Beyond Neuralink: The Diverse Landscape of Brain-Computer Interfaces
Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) have captured the public imagination, largely due to high-profile projects like Neuralink from Elon Musk's, who revealed planned improvements to their modus operandi. However, the BCI landscape is far more diverse and rapidly evolving than many realize. With the global BCI market expected to reach $3.7 billion by 2027, according to the China Electronics Standardisation Institute (1), it's clear that this technology has gained the right momentum.
Neuralink, Blackrock Neurotech, Precision Neuroscience are leaders in the field. They all completed in-human procedures with impressive effects, like enabling typing 90 characters per minute using BCI (Blackrock), beating their own world record in a number of electrodes on the human brain (on an array as thick as 1/5 human hair width) by doubling their number (Precision) or enabling playing video games with the mind (Neuralink).
However, the field is rich with innovation from other players.
Paradromics, the Texan company, develops high-bandwidth BCI with over 1600 intracortical electrodes and patented on-chip processing. Their system features patented on-chip processing with Direct Data Interference and an internal transceiver fully implanted in the chest. Paradromics aims to commercialize by 2029, with human trials starting in 2025. The expected commercial price is around $100,000 per device.
All the companies I’m about to list are supported by the FDA Breakthrough Device Program.
Axoft, based in Cambridge, MA, is designing neural implants focusing on soft, flexible electrode arrays that conform to brain tissue, significantly reducing inflammation and scarring. Their technology aims to enhance neural signal clarity and longevity. Axoft's solutions promise to be minimally invasive, improving patient comfort and long-term outcomes.
INBRAIN Neuroelectronics, a Spanish health-tech company founded in 2020, is working on a graphene-based neural interface platform. INBRAIN's development is guided by an advisory board that includes graphene researcher Kostya Novoselov, a 2010 Nobel laureate, and neuroscientist David Eagleman.
Onward Medical, founded in 2015 and based in the Netherlands, is developing a brain-spine interface (BSI) system. Their ARCBCI System uses artificial intelligence to interpret brain signals and control spinal cord stimulation. A proof-of-concept trial showed improved walking ability in a participant with incomplete cervical spinal cord injury, which prevailed even after switching off the BCI.
Speaking of spinal cord, Ceregate a company founded in 2019 based in Munich, recently published the first proof-of-concept for repurposing spinal cord stimulation (SCS) implants, originally designed for chronic pain management, into versatile computer-brain interfaces (CBIs). By calibrating these implants to create specific perceptual channels, they successfully transmitted information such as rhythmic patterns and balance cues directly into participants' nervous systems. They tested their solution in over 80 patients with a spinal cord implant, therefore creating the largest dataset of this kind.
All such advancements in BCIs require ultra-highly reliable neurophysiology data. While many of the aforementioned companies develop proprietary technologies for data acquisition, there are also specialized firms focusing on this crucial aspect of BCI development. Diagnostic Biochips create advanced micro-fabricated implantable neurosensors that were already proven trusted and useful in research, as Andrii Buvalo discussed with the company CTO Dr. Brian Jamieson
As the BCI field advances rapidly in the West, it's crucial to acknowledge the significant progress happening in other parts of the world, particularly in China. The Chinese government and private sector are making substantial investments in BCI technology, bringing their own unique approaches and raising ethical considerations.
China’s Ministry of Science and Technology issued the first document of this kind Guidelines for Research Ethics in Brain-computer Interface’ and the same version adapted for BCI research in mental disorders, as a part of the China Brain Project worth 746 million USD. Two years ago, Chinese BCI company Neuroxess gained a lot of attention after their presentation at the 2023 World Artificial Intelligence Conference. However, there has not been a single update on their website since then. Stairmed (阶梯医疗) raised a couple of hundred thousand RMB in their A round to develop BCIs after having developed a surgical robot for implants and Integrated Wireless Signal Acquisition chips. However, most of China’s invasive, restorative BCI segment is still in academia such as at Westlake University, where apart from developing Chinese-language decoding BCIs, the researchers tackle related issues like data scarcity in neurotechnology and individual variation.
Futurist Ray Kurzweil posits that when we manage to merge our biological human cognition with the speed and power of technology, we will cross the frontier into what he calls the fifth epoch of evolution. As we stand on the brink of what could be a new era in human-machine symbiosis, it's clear that the future of BCIs will be shaped not just by technological breakthroughs, but also by our ability to navigate the complex ethical and societal implications they bring.
Will the widely applicable BCI give us an equivalent of a neo-neocortex? Let’s explore that in the next article about augmentative BCI
Topics: Emerging Technologies
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