful enough to influence how the body behaves.
Neurobiology
We are mapping how cancer communicates with the nervous system and learning how to intervene.
In collaboration with partners at Cambridge, Monash, and Stanford, we’re pioneering the new field of electro-oncology.
AI & machine learning
Our closed-loop systems continuously learn from each patient.
We use advanced AI to decode high-resolution electrical signals and identify the unique fingerprint of each disease. These insights fuel personalized therapies that adapt in real time and provide clinicians with a new tool to understand and personalise treatment.
As we scale, we’re building the largest dataset of disease evolution and brain state in history, unlocking unprecedented insights into the brain and body.
Glioma management
SOMA-1 is our flagship device: a minimally invasive, MRI-safe brain–computer interface implanted during existing neurosurgery. SOMA-1 both monitors and treats brain disorders like gliomas in real time.
- Closed-loop stimulation reduces disease burden as it evolves.
- Continuous recording tracks tumor behavior without repeated scans.
- Adaptive AI personalizes therapy based on live data from the tumor environment.
SOMA-1 is therapy, diagnostics, and a living model — all in a device the size of a shirt button.
A patient-first paradigm
Gone are the days of burdensome treatments — no more head shaving, messy gel applications, bulky headgear that overheats, or cumbersome equipment.
With Coherence, patients can maintain their appearances and focus on enjoying life.
Patients are augmented by a holistic therapeutic system — a button-sized therapeutic implant; a modern, minimalist wearable that sits comfortably on top of the ear; and a user-friendly app.
This system greatly enhances quality of life — allowing patients to live easier, healthier, longer, and more joyful lives.
Bioelectronic cancer management
By decoding the body's electrical language, we’re unlocking a new way to understand and treat disease.
- Smarter: Personalized, real-time therapy for each patient.
- Faster: Deployable across conditions without years of redevelopment.
- Deeper: Reaching the core bioelectrical mechanisms of disease.
Coherence is laying the foundation of electro-oncology.
Welcome to a new paradigm in medicine.