Biotech firm beats Elon Musk’s Neuralink, has implanted brain chips in 50 people for ailments

While Elon Musk and the people at Neuralink are trying to get FDA approval to test their Neuralink BCIs on people and get them approved for medical uses, a biotech in Utah seems to have beaten them to the goal, quite handsomely, and has already implanted brain chips in dozens of patients.

Blackrock Neurotech, headquartered in Salt Lake City, aspires to cure physical disability, blindness, deafness, and depression. The NeuroPort Array chip enables individuals to control robotic limbs and wheelchairs, play video games, and even sense feelings.

It works by using nearly 100 microneedles that attach to the brain and read electrical signals produced by someone’s thoughts. More than three dozen people have so far received it. The device was first implanted in a human in 2004. Company leaders hope to bring it to market soon, announcing in 2021 they aimed for the next year.

“We are the only business with direct-brain BCI implants in humans,” said Marcus Gerhardt, co-founder of Blackrock. “With simply their brain impulses, our implanted arrays have enabled patients to link directly to computers, control robotic limbs and wheelchairs, play video games, and even restore feeling.”

Blackrock’s approach employs an implanted microchip with 96 arrays, which are little needle-shaped brain chips capable of reading and stimulating electrical impulses. It may be put anywhere on the surface of the brain. Multiple devices can be implanted in the brain of the same person.

The device monitors electrical impulses created by the wearer’s thoughts after implantation. These signals are decoded by machine learning software into digital commands such as cursor movements, which may be utilised to operate prostheses and computer equipment.

This can assist someone in drawing with a robotic arm, utilising computer programmes, or controlling a wheelchair or prosthetic limb. However, the company is now seeking FDA approval for devices designed for use outside of the lab, such as those used by people with paralysis at home.

“We are pursuing regulatory clearance of the world’s first-ever BCI built particularly for at-home use: MoveAgain,” Gerhardt added. “This medical technology intends to improve patients with paralysis’ freedom and movement, and, ultimately, quality of life.”

He expects that BCIs will become as common in paralysed patients as pacemakers are in persons with heart problems. “Once home-use BCIs are accessible, they’ll enable individuals to make new lifestyles that may have seemed unachievable following their handicap; we expect to see people return to work, gain greater independence, and connect with the world in powerful new ways,” he says.

“Our long-term goal is for our implants to be as widely available to persons with paralysis as pacemakers are to those with heart problems.” The business is already working on brain-computer connections that will help restore hearing and vision.

“As technology advances, we’ll see BCIs with indications for memory and mental health problems like anxiety and depression,” said Gerhardt. It has been used on over three dozen people whom Blackrock, which is unrelated to the asset management business, refers to as “BCI pioneers.” The device has been implanted in individuals for a total of 80 years with no major ill effects reported.

However, the device does have some pitfalls. The arrays on the implant slowly break down over time, causing its signal quality to degrade after around two years. The device will usually need to be removed after around five years, requiring another surgery to take it out and then replace it.

According to Gerhardt, Blackrock initially implanted a BCI in 2004 but has typically avoided public scrutiny because to worries about public perception of the devices. ‘As a firm, we’ve also taken a lot more active role in coming out from behind the curtain and assisting excited patients in telling their experiences,’ he added.

“Once patients get access to these devices outside of the lab, I believe public interest will skyrocket.”Gerhardt believes that in the near future, the technology might be used to treat everything from lost memories to PTSD and depression.

“For example, with depression, BCI might show potential for altering neuronal activity in brain areas involved in mood control,” he added. “In the case of diseases such as depression or PTSD, spatially and temporally targeted electrical or magnetic stimulation of brain tissue might help interrupt or reprogram firing patterns that contribute to the disorder.”

The information might also lead to a better understanding of illnesses like depression, as well as how they are identified and treated. BCI technology might be utilised to recover lost memories in the long run.

“Memory is a complicated process, but sophisticated implanted BCI technologies may be able to employ targeted electrical recording and stimulation of particular neurons and circuits to help restore some of the functioning involved with memory creation and retrieval,” says Gerhardt.  

“It’s feasible that BCI technology may also record and reproduce the patterns linked with specific memories,” he said.

Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News , India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook ,  Twitter  and  Instagram .