Kernel's $117K Brain Scanner: A Decade of Laser Tech

Bryan Johnson's startup Kernel spent ten years building a headset that uses lasers to measure brain activity. Health correspondent Hilary Brueck tested the device at Kernel's Los Angeles headquarters. The company argues that better brain data could reshape how doctors, researchers, and businesses understand cognition. Johnson, who founded Kernel in 2016, has said the goal is to make brain measurement as routine as a blood test. The headset, priced at $117,200, uses a technique called time-domain functional near-infrared spectroscopy (TD-fNIRS) to track blood flow changes in the cortex. Kernel has sold units to research labs at Stanford and Harvard, among others. The company plans to release a lower-cost version in the coming years.