The 2024 Neuralink Update Is Here!

in the year 2024 neuralink will begin implanting their microcomputers into human brains for the first time there is no longer speculation this is reality so there's no better time to get yourself familiar with the rapidly evolving field of brain computer interface and how Elon musk's neuralink is about to change the game the future is now and you'd better be ready a major update in the nurlink story is of course the approval for human trials that the company received in the first half of 2023 and we now have a better idea of what that will look like the company announced in September 2023 that they have started recruiting for the first human test subjects for the N1 brain computer interface and R1 surgical robot that will be used to implant it the prime study short for precise robotically implanted brain computer interface aims above all to determine and the safety of both the BCI and the robot for human application it will also assess the initial functionality of the BCI in enabling people with paralysis to control external devices with their thoughts for the purpose of the trial an ideal candidate would be an adult under the age of 40 who is experiencing paralysis in all four limbs this patient would have their neuralink implanted over what's known as the hand knob area of their premotor cortex which controls the hands wrists and forearms in 2021 nuring performed a total of 155 surgeries on sheep pigs and monkeys and in 2022 that number grew to 294 total surgeries in a typical FDA human trial the medical company would be limited to just one human experiment in the first year with a long cooldown period to assess the results but in the case of neuralink thanks to their exist existing track record with animal testing and the massive outpouring of interest from prospective human patients the company has already received a green light for multiple human surgeries in 2024 the plan right now is for neuralink to perform 11 human implants in 2024 that will increase to another 27 implants in 2025 and 79 in 2026 if all goes well after this point operations at neuralink will truly be begin to ramp up the company anticipates 499 surgeries in 2027 and then exponential growth into 20130 when they are performing 22,24 surgeries in that year yes 22,000 that was not a typo with human subjects the surgical prep and craniectomy are expected to take a couple of hours performed by neurosurgeons followed by about 25 minutes for the actual implantation via the R1 r robot the company estimates that each implant surgery will cost them about $10,500 for exams parts and labor and the amount they charge insurers will be about $40,000 neuralink forecasts annual revenue as high as $100 million within 5 years the prime study is expected to take neuralink 6 years to complete and verify their findings the company is recruiting specifically for patients who have quadriplegia due to spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis more commonly known as ALS the primary phase will take 18 months once the device has been implanted and the patient will check in every 2 months with a medical team to ensure the device is working as intended the bulk of the research will happen in 1-hour sessions twice a week with the nurlink BCI team where they will Monitor and collect as much data as possible once the primary phase is over the long-term follow-up phase will commence with four clinical visits annually for the next 5 years so all this looks promising but with such experimental technology at play things remain uncertain until they are completed and while there is a lot we can learn from our primate cousins the human body and brain still has its own unique attributes and while the usfda has approv the trials you can be certain they are keeping a close eye because it hasn't been all smooth sailing for nurlink in December 2022 the US Department of Agriculture launched a probe into nurlink treatment of some animal subjects in February 2023 the US Department of Transportation opened an investigation over allegations of unsafe transport of antibiotic resistant pathogens and the latest one in September 2023 comes in the form of allegations that the monkeys that died during trials were not terminally ill as Elon Musk claimed but instead due to the neuralink implant so with humans now directly involved in the trials we can be certain the scrutiny will be at its peak because while bcii might not be new technology the way neuralink is attempting to execute it Still Remains uncharted waters we know that Elon Musk is no stranger to risky technological innovation so it's not entirely surprising that in 2016 he decided to cross over from rocket science to brain surgery while sensationalist and fearmongering headlines scream Elon Musk wants to put a chip in your brain the truth is more nuanced than that neural Link's primary objective has always been to cure brain diseases spinal cord injuries and correct disabilities and they seek to do that through the use of a brain computer interface to understand how a brain computer interface or BCI works it helps to know how the brain functions within the skull the lumpy biomass we call the brain controls the rest of the body by generating very specific and directed electrical impulse PES these are fired to different areas of the body via the neural network to carry out various functions but sometimes the pathway between the brain and the desired body part gets broken either through injury or degenerative disease a BCI is a device that can function as a way to bypass that broken connection allowing the brain to once again talk to the desired body part and restore function since the BCI is implanted in the brain it can pick up an electrical impulse and transport it beyond the damaged part of the neural network to the part that is still functioning it is a simple concept but incredibly complex and delicate to actually execute neuralink is certainly not the first to try this as bcis have been around for decades and proven their success the current generation of bcis use a device called the Utah array it is a tiny metal Square smaller than a human nail with up to a 100 electrodes on one end each electrode is connected to thin copper wires to transport electrical signals the array is implanted directly onto the cerebral cortex of the brain where it picks up electrical impulses and sends it to an external device with neuralink Elon Musk does not seek to reinvent the wheel when it comes to BCI he just aims to push the technological limits of BCI further than it has been done so far in a sector where caution is the name of the game musk is willing to make big bets on un proven technology as he figures out a way to make it all work and neuralink has already started that shakeup that musk and his Ventures have become well known for there are three key ways neuralink has innovated to take the industry forward the first is the way the device interfaces with the brain cortex instead of the rigid and spiked Utah array the neuralink N1 is a mesh of ultra thin and flexible wires with each electrode wire being flexible it allows for every wire to be placed more strategic ically and with greater Precision over specific neurons inside the brain tissue in addition to that flexible and thin wires cause far less trauma to the brain tissue this results in less inflammation and scar tissue and a lower chance of rejection from the body another key industry Improvement is the implantation