In a major breakthrough for the field of neurotechnology, US start-up Paradromics has reported the first-ever temporary implantation of its Connexus brain-computer interface (BCI) into a human subject.
The groundbreaking operation, which took place May 14 at the University of Michigan, solidifies Paradromics as a potential challenger to Elon Musk’s widely-publicized Neuralink in the quest to make brain chip technology a tangible reality.
Patient and experimental procedure A patient with epilepsy undergoing neurosurgery was experimented. The paradigm uses this for a 10–20 minutes time span to safely implant the Paradromics CONNEXUS BCI system in the temporal lobe and record neural activity and subsequently remove the system. The device was tested early on for compatibility with human brain tissue and ability to record neural signals.
According to Paradromics CEO Matt Angle, this human breakthrough, after years of preclinical research in sheep, is essential to their impending clinical trial. The company’s Connexus BCI, as its device is called, is intended to record brain-wave activity at the level of individual neurons, a high-resolution strategy that it says will mean more accurate input data and subtler control than some of its competitors can offer.
The main targeted application is to allow communication via a computer of individuals with the most severe motor disabilities, who have lost muscle movement including control of the vocal tract and breath, because of factors such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), stroke or high spinal cord injuries.
While Neuralink has grabbed headlines and is performing its own human implants (it’s already done a few human BCI surgeries, in fact), Paradromics’ move into human trials is a sign of a growing and increasingly competitive neurotech industry.
Other players such as Synchron (backed by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates) and Precision Neuroscience have also made human implantations, using different technological methods.
This breakthrough by Paradromics highlights the ever-increasing rate of advancement for brain-machine interfaces. Ethical discussions around privacy, autonomy, and long-term effects of such implants are an important topic, yet the ability of these devices to restore communication and independence of the otherwise locked-in severe neurological condition patient gives great hope.
The company, Paradromics, intends to start a formal long-term clinical trial, subject to approval by regulatory agencies, later this year, extending the boundaries of what is possible at the intersection of human biology and advanced technology.