Current brain implants are less
than ideal. They are crude brain-computer interface (BCI) devices that are
implanted during an invasive procedure, and a relatively small number of
electrodes make contact with the brain despite the large size of the devices.
While they are somewhat effective in the mitigation of the effects of epilepsy,
Parkinson’s, and other neurodegenerative conditions, they’d be far more useful
with more electrodes making contact than the mere tens of thousands that is
possible now. To dramatically improve BCIs, scientists need to create an
implant device that is less invasive than current methods and can still offer
more interactive channels, including direct interfaces with the visual and
auditory cortices. This kind of BCI would create a vastly expanded range of
contact points for brain function support by artificial systems.
Enter the U.S. Department of
Defense’s (DoD’s) Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and its
Neural Engineering System Design (NESD) program. Their goal is to invent
exactly this kind of device, with the specific intent to help people with
hearing and vision impairment and neurodegenerative diseases, and they’re using
flexible silicon electronics to do it. The team plans to develop an implantable
device with one million channels and they hope to apply for approval for
regulatory testing by the time the four-year grant expires. The implanted chips
from this research team are unique; they are flexible enough to avoid damaging
the brain tissue, very lightweight, and ultra-conformable on the surface of the
brain. The chip itself has no need to pierce the brain tissue, instead it uses
data telemetry and wireless power.
More information: