Enlarge / The stage demonstration of the surgical robot practically extended into the audience.
On Wednesday night, Elon Musk hosted an update from his brain-computer interface company, Neuralink. Most of the update involved various researchers from the company providing an overview of the specific areas of technology development they were working on. But there was nothing dramatically new in the technology compared to the company’s 2020 update, and it was difficult to piece together the presentations into a coherent picture of what the company is planning to do with its hardware.
But probably the most notable thing is that the previous update indicated that Neuralink was nearing human testing. More than a year later, according to Musk, these tests are missing for about six months.
Lots of technology
Neuralink involves a large number of overlapping technical efforts. The interface itself requires electrodes implanted in the brain. To connect these electrodes to the outside world, Neuralink uses a small piece of hardware implanted in the skull. This contains a battery that can be charged wirelessly and a low-power chip that collects data from the electrodes, performs some simple processing, and then transmits that data wirelessly.
Getting all of this in place will require delicate neurosurgery, and the company is developing a surgical robot to make this process safe and consistent.
At the other end of the process, neural signals must be interpreted in near real time to understand what is happening in a specific brain region. This requires computer systems that can process everything from patient-to-patient variability to hourly differences in brain activity. Finally, in some cases, the device needs to send information back to the brain in a way that neurons there can interpret (either immediately or after a learning process).
advertisement
That’s… a lot of things. And at the event, people talked about almost all of them. In many cases the information was essentially similar to the previous year. Various animals with implants were shown doing everything from playing pong to manipulating cursors to typing with their implants – more examples than last year, but not radically different. Similarly, Musk spoke a little more about the processing power of the implant, which is now provided in part by an ARM processor. There are some signs of evolutionary progress, but there’s no evidence it’s close to a final design ready for a Food and Drug Administration submission.
Perhaps the most significant difference from previous years is the level of detail of the surgical robot. This time there was both a demonstration of the hardware on stage and some time spent discussing the details of the surgical procedure it was designed for. In the previous update, the development of the robot seemed to be lagging behind.
We’ve been here before
The event is designed to provide a general overview of what the company is doing and the presentations appeared to cover all of the key areas Neuralink is working on. But there are problems with this approach.
For one thing, brain implants have been an active area of research for decades. Although the details vary, many of the things Neuralink demonstrated have been done before. To a certain extent this is understandable. Neuralink develops its own leads, implants and processing systems. As such, it must be demonstrated that these systems can function like electrodes previously tested in animals. But at least Neuralink hasn’t offered any indication so far that its systems are superior to those that have already been extensively tested or were on the way to being.
advertisement
Meanwhile, some of its competitors were making strides in areas where Neuralink was trying to differentiate itself. Blackrock Neurotech, for example, is now promoting fully implantable electronics that enable wireless charging and data transfer. And the company has already put hardware through a clinical trial and is applying for FDA approval. In fact, the company has several additional clinical trials underway.
The custom surgical robot appears to be unique to Neuralink (although surgical robots are often used for other purposes). However, one of Neuralink’s employees mentioned that the robot was a sticking point with the FDA, saying it was difficult to prove its safety to the satisfaction of regulators. And another of its competitors, Synchron, is hoping to avoid the need for major surgery by using blood vessels to deliver implants deep in the brain. And these devices have already made it through clinical trials.
Another problem with Neuralink’s progress update is that it doesn’t clearly indicate that the company is ready to go to the FDA. Initiating a clinical trial means that the company has finalized a hardware design (even if it’s working separately on next-generation hardware) and has selected a specific neural defect it wants to treat. The update’s Scattershot progress reports gave no indication that any of this was done.
None of this is to say that there will not ultimately be a place for multiple technologies in the field of brain-computer implants. Neuralink will likely eventually get to where some of these other companies are now, or it could find a niche where its hardware is particularly effective. But so far, the company isn’t sharing any information that suggests it’s close to either outcome — let alone fulfilling some of Musk’s fancier claims.
Neuralink’s presentation is available online. Curiously, for an organization run by a self-confessed free speech supporter, the company has disabled comments on the video.