procedure for the device the Utah array needs the very steady hands and skill of an expert neurosurgeon not something we have in great Supply everywhere neurolink on the other hand furthers Elon musk's vision of automated everything by using a fully autonomous robot for the procedure modern robots have superhuman precision and can potentially make the device far more accessible and safe as it removes the human error component we have seen Precision machines used to great success for laser guy correction operations where a highly focused laser Burns a human cornea to a very specific degree the neuralink R1 robot is thus in many ways the safer choice the third industry Improvement nlink is set to bring is how small and compact it is the thin wires connect to a circular device that's the size of a small coin future versions of the device will be placed under the skin making it completely inconspicuous a person can have an implant and you would never know unless they told you this is a major shift from the Utah array which is pretty much impossible to hide with its bulky design and wires protruding from it this could make it far more approachable and acceptable in society without attracting unwanted stigmas neuralink has done this by using cuttingedge silicon transistors that are as small as 3 nanometers resulting in a device that can easily be hidden under the skin and with wireless Bluetooth technology to interface with external devices it makes for a compelling package okay so neuralink has made some big leaps in terms of how we approach brain implants but they aren't the only players in the game right now there are a few others of no not two that use invasive BCI and two that don't the first is from a company called Black Rock neurotech if you've seen a BCI video somewhere there's a high chance it's one of theirs the neurop port array used in their BCI is the same technology used in the Utah array and is implanted directly onto the brain it picks up electrical impulses and can be used to control external devices like computers as well as Prosthetics the biggest advantage to the Black Rock neurotech device has though is it's been in human trials for over 15 years at this point with over 160 published papers documenting its use and data from 32 patients none have reported any adverse side effects one of the notable drawbacks of this device though is it doesn't last that long the rigid electrodes create scar tissue and cause the electrodes to break down over time this results in a drop in Signal quality after 2 years while it Still Remains usable and poses no threat to the user most devices will need to be replaced in 5 to 7 years this is one of the key challenges that neuralink hopes to solve they want their device to be permanent and infinitely upgradeable the other invasive BCI player is a company called synchron founded in 2016 its BCI device the stod was created to offer implanting a device in the brain without the need for open brain surgery it is an endovascular array Medicals speak for an array that is inside a blood vessel that observes neural data the centrode is a circular mesh that is inserted into a very specific blood vessel the superior Sagi sinus using a guide stent the stent is inserted from a blood vessel in the chest and makes its way all the way to the brain via the neck till it reaches its destination where it then retracts while depositing the Sten Road the device is limited in functionality since its location the specific vessel only enables it to receive signals from the legs feet and genitals this can be used for lower limb Prosthetics but it does limit its BCI application while it is still relatively new tech it was approved for human trials by the usfda in 2020 it is currently in its second stage of human trials we still don't know what the long-term effects of this would be since the centrode is effectively a permanent implant and if it develops a problem later on it would involve invasive open brain surgery to correct there are two more companies of note in the BCI industry who have taken a different approach by keeping their products non-invasive the first is colel founded in 2016 the same year as neuralink and while the name might not be familiar you might be aware of the man behind it Brian Johnson he's the tech Tycoon obsessed with extending life in some shall we say memorable ways colel has opted for a completely non-invasive approach to their BCI employing a headset called the colonel flow that looks like a futuristic bulky bicycle helmet the biggest Advantage besides not having a hole in your skull is it has electrodes all around the brain instead of focusing on just a specific part of the cerebral cortex like the neuralink and the black rock that allows far more data to be picked up by the BCI the downside of course is that with the skull and biomass between the device and the Brain the signal isn't as strong as an invasive implant so you get a bigger picture but the picture isn't as clear while its utility is severely limited it does have potential in allowing us to study how the brain works and responds to external inputs it can be used in medical applications for MRIs eegs and other non-invasive neuroimaging techniques another interesting player in the industry is open BCI like the name suggests they use open- Source Hardware and software for anyone to access and experiment with if you have access to a 3D printer openbci has a bundle for a mere $1,500 a relative bargain that will provide you with all you need to build your very own biosensing headset if you're the sort of person that loves DIY projects this is incredibly exciting furthermore they are also working on a headset called the gala that combines a BCI with a VR headset if you thought the Apple Vision Pro was cool this takes it way further incorporating your own brain waves into the experience of course it's 25 Grand to pre-order so it's either this or a new car you choose Cutting Edge technology is always expensive and while the gala costs as much as a car the kernel flow 2 with the included 40 modules will set you or your medical business back an eye watering $99,000 before taxes so you can rest assured the knurling BCI will not be cheap at least not initially we've come a long way from crutches and wheelchairs to experimental BCI to help with injuries and disabilities faster wireless internet coupled with smaller and faster computers has played a big role in this boom and sure almost every piece of new H Tech can be misused war and violence is after all an industry worth billions right now the goals are noble and social nurlink seems to be at the Forefront of this industry and with the approval for human trials this is no longer fantasy we are on the precipice of something incredible for humankind and there is a very good chance we will be the generation to experience it for the first time in history if you enjoyed this video and want to see more content like this please consider supporting us directly on patreon and hit the like button if content like this starts to perform well for us then we can continue to make a lot more highquality videos for you in the future

Channel: The Tesla Space

Views: 381,209

Keywords: neuralink, neuralink update, elon musk, neuralink human trials, neuralink fda approval, neuralink elon musk, neuralink 2024, neuralink prime, neuralink prime study, bci, brain computer interface, neuralink news

Id: HrQxuHX_rSU

Length: 15min 41sec (941 seconds)

Published: Tue Dec 26 2023