2024-02-01 18:45:35
What does this step mean in medicine? What consequences can a brain implant have? How far could the use of artificial intelligence (AI) in the body go?
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The person who carried out this implant is the company Neuralink, the neurotechnology firm co-founded by Musk in 2016, and the implanted brain chip is called Telepathy, which is the size of a coin.
One of the purposes revolves around medicine, the treatment of neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s. Even the businessman himself has pointed out that “the initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs.”
Along these lines, neurosurgeon Abelardo Cavero told El Comercio that the announcement opens up many possibilities, and is “a hope for the treatment of degenerative diseases, even for drug treatment.”
“It has a lot of impact because, as the world’s population ages, a greater number of neurodegenerative diseases appear that could be controlled in some way by placing chips,” said the specialist from the International Clinic. And among the cases that could be treated are Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, cases of epilepsy or obsessive-compulsive disorders.
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On the other hand, today similar treatments are performed but they involve the use of large electrodes with a battery that goes on the chest. On the other hand, by having a small element (the chip), “it makes it more portable and could even lower the price (of the treatment), making it more accessible to the general population.”
Besides…
What is neurotechnology?
This is one of the keys to framing the field where Neuralink moves. Arturo Deza, professor of the Computer Science program at UTEC, told this newspaper that it is “a new emerging branch of science and engineering, which uses advanced engineering techniques from electronics, computer science, nanotechnology and mechatronics to study the brain”. And yes, it also involves the use of generative AI.
Connected to the brain without cables
Without a doubt, one of the most striking elements in the implantation procedure is the chip. The function of this device will be to “read” brain activity to transmit orders to the body and regain mobility.
Wester Zela, dean of the engineering department at the Universidad Cientifica del Sur, told El Comercio that the specific technique used is Signal Processing. And this is where artificial intelligence comes in.
“What is done is to identify or detect the different signals of the brain, which are electrical, and the model [de IA] What it does is predict what type of signal it refers to,” explained the specialist. That is, if the person wants to move the left or right arm to the side, what the interface does is capture the signals from the brain, and the model predicts what movement the person is going to make.
The chip used by Neuralink is the size of a coin. (Photo: AFP)
For Zela, who has a PhD in artificial intelligence, the novelty in this procedure is the integration of Bluetooth. “The chip is a pre-trained model and what it does is predict movement. Traditionally this work is done with cables connected to the brain. The novelty is that this works through Bluetooth. There is no cable,” explained the specialist.
From a technological point of view, this procedure is known as Brain Computer Interface (BCI), or Brain-Computer Interface, which, according to the teacher, is a branch of AI that creates different interfaces “that read electrical impulses and then , through pattern recognition techniques and machine learning, predict what movement it should take.”
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Now, one of the difficulties around the Neuralink procedure is the lack of information. Even the only thing available comes from the messages given by Elon Musk in X. “We don’t know what algorithms they are, we don’t know what type of devices they use to access and read the electrical signals of the brain,” Zela commented.
Risks and FDA permission
Is it dangerous to implant a chip? The Neuralink project has been quite controversial. At one point the company was even criticized for causing the death of monkeys as part of testing its cranial implant project. Despite the controversy, in the middle of last year the FDA (United States Food and Drug Administration) gave permission to begin human testing.
For neurosurgeon Cavero, the fact that the FDA has given approval is an endorsement of the implementation. “The FDA does not give approval easily. They carry out a series of studies, controls, they are very strict to give authorization. There are even people in the United States who are going to have surgery in Europe because there are procedures that are not approved by the FDA until their usefulness is proven,” he commented.
Not much information is yet known about the Nueralink chip, but it has already received FDA approval. (Photo: AFP)
Regarding the procedure, the neurosurgeon commented that today operations are less invasive and with greater precision thanks to technology. In the case of the Neuralink chip, the procedure that must have been performed is a craniotomy: a small incision is made and the chip is placed.
“It can be a craniotomy guided by the neuronavigator, which is like a GPS: it tells us at such a depth, in such an area, the chip is going to be placed and the neuronavigator tells us exactly which side of the brain it should be placed on,” commented Cavero. .
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It is worth noting that in the same Neuralink website The surgical robot being worked with is shown. “The threads of our implant are so fine that the human hand cannot insert them. “Our surgical robot has been designed to reliably and efficiently insert these threads exactly where they need to be,” the company says. A sample of the precision in the surgeries performed today.
In our country, Cavero indicated, there is experience in the placement of the Deep Brain Stimulator (DBS), used to control Parkinson’s. It is a complex, precise and deep procedure in which electrodes are placed guided by a stereotactic frame. Additionally, cables and batteries are used. Although it is modern, it is a different procedure than installing a chip.
Beyond medicine
What else can be done with a chip implanted in the brain? Perhaps it is Elon Musk himself who gives us an answer because, in his X account he indicated that he “allows you to control your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking.”
Enables control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking.
Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs.
Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 30, 2024
That is, we are no longer talking about a medical purpose. And this is one of the risks that Arturo Deza points out to us.
“The current risk of this type of neurotechnologies is to see how they are accepted and what their non-medical uses will be when they move to industry: for example, it is very likely that these could invade people’s privacy of thought (perhaps in the entertainment industry or in legislation) and it is something that has caused a lot of controversy around the progress of Elon Musk’s new Start-Up: Neuralink,” he commented.
Although, and here we enter the legal plane, the UTEC professor considered that this type of advances must be accompanied by appropriate regulation.
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But how far can you go? Zela mentioned that the study of the brain has been carried out for many years and there is the idea that, if at some point we know the brain well, we can create an artificial brain.
“That can happen. In other words, there are many research centers that are trying to create an artificial form of the brain. But that will be in a few years. It is a very complex organ. What is being worked on right now and at the moment what has only been done are interfaces that allow us to do this: predict movements,” she clarified.
The door is open. A new stage in science and technology is beginning. For now, the use of chips could be an opportunity for many people. Other types of uses would be more debatable.
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