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At a conference held today, the 29th, the billionaire Elon Musk revealed, for the first time, the Neuralink, a product from the homonymous company that consists of a chip with electrodes to be implanted in a patient's brain, with the aim of correcting and curing motor problems and neurological diseases. 6b4a4b
Shown in full working order — the Neuralink was implanted in a sow named “Gertrude” — the device enjoyed a wireless connection to a computer, which displayed spikes in the animal's activity as it wallowed in the hay of its tiny cage. Elon explained that the idea is that these signals can be monitored by the implant itself, which will identify the origin and possible reasons for spikes and drops, alerting the of recommended measures through a smartphone app, through which Neuralink connects via bluetooth. .
In other words: your brain, on your cell phone screen.
Of course, all this is still far from becoming a reality, but the leader of Neuralink (and Tesla, and Space X, and Boring Company) announced during the presentation that the Food and Drug istration Agency (FDA), which controls health regulation and other programs in the United States, has already granted the company a designated testing permit for "breakthrough devices."
Neuralink, the implant 74q3u
During the presentation, Elon Musk also took the time to describe the device: at first glance, it is not much bigger than a coin — save for the incredibly thin wires that, according to the CEO, are inserted in of the brain.
The operation is relatively simple to understand: a surgeon, assisted by a robot, opens a small piece of the patient's head, removes the scalp and bone, positioning the implant in the cavity. Everything is closed with super glue — the same type used in hospitals — and the patient is free to go on his way. As dangerous as this may sound in our text, Musk assures that the procedure takes no more than an hour, does not even require general anesthesia, and the implant is inconspicuous, hidden under the skin.
Still on the procedure, Elon Musk clarified that it is easily reversible or improved (in case you need to change the device)
"It's like a FitBit, only in your brain," Musk joked.
Inside the “brain currency”, however, there is a cutting edge technology: the implant has, in all, 23 x 8 millimeters (mm) and 1024 electrical channels through which the brain signals . Data transfer is in the megabits per second (Mbps) range, but Elon wants to improve that to gigabits per second (Gbps) in the future.
Its sensors are multi-directional (multiple axes) and can take readings related to body temperature, blood pressure and other metrics. Finally, the device's battery lasts a full day, but it's self-rechargeable, in a process that, frankly, Elon couldn't explain very well, but basically involves the brain's own signals in the process, during periods of low activity (such as during sleep). ).
But what is Neuralink about? 2v1e5l
Neuralink (a company, not to be confused with “the” Neuralink, which is the implant) still doesn't know exactly what the ailments the device can treat are, but the stakes are high: living up to its mania for grandiose promises, Elon Musk ranged from “paraplegics returning to normal walking” to “managing and treating psychological disorders such as depression”.
“A palsy is basically a series of severed wires connecting the brain and spinal cord, right? So basically, what Neuralink does is create a 'bridge' that cuts through that link, allowing electrical signals to be transmitted and recognized as in any healthy person.”
Elon Musk, CEO of Neuralink
The executive even went further, making promises that, today, would be nothing more than a script for an episode of the series. Black Mirror from Netflix: “I believe that in the future, it will be possible for us to back up our memories and play them back as needed.” Other jokes made by journalists present, such as playing video games with the mind, were entertained, albeit humorously, by the executive.
Elon Musk has yet to commit to a release date, but expects Neuralink will cost "a few thousand dollars, with surgery included", but hopes the cost will be reduced over time as more and more people will be able to adopt the product, in addition to the fact that it uses components common to smartphones and smartwatches, which are produced in the tens of millions of units.
Four unanswered questions about Neuralink s4n1z
Despite all the promises and explanations offered by Elon Musk and the entire team, some doubts still permeate the entire project. Which is natural, considering that we're talking about a never-before-conceived product that has great promises.
They are:
- How is patient privacy protected? Neuralink actively monitors spikes and dips in brain activity, in addition to connecting with smartphones and being largely driven by radio waves, just like any Wi-Fi router or bluetooth connector. The data obtained by him may, in our understanding, constitute confidential information, as they would serve to help doctors treat conditions (clinical data are protected by law). Elon Musk's team made mention of "end-to-end encryption" and "isolation of important brain nodes" in order to prevent successful external access. But no one explained , the.
- Will the implant be upgradable? Elon Musk mentioned “upgrades”, implying that it will be possible to improve Neuralink, but did not explain whether this would be done via software or hardware. The first implies granting the company some kind of remote access to your brain, while the second would bring the need to redo the surgery. Furthermore, what kind of “upgrades” would they be?
- What is the strength of the implant? When Musk brought Gertrude the sow to the cameras, we noticed that the animal was quite happy, walking around and bumping into some objects and caretakers. This raises the question: what is the physical strength of the implant? The company limited itself to saying that it is very robust, but what effect would it have in the face of, for example, a strong blow to the head? Further, does the implant have an expiration date? How long does it last until you have to exchange it for another one?
- How will the device be delivered? From a business perspective, many delicate surgeries may or may not be covered by insurance companies. Considering that not everyone has access to “thousands of dollars” but Elon Musk's desire is for Neuralink to be made available on a mass basis, how is the company anticipating bureaucracy, supply and demand issues? Who will be able to buy the implant and how or where will it be done?
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Composition of how the implant sits inside the brain: the small “branches” represent the Neuralink wires -
The sow Gertrude, who was one of the test subjects in Neuralink's performance tests -
A short description of Neuralink: self-rechargeable, high data transfer rate, invisible under the skin and many other qualities -
Elon Musk, presenting Neuralink alongside the robot conducting the implant surgery
All these are questions yet to be answered. As we said, it will still be a few years before Neuralink is even ready for human testing, let alone commercially available. Today's presentation was intended to show the project to the world, in addition to recruiting engineers and specialists to work at the company (Elon literally said "send us your resume" and provided a recruitment email).
The promises are many—and to varying degrees. It remains to be seen how far Neuralink will be able to go.
