The company that implanted dozens of chips in people’s brains

It sounds like science fiction — but a Utah company has already implanted brain chips in dozens of patients.

Based in Salt Lake City, Blackrock Neurotech’s mission is to heal physical paralysis, blindness, deafness and depression.

The chip — known as the NeuroPort Array — enables people to control robotic arms and wheelchairs, play video games, and even feel sensations.

It works with nearly 100 microneedles that attach to the brain and read electrical signals generated by a person’s thoughts. More than three dozen people have received it so far.

The device was first implanted in a human in 2004. Company leaders hope to launch it soon and announce that 2021 is their target for next year.

Tech mogul Elon Musk has also launched similar plans with Neurolink, an implantable device he hopes can help similar groups.

Musk’s original plans were put off by regulators earlier this year, who turned down an offer to test his implant in humans.

“We are the only company with BCI implants directly in the brain in humans,” Blackrock co-founder Marcus Gerhardt told DailyMail.com.

“Our implantable arrays have enabled people to connect directly to computers, control robotic arms and wheelchairs, play video games, and even regain feeling—using only their brain signals.

Blackrock’s technology uses an implantable microchip with 96 arrays – small needle-shaped brain chips that can read and stimulate electrical signals.

It can be placed anywhere on the brain surface. Multiple devices can be placed on the same person’s brain.

Once implanted, the chip detects electrical signals generated by the wearer’s mind.

Machine learning software decodes these signals into digital commands, such as cursor movements, that can be used to control prosthetics and computer equipment.

This can help a person draw with a robotic arm, use computer programs, or control a wheelchair or prosthetic device.

But the company is now seeking FDA approval for devices built for use outside of the lab, to be used at home by people with paralysis.

Gerhardt said: “We are seeking regulatory approval for the world’s first-ever BCI specifically designed for home use: MoveAgain.

“This medical device aims to improve the independence and mobility and ultimately the quality of life of people with paralysis.”

He hopes BCIs will become as ubiquitous for paralyzed patients as pacemakers are for people with heart problems.

He continued, “Once BCIs are available for home use, they will help people build a new life that seemed impossible after their disability; We believe people will return to work, gain greater independence, and engage with the world in new, powerful ways.

“Our long-term vision is that our implants will be as readily available to people with paralysis as pacemakers are to people with heart problems.”

The company is already developing brain-computer interfaces to restore hearing and vision.

Mr. Gerhardt said: “As technology continues to advance, we will see BCIs with indications for memory and mental health conditions such as anxiety and depression.”

It has been used on more than three dozen people whom Blackrock, which is unaffiliated with the asset management firm, calls “BCI pioneers.”

The device has been implanted in patients for a total of 80 years with no reports of serious side effects.

However, the device has some pitfalls. The arrays on the implant slowly degrade over time, causing signal quality to degrade after approximately two years.

The device usually needs to be removed after about five years, which requires another surgery to remove and then replace it.

Nathan Copeland has had a BCI for eight years and uses his BCI to create art with a robotic arm and play video games.

He’s even able to feed himself, recently demonstrating his ability to eat a Taco Bell Cheesy Gordito Crunch using a robotic arm controlled by his brain.

Mr. Copeland’s art can now be seen in the BCI exhibit at the AAAS in Washington DC.

Mr. Gerhardt said: “When it comes to art, Nathan’s preferred medium is MS Paint or GIMP, but James Johnson is the most proficient BCI Photoshop user we know.

“Before James became paralyzed, he had a small business doing photo manipulation for clients.

“With his BCI, he was able to use Photoshop again and some of his artwork is also on display in The BCI Exhibit.”

Mr. Gerhardt says Blackrock first implanted a BCI in 2004, but often tended to avoid the public due to concerns about the public’s perception of the devices.

“As a company, we’re also taking a much more active role, stepping out from behind the curtain and helping enthusiastic patients tell their stories,” he said.

“Once patients have access to these devices outside of the lab, I think we’re really going to see an increase in public interest.

‘The sky is the limit of what BCIs can do in the future.’

Mr. Gerhardt believes the technology could be used in the near future to treat everything from recovering lost memories to PTSD to depression.

“For example, in depression, BCI might show promise for modulating neural activity in regions of the brain involved in mood regulation,” he said.

“In conditions such as depression or post-traumatic stress disorder, spatially and temporally focused electrical or magnetic stimulation of neural tissue could help disrupt or reprogram the firing patterns that lead to the condition.”

The data could also lead to a new understanding of conditions like depression – and how they are diagnosed and treated.

In the long term, BCI technology could be used to recover lost memories.

Gerhardt says: “Memory is a complex phenomenon, but advanced implantable BCI technologies may be able to use targeted electrical recording and stimulation of individual neurons and circuits to help restore some of the functionality associated with memory formation and retrieval.” is.

“It’s possible that BCI technology could also record the patterns associated with certain memories and recreate them if necessary.”