Brain-Computer Interface Startup Implants First Device In US Patient (yahoo.com) 47
An anonymous reader quotes a report from Business Insider: Synchron, a brain-computer interface startup, reportedly implanted its first device in a US patient earlier this month. The startup implanted a 1.5-inch device into the brain of an ALS patient at Mount Sinai West medical center in New York on July 6, Bloomberg first reported. The purpose of the device is to allow the patient to communicate -- even after they have lost the ability to move -- by using their thoughts to send emails and texts. Bloomberg reported that Synchron has already implanted the device in four patients in Australia who have been able to use the brain implant to send messages on WhatsApp and shop online. Elon Musk's Neuralink has a similar mission, but is still waiting for FDA approval. "Neuralink and Synchron's products have several key differences: namely, size and installation," notes the report. "The Australian startup's product can be inserted into a human skull without cutting into it using a catheter that feeds the device through the jugular vein into a blood vessel in the brain. The process requires two separate surgeries."
"In contrast, Neuralink plans to make a much smaller and more powerful device that would require a portion of the individual's skull to be removed and would be performed using a robot." Neuralink also appears to be slightly more ambitious, with Musk referring to the device as "a Fitbit in your skull."
"In contrast, Neuralink plans to make a much smaller and more powerful device that would require a portion of the individual's skull to be removed and would be performed using a robot." Neuralink also appears to be slightly more ambitious, with Musk referring to the device as "a Fitbit in your skull."
Interesting... (Score:2)
I can still move and talk, and I'd like to be able to use my thoughts to send e-mails.
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Me too
- Sent from my iBrain
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Me too
- Sent from his iBrain.
Re:Interesting... (Score:5, Insightful)
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This is a surprisingly meaningful comment for Slashdot.
With the feeling that computers just disconnect us overall - it's good to hear a story about the opposite (even if it was from the golden age of internet civility according to my rose tinted glasses).
Thanks for sharing.
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So now we get to the real measure of success: they can be transformed into consumers. Why do I suddenly get an idea for a new Black Mirror episode in which Amazon pays for brain implants connected to their online store?
Re: Interesting... (Score:2)
On a less snarky note, while these devices are interesting and, to a certain degree a necessary step, the focus should be on restoring ability of the brain to signal existing body parts or prosthetic replacements.
Oof. Robocop/Faust. (Score:2)
Not present (Score:2)
Finally! The ability to text during meetings or classes without being found out.
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The tests could take place in a Faraday Cage. It wouldn't help if the information was locally stored on your implant, but it would prevent net activity.
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Tin foil dunce caps will be a thing of the future.
The brain is delicate (Score:4, Interesting)
There have been quite a few projects that implant some kind of electrode on the brain and get nifty stuff to happen. I did a brief presentation on one about 15 years ago. The problem is that the brain cells that come into contact with the hardware device would eventually die off or become unresponsive. If they've solved that problem good for them, but if not it is nothing new.
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How long is "eventually"? Is it caused by rigid metal electrodes or some other process?
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I did some looking around. The technology is called BMI (brain–machine interface). "the first neuroprosthetic devices implanted in humans appeared in the mid-1990s."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/... [wikipedia.org]
"It has been proposed that the formation of glial scarring, secondary to damage at the electrode-tissue interface, is likely responsible for electrode failure and reduced recording performance."
Re: The brain is delicate (Score:2)
Re:The brain is delicate (Score:4, Informative)
Four months ago, Caltech announced a related study they are doing using ultrasound to do similar BMI studies. The ultrasound requires a small acoustically-transparent window be installed in the skull, which is less invasive than implanting electrodes directly into the brain itself, and more mobile than fMRI.
It appears the studies are being coordinated with accident and surgery volunteers that are already undergoing surgery where small portions of the skull are being replaced, and the ultrasonic data is being voluntarily gathered post surgery. https://scitechdaily.com/readi... [scitechdaily.com]
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Their website is horrendous to navigate, but it appears that they go in through a blood vessel and don't actually insert anything into the brain itself. The probe part sits on the inside of the blood vessel. At least that's how I understood it.
Obviously not going to be as precise as inserting probes into the brain, but for simple communication I can see it working.
Whatsapp? (Score:2)
The good news is you can communicate. The bad news is you'll be getting Whatsapp spam directly into your brain.
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What could the licensing on the implant code be..? If the computer is used to crate more code (upstream) Is the computer code licensing in effect..? Can your brain operating have any licensing scheme it wants or can the computer's licensing restrict the (downstream) output of your brain's operating system..? What is the status of your actual license be it, driving, concealed carry, plumbing,..etc or does the brain's licensing now define what the output can actually be, be used for in the future,..?
The _last_ thing is want in my brane... (Score:2)
...is a GD FitBit.
Lost the only one I've ever tried in a parking lot getting in/out of a car. Good riddance, SpyBot.
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Sounds like the "Fit" part didn't work.
Re: The _last_ thing is want in my brane... (Score:2)
A. It didn't. I go up and down in weight and activity when I'm motivated (or not), not b/c the company pays me a trivial amount to wear a spy dongle.
