Medical Implants

Neural Implants

Neuralink*

Neuralink was founded in 2016 by Elon Musk and a founding team of eight scientists and engineers (Max Hodak, Benjamin Rapoport, Dongjin Seo, Paul Merolla, Philip Sabes, Tim Gardner, Tim Hanson, and Vanessa Tolosa). The group of initial hires consisted of experts in areas such as neuroscience, biochemistry and robotics.

Neuralink is currently seeking people with quadriplegia to participate in a groundbreaking investigational medical device clinical trial for our brain-computer interface.

Neuralink is an Elon Musk enterprise whose stated mission is to create a generalized brain interface to restore autonomy to those with unmet medical needs today and unlock human potential tomorrow.

Brain-computer interfaces have the potential to change lives for the better. We want to bring this technology from the lab into peoples' homes.

To restore independence and improve lives, we’ve built a brain-computer interface (BCI) experience that enables fast and reliable computer control and prioritizes ease of use.

(From Wikipedia)

...

In September 2024, the company announced that its latest development effort, called Blindsight, will allow those who would otherwise be blind to restore some level of vision, provided the visual cortex is undamaged. The development received breakthrough status from the federal government, which will accelerate development.

Probes

The probes, composed mostly of polyimide, a biocompatible material, with a thin gold or platinum conductor, are inserted into the brain through an automated process performed by a surgical robot. Each probe consists of an area of wires that contains electrodes capable of locating electrical signals in the brain, and a sensory area where the wire interacts with an electronic system that allows amplification and acquisition of the brain signal. Each probe contains 48 or 96 wires, each of which contains 32 independent electrodes, making a system of up to 3072 electrodes per formation.

Robot

Neuralink states they have engineered a surgical robot capable of rapidly inserting many flexible probes into the brain, which may avoid the problems of tissue damage and longevity issues associated with larger and more rigid probes. This surgical robot has an insertion head with a 25 μm diameter needle made of tungsten-rhenium designed to attach to the insertion loops, inject individual probes, and penetrate the meninges and cerebral tissue; it is capable of inserting up to six wires (192 electrodes) per minute. A linear motor powers the needle, enabling fast retraction acceleration and varying insertion speeds. A 50-μm tungsten wire that has been bent at the tip and is driven both axially and rotationally makes up the pincher. An imaging stack is also included in the inserter head for needle guidance, real-time insertion viewing, and verification.