Dr Tom Oxley received funding for his brain chip idea from Darpa, a US military research arm, after a presentation in 2010. Photo: ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images
When 29-year-old Noland Arbeau was finally given free rein to use his Neuralink brain chip, he was able to enjoy something that was once impossible.
“ I stayed up until 6 a.m. playing Civilization VI,” Arbo, who was paralyzed in a diving accident eight years ago, said in a video posted on X (formerly Twitter). Despite his disability, he could effortlessly play a popular computer strategy game using only his brain waves.
“It was like using the [Star Wars] Force,” he said in the video. . “I can’t even describe how cool this is.”
Arbo is the first human patient to be implanted with a Neuralink chip, a “brain computer interface” (or BCI) developed by Elon Musk’s company. Its goal is to give paralyzed people a level of freedom that they had lost by allowing them to communicate with a computer only through thought.
If Musk is to be believed, Neuralink will one day be able to do much more. Its chip, sewn into a person's brain under the skull, will allow the blind to see, people to communicate telepathically and even act as a way to combine the human mind with artificial intelligence — at least that's what the billionaire claims.
Although Neuralink is the most attractive and A well-known company trying to implant chips in people's brains, it is not the only one.
«We're the black sheep» of the industry, says Dr Tom Oxley. , the 43-year-old founder of Synchron.
The Australian neurosurgeon's startup is also trying to make brain chips suitable for humans. «It's best to think of it as a Bluetooth controller coming out of your brain,» Oxley says.
Its technology is somewhat similar to Neuralink's technology. However, unlike Musk's chip, Synchron technology does not require the patient to undergo complex surgery using a high-tech robot in a special clinic.
Instead, the technology relies on a decades-old invention in the form of stents — commonly used for heart disease. This method uses a hollow tube inserted into an artery or vein, which can then be used as a guidewire.
The Synchron Stentrode microchip is inserted through a blood vessel into the patient's brain through a catheter, where it begins to pick up brain waves.
Close-up of the Synchron Stentrode. Photo: Synchron
Oxley, a neurointerventionalist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York. York, says Synchron's simpler technology could allow it to spread «around the world over the next few years» if it passes important upcoming tests.
“What we don't have to do to achieve scale—which is what companies like Neuralink need to do—is essentially build robots in surgery centers that can do it,” says Oxley, who is based in New York City and Australia. .
Synchron's logic is that with its simple technique it can reach many more patients than a company requiring brain surgery.
Its less invasive form brain implant has captured the imagination. Silicon Valley — and attracted money from Musk's competitors. Synchron has raised more than $140 million from investors including Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates.
Oxley began his career as a physician. His friend and co-founder Rahul Sharma worked in the “bright side of medicine”—cardiology. Oxley «fell in love with the brain.»
Over the past two decades, scientists have been exploring whether computers can be connected to the human brain, but this is only recently. Several years ago, breakthroughs in surgical techniques, ever-smaller microchips, and increasingly sophisticated smartphones and tablets made the use of BCI possible.
Synchron was conceived by Oxley long before Musk launched his project in 2016. He came up with the idea of implanting a chip using a stent while he was studying at the University of Melbourne in the late 2000s, and coldly pitched the idea to Darpa, a US military research arm. called in 2010.
An innovation agency that had been instrumental in developing new technologies such as GPS jumped on the idea, providing early capital.
After years of research, Oxley gave a TED talk in 2017 to rapturous reception, sparking interest from Silicon Valley. The 2022 funding round attracted major investors, including Bezos Expeditions, the Gates Foundation and Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance.
The Synchron brain chip is capable of picking up signals that allow the operator to use an iPhone or iPad in accessibility mode designed for people with disabilities
“We take for granted how important these devices have become in our lives,” says Oxley. “Things like text messaging, email, bank purchases, access to healthcare—all of that happens over the phone.”
He adds: “There are a large number of conditions that could prevent you from using your phone.” , stroke, ALS (motor neuron disease), spinal cord injury.»
Oxley believes Synchron's technology will be able to reach more patients faster than competitors that rely on surgery.
He says: “We think we are moving faster on the clinical and regulatory schedule because we have the experience behind us.” decades of history of technologies that penetrate the body through blood vessels.»
Nevertheless, they exist. theoretical disadvantages of using a stent compared to directly connecting the gadget to the brain. When the stent chip is in a blood vessel, there is more «noise» that makes it harder to read brain signals.
The Synchron stent, for example, cannot yet sense movement as detailed as, say, movement mouse across the screen.
“It’s a compromise,” Oxley admits. However, he believes the device will still be revolutionary because it will allow access to phone features that are currently inaccessible to millions.
The BCI field is rapidly evolving. Last year, paralyzed Dutch man Geert-Jan Oskam was able to walk again after implants were attached to his brain and spine. He was paralyzed in a bicycle accident more than 12 years ago. The British government's Aria Lab is also studying whether such chips could soon be ready for mass adoption.
Clearly, Neuralink's success with Arbo, its first patient, is a landmark moment for the nascent technology. But what about Musk's more outlandish claims about telepathic brain waves or artificial intelligence symbiosis? Do these prophecies help or hinder more pressing health goals?
“I don’t think it will necessarily help,” Oxley says. “That's not what we come to work for, and I don't think the concept that we need to merge with computers is why we need to make BCI a reality.
“On the other hand, on the other hand, I believe this technology is at the beginning of a journey where it overcomes the inherent limitations of how our body interacts with our brain.”
As brain chips evolve, people will soon be able to «share their inner experiences in a way that your body can't,» he adds, noting that with that will come a variety of questions about data privacy and who can access our most intimate thoughts.
Synchron has yet to prove the reliability of its proprietary technology. In 2020, he demonstrated how his stent could translate thoughts into actions on a computer screen with motor neuron patient Philip O'Keefe. It is now being tested by the US Federal Drug Administration and is working on a manufacturing process to mass produce the stents.
“We had to develop a completely new manufacturing technology,” says Oxley.
To move to the next stage, Synchron needs more money. Oxley says: “We have a large amount of money we need to raise to do this and we will be doing another fundraiser in the near future.”
The startup's technology is already proven. implanted in 10 patients in trials in the US and Australia. The next study could include dozens of patients.
“It’s not as fast as something you can do with your hands,” Oxley says, “but it’s life-changing for people who have lost the ability to use their hands at all.”< /p>
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