B. IIRC fitbit's entire "10,000 steps" theory has been discredited, along with standing desks (my sit/stand desk is comfortable, but I don't imagine it makes me fit anymore) and other "magical" ways to stay fit without regular work-hard-get-sweaty exercise.
Here are the actual guidelines. (Score:2)
from health.gov [health.gov] I think 10k steps a day (5 miles) would probably meet or exceed these.
How Much Total Activity a Week?
When adults do the equivalent of at least 150 minutes of moderate-intensity aerobic activity each week,
the benefits are substantial. These benefits include lower risk of all-cause mortality, coronary heart disease,
stroke, hypertension, type 2 diabetes, some cancers, anxiety, depression, and Alzheimerâ(TM)s disease and other
dementias. Physically active adults also sleep better, have improved cognition, and have better quality of life.
As a person moves from 150 minutes a week toward 300 minutes a week, the health benefits become more
extensive. For example, a person who does 300 minutes a week has an even lower risk of heart disease or type
2 diabetes than a person who does 150 minutes a week.
Furthermore, adults who are regularly active at or near the higher end of the key guideline rangeâ"300 minutes
a weekâ"gain additional health benefits. These additional benefits include further risk reduction for several
cancers and prevention of unhealthy weight gain (by physical activity alone).
The benefits continue to increase when a person does more than the equivalent of 300 minutes a week of
moderate-intensity aerobic activity. Research has not identified an upper limit of total activity, above which
additional health benefits cease to occur.
There are a few other interesting things too like:
Table 4-1. Examples of Different Aerobic Physical Activities and Intensities,
Based on Absolute Intensity
Moderate-Intensity Activities
â Walking briskly (2.5 miles per hour or faster)
â Recreational swimming
â Bicycling slower than 10 miles per hour on level terrain
â Tennis (doubles)
â Active forms of yoga (for example, Vinyasa or power yoga)
â Ballroom or line dancing
â General yard work and home repair work
â Exercise classes like water aerobics
Vigorous-Intensity Activities
â Jogging or running
â Swimming laps
â Tennis (singles)
â Vigorous dancing
â Bicycling faster than 10 miles per hour
â Jumping rope
â Heavy yard work (digging or shoveling, with heart rate increases)
â Hiking uphill or with a heavy backpack
â High-intensity interval training (HIIT)
â Exercise classes like vigorous step aerobics or kickboxing
and
Talk Test
As a rule of thumb, a person doing
moderate-intensity aerobic activity can
talk, but not sing, during the activity.
A person doing vigorous-intensity
activity cannot say more than a few
words without pausing for a breath.
Who doesn't love a rule of thumb?
No thanks (Score:1)
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If you were quadriplegic, you might sing a different song.
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There are big problems with such invasive equipment, though. Maybe you'd bet that a brain interface that you can just wear would come out in a timely fashion.
Re: No thanks (Score:2)
How fast is it? (Score:2)
Is it faster than typing, because if so, there's an enormous use case for this tech for able bodied people as well.
Technologically enabled telepathy - it's the stuff of science fiction.
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Where do they put the light to tell you caps lock is on?
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Technologically enabled telepathy - it's the stuff of science fiction.
True for both utopian and dystopian science fiction. The government (and corporations) already skim our emails and texts. Can you imagine advertisers selling you crap based on your thoughts?
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followed by advertisers paying to implant thoughts
Re: How fast is it? (Score:2)
about 20 CHARACTERS per minute after two months of training. not quite there yet. (ref: "Motor neuroprosthesis implanted with neurointerventional surgery improves capacity for activities of daily living tasks in severe paralysis: first in-human experience," Oxley et al., J. NeuroInterventional Surgery (2020).)
though it is hilarious to think that some of the people who believe IDEs are too cumbersome, would instead jam electrodes into their brain to boost their typing speed. people are funny.
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The idea would be not simply to boost typing speed, but to boost overall productivity, If one can interact with a computer simply by thinking, then that frees up their physical body to do other tasks simultaneously. This could, in many cases, be recreational... such as exercising.
It could also help abate health problems such as arthritis
What does "ALS" mean? (Score:4, Informative)
For those who wonder, it stands for Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis.
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Re:What does "ALS" mean? (Score:4, Interesting)
And it's frequently fatal within only a few years. Hawking got exceptionally good care AND and better than average results.
"a Fitbit in your skull." (Score:2)
Some people will do anything but jogging.
Electrode durability (Score:2)
These will be experimental and may not be very durable. From not so long past experiments, I remember that electrodes with direct brain contact had to be removed (planned) after about 6 months to prevent potentially fatal problems. Cochlea implants live longer, apparently up to 10 years, but they do not have direct contact to blood, but basically rest on top of skin. Hence unless there was significant progress (does anybody know?) this may all still be very experimental and short term.
Caveat (Score:2)
The device requires patients to have a brain, which is currently much more than what is required from ordinary internet users.
Run now (Score:1)
Musk + brain implants, there's a sci-fi Hell for ya.