The most widely tested brain implant is the Utah array—a rigid silicon square with 100 protruding tiny needles. Each needle is about a millimeter long, with electrodes on the tip to pick up brain signals. But these rigid devices can cause scarring of nearby tissue, which over time can interfere with their ability to record. In contrast, one of Neuralink’s innovations is that flexible fibers are attached to its implant that has more than 1,000 electrodes attached.
Neuralink is also trying to improve on existing BCIs that require cumbersome setups and invasive brain surgery; Instead, the company’s sewing machine-like robot can install electrodes by punching them into the brain through a small hole in the skull. In addition, the wireless brain transmitter, unlike most current BCIs, relies on external cables that connect to a computer from the top of a person’s head.
Neuralink tested its prototype on pigs and monkeys, and in April 2021 the company posted a video of a monkey play the video game Pong hands-free thanks to two brain implants the company installed in her brain. (The miracle achieved by a people with BCI 15 years ago.)
in one 2020 company update, pigs implanted with the coin-sized Neuralink device galloped onto the stage so Musk could demonstrate the implant’s safety, as well as its ability to record neural activity from the pig’s brain. (He describes the device as “a Fitbit for your skull with tiny wires.”) One pig had a brain implant at the time of the demonstration, and another had previously had it. one, but had been scrapped before. Meanwhile, brain signals from the pig were broadcast on the screen.
The company’s current implant is a quarter the size, containing 1,000 channels capable of recording and stimulating neighboring neurons. But on Wednesday, Neuralink employees said they were working on a next-generation chip with 4,098 channels in a chip of the same size.
While Neuralink may be the most recognizable, several other companies are also working on brain implants and grappling with common issues like safety, longevity, and what they can do with the implant. can do.
Two former Neuralink employees have started their own BCI project. Last year saw the launch of Science Corp, headed by former Neuralink president Max Hodax, and Precision Neuroscience, founded by Benjamin Rapoport, another early member of Musk’s team. in one Post on November 21 On the company’s website, Science Corp employees revealed their idea for a neural interface to restore vision in people with retinitis pigmentosa and age-related dry macular degeneration, two Severe forms of blindness do not have good treatment options. The company is working to demonstrate safety data in animals, according to the blog post.
Meanwhile, Precision Neuroscience is developing a thin, flexible brain implant for paralyzed people that sits atop the brain and can be inserted through a small slit in the head, rather than drilling a hole into the skull. . According to Rapoport, the company has already tested its device on pigs and hopes to get the green light from the Food and Drug Administration by 2023 to implant it in patients.
