Brain-computer Interface is Almost Here
Elon Musk unveils plans for brain-reading ‘threads’…and a robot to insert them.
The brain generates enormous amounts of neural activities; every time we think, move or feel, small electric signals that move from neuron to neuron are doing the work.
No one knows for sure how our brains work. Advances are being made in gray matter understanding, but for the most part they are still a “black box.”
We do know that the human brain contains about 86 billion nerve cells called neurons, each individually linked to other neurons by way of connectors called axons and dendrites. The brain generates enormous amounts of neural activities; every time we think, move or feel, small electric signals that move from neuron to neuron are doing the work.
The goal is to eventually begin implanting devices in paralyzed humans, allowing them to control phones or computers.
Elon Musk has made a $27 million investment in Neuralink, the company that has recently made advances in a brain-computer interface (BCI) that improves human communication in light of AI. The goal is to eventually begin implanting devices in paralyzed humans, allowing them to control phones or computers.
The system Nagle and others have used, developed at Brown University, is called BrainGate.
The first person with spinal cord paralysis to receive a brain implant that allowed him to control a computer cursor was Matthew Nagle. In 2006, Nagle played Pong using only his mind; the basic movement required took him only four days to master. Since then, paralyzed people with brain implants have also brought objects into focus and moved robotic arms in labs, as part of scientific research. The system Nagle and others have used, developed at Brown University, is called BrainGate.
Thinner Than a Human Hair
The Neuralink system may be a substantial advance over that. BrainGate relied on a series of stiff needles that allows for up to 128 electrode channels. Not only is that fewer channels than Neuralink is promising – meaning less data from the brain is being picked up – it’s also stiffer than Neuralink’s threads. That’s a problem for long-term functionality, because while the brain shifts in the skull, the needles don’t. That can lead to damage. The thin polymers Neuralink is using may solve that problem.
These threads also create the possibility of transferring a higher volume of data, as many as 3,072 electrodes per array distributed across 96 threads.
Flexible “threads” are are less likely to damage the brain than stiff needles. The threads are 4 to 6 μm in width, which makes them considerably thinner than a human hair. These threads also create the possibility of transferring a higher volume of data, as many as 3,072 electrodes per array distributed across 96 threads.
Photo Source: Neuralink.com
Robot to the Rescue
The company has developed a neurosurgical robot that looks something like a cross between a microscope and a sewing machine.
However, Neuralink’s technology is more difficult to implant than needles, precisely because it’s so flexible. To combat that problem, the company has developed a neurosurgical robot that looks something like a cross between a microscope and a sewing machine. A tiny needle containing the rolled-up mesh is placed inside the skull. The mesh is then injected and unveiled upon injection, encompassing the brain.
They hope to have this in a human patient by the end of next year.
It’s capable of inserting six threads (192 electrodes) per minute while avoiding blood vessels, leading to less of an inflammatory response in the brain.
In the future, scientists from Neuralink hope to use a laser beam to get through the skull, rather than drilling holes. They hope to have this in a human patient by the end of next year.
Photo Source: Neuralink.com
Wireless Connectivity
Right now, it can only transmit data via a wired connection, but ultimately the goal is to create a system than can work wirelessly.
Neuralink has also developed a custom chip that is better able to read, clean up, and amplify signals from the brain. Right now, it can only transmit data via a wired connection, but ultimately the goal is to create a system than can work wirelessly.
That wireless goal will be embodied in a product that Neuralink calls the “N1 sensor,” designed to be embedded inside a human body and transmit its data wirelessly. Neuralink intends to implant four of these sensors, three in motor areas and one in a somatosensor (other than primary sense organs) area. It will be wirelessly connected to a device mounted behind the ear, which will contain the only battery and controlled through a smartphone app.
Ultimately, they want it to be something like Lasik eye surgery – including eliminating the need for general anesthesia.
Safety is a primary goal, and there is an entire FDA process we have to go though. Ultimately, they want it to be something like Lasik eye surgery – including eliminating the need for general anesthesia.
The hope is for better, more precise outcomes than previous attempts at brain-machine interfaces – and more people able to see, hear, speak and move.
Right now, though, the company is still working in rats to make sure the platform is stable. But if the technology works, it promises a high-bandwidth brain connection, implanted via robot surgery. The connection made using thin flexible “threads” would allow many neurons’ activity to be recorded. The hope is for better, more precise outcomes than previous attempts at brain-machine interfaces – and more people able to see, hear, speak and move.