A patient with paraplegia walked

 Real telepathy’ is coming… What happened to a paralyzed patient with a chip implanted in his brain?

2024.05.28

A patient with paraplegia walked… ‘Brain-computer connection’ commercialized within 5 years

Neuroscience startup ‘Neuralink’ released a video of Noland Arbo (29), a quadriplegic patient, in March. With the Neuralink BCI chip inserted into his brain, he was able to play chess by moving a computer cursor without moving his body, while also having a conversation with the person next to him. On the day this video was released, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) pointed out that Arvo's multitasking ability was "a feature that was difficult to see in existing BCIs." The fact that BCI, which decodes human brain signals, implements multitasking that requires multiple thoughts at the same time means that the technology has become so advanced.

Reading brain signals to operate an external device... BCI’s final goal is ‘telepathy’

“Telepathy.” When I asked a brain science expert what the final destination of ‘brain-computer interface’ (BCI) technology was, this was the answer I got. It may sound absurd, but the imagination of BCI technology, which reads minds by implanting electrodes (chips) in the brain and connecting it to various devices such as computers, is becoming a reality. Using only human brain signals, words that come to mind are translated into artificial voices, and posts of desired content are posted on social media (SNS). A technology has even emerged that uses brain waves to control a virtual reality (VR) headset with the tongue. Is there a risk of your personal brain information being hacked? The BCI revolution and the future of business have already begun.

A quadriplegic patient with a BCI chip implanted in his brain controls a wearable robot. [Photo: Clinatec YouTube]

It is true that Neuralink, which was founded in 2016 with Elon Musk's name and capital, has increased public interest in BCI. But Neuralink is not the only one. Competitors in the United States, such as Blackrock Neurotech and Synchron, have also introduced formidable BCI technology. Synchron enabled patients with Lou Gehrig's disease to post on social media without typing, and a research team at the Swiss National University of Lausanne implanted electrodes in the brains of paraplegic patients to transmit movement signals to their spinal cord, allowing them to go up and down stairs.

Inside the brain, there are 100 billion ‘neurons’ that transmit information in the form of electric current. Collects signals (electric fields) produced by neurons. Brain signals include various unnecessary signals, such as eye blinks and heartbeats, mixed in like noise. Remove this and separate important information. Different brain signals are identified depending on what you are thinking, such as ‘A when you move your left arm, B when you are angry,’ etc. Create a database containing a person's brain signals and classify where the extracted signals correspond.

How well it reads brain signals determines the level of BCI. There are two ways. There is an ‘invasive’ type that surgically inserts a chip (electrode) into the head, and a ‘non-invasive’ type that collects brain waves by attaching a sensor to the scalp. Non-invasive is easier than invasive, but has the disadvantage of weakening the intensity of brain signals as they penetrate the skull.

It is expected that commercialization of Neuralink will be possible in the next five years. According to market research firm Grand View Research, the BCI market is expected to grow nearly four-fold from $1.74 billion (about 2.4 trillion won) in 2022 to $6.18 billion (about 8.5 trillion won) in 2030.

In the general-purpose market, ‘non-invasive’ BCI, which is relatively less burdensome, is mainly used.  In July last year, LG Electronics launched ‘Breeze (brid.zzz)’, a mental care solution that helps manage stress and sleep well. It is a wireless earphone that measures the user's brain signals in daily life and provides customized content. Hyundai Mobis developed the driver monitoring system ‘M.Brain’ in 2021. As a result of pilot application of Embrain to Gyeonggi-do bus drivers for one year, drowsy driving inattentiveness was reduced by about 30%.

Neuralink and Synchron are ahead... Big techs are also researching ‘brain patches’

Hyundai Mobis’ ‘M.Brain’ has proven its effectiveness in preventing drowsy driving. Embrain detects the driver's brain waves in real time and warns of careless driving through various senses including vision (LED around the driver's seat), hearing (headrest speakers), and tactile (vibrating seat). [Photo Hyundai Mobis]

Big tech is also paying attention to the potential of BCI. Google is conducting research at its parent company Alphabet's research and development facility X and is interested in BCI-based 'smart homes'. An official from the global BCI industry, who requested anonymity, said, “They say they are researching the development of hardware that can turn electronics in the house on and off as desired by attaching a brain wave measurement patch.” Microsoft (MS) created a BCI research organization in 2018. Last year, researchers at the University of Georgia and others announced the ‘Tongue Tap’ technology, which uses brain waves to operate an AR/VR headset with the tongue.

The decision to ‘insert a chip into the brain’ can only be made with a clear motive. For this reason, invasive BCI companies are focusing their capabilities on the medical field. This technology is mainly for quadriplegic patients and patients who have difficulty communicating due to brain damage. Investments are also accumulating. Neuralink has attracted more than $300 million (KRW 410 billion) in accumulated investment. Microsoft founder Bill Gates and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos also invested $75 million (100 billion won) in Synchron through venture funds last year.

Synchron developed a brain signal transmission device called a stentrode. It is a type of metal mesh with small electrodes hanging throughout it. This mesh is inserted into the patient's blood vessel like a regular stent procedure and pushed into the brain blood vessel. Currently, clinical trials are being prepared to obtain commercial approval. Patients with degenerative diseases such as Lou Gehrig's disease, stroke, and multiple sclerosis are eligible.

There is also a French medical device startup, Clinatec, which released a video in 2019 of controlling a wearable robot by inserting a chip called ‘Wi magine’ into the head of a paralyzed patient. Clinatec cuts off part of the skull and implants a gastric implant in its place like an implant. It is a kind of ‘artificial skull’.

Seoul National University neurosurgery professor Jeong Cheon-ki’s ‘Human Brain Function Laboratory’ studies language BCI. Currently, we have succeeded in developing a technology that rereads signals generated in the brain when specific words such as ‘bone’ and ‘right’ are spoken and converts them back into an artificial voice. Professor Lim Chang-hwan's research team in the Department of Biomedical Engineering at Hanyang University is also researching technology that reads activity signals from the brain's auditory cortex and synthesizes them into speech.

There is also progress in non-invasive BCI technology. Professor Kim Dong-joo's laboratory in the Department of Brain Engineering at Korea University combines AR technology, 'steady-state visual evoked potential' (SSVEP) technology, which produces the same frequency in the vision-related area of the brain when looking at a light that blinks at a specific frequency, and eye-tracking technology, to improve the limbs. We developed a wheelchair and robotic arm control system for paralyzed patients.

BCI research is also active in the military field... ‘Brain chips’ not allowed on Korean routes

There are only a handful of domestic startups. Representative players include Gbrain and YBrain. G-Brain's competitive advantage is its minimally invasive chip technology that does not cause brain damage. Although government approval has not yet been granted, the self-developed chip ‘Phin array’ plans to utilize graphene, a highly stable and thin material. YBrain, founded by KAIST graduates, is a powerhouse in electronic medicine.

Recently, KB Financial Management Research Institute analyzed in its report ‘Brain-Computer Interface that Operates Things with Thoughts’ that “the application of BCI will expand, focusing on the medical and healthcare fields to reduce the social burden caused by the global aging of the population.” did. Professor Lim Chang-hwan, author of the book Neuralink, said, “The number of patients with degenerative diseases such as dementia and Parkinson’s disease is likely to increase due to aging, so the electronic medicine market will really be the main market in the future.”

The defense field is also a field that is in a hurry to introduce BCI. In 2019, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) showed a future in which soldiers control drones and communicate with command while engaged in combat through data on ‘Six Paths of Brain-Machine Interface’. The ‘dystopian’ imagination that my brain information may be hacked and all my actions and thinking systems may be controlled from the outside is also emerging.

A patient with cardiac paralysis walked with a chip in his brain... ‘Telepathy’ 8 trillion won market is coming

https://www.joongang.co.kr/article/25247329

Reporters Hong Sang-ji and Kim Cheol-woong hongsam@joongang.co.kr