Paradromics implants brain-computer interface into first human patient
Paradromics, a competitor of Neuralink, announced Monday it safely implanted a brain-computer interface into a human patient last month at the University of Michigan, and recorded neural activity before removing it 10 minutes later. Photo by University of Michigan
Paradromics, a competitor of Neuralink, announced Monday it safely implanted a brain-computer interface into a human patient and recorded neural activity, before removing it 10 minutes later.
The surgical procedure, performed May 14 at the University of Michigan, marks the first time Paradromics has temporarily implanted its device — called Connexus — into a human with the goal of restoring neural signals in patients with spinal cord injuries, stroke or ALS. Until last month, the Austin-based startup had only implanted and tested the device on sheep.
“We’ve shown in sheep that our device is best in class from a data and longevity standpoint, and now we’ve also shown that it’s compatible with humans,” Matt Angle, Paradromics founder and chief executive officer, told CNBC.
Last year, Elon Musk’s Neuralink became the first to implant a brain-computer interface into a human patient. Noland Arbaugh, who was paralyzed in an accident in 2016, received “the Link” implant in January 2024. Since then, Arbaugh has been using it for up to eight hours a day and is able to do a variety of digital tasks.
Brain-computer interface companies Precision Neuroscience and Synchron, which is backed by Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates, have also implanted their systems into humans. While brain-computer interfaces interpret neural signals associated with movement, they do not read thoughts.
Connexus, which is smaller than a dime and has 420 small electrodes, is embedded directly into the surrounding brain tissue. Paradromics’ BCI records brain activity at the level of individual neurons.
“By having proximity to the individual neurons, you can get the highest-quality signal,” said Angle.
The patient, who received last month’s Connexus implant, was already undergoing neurosurgery to treat epilepsy and consented to the research, allowing doctors to temporarily implant the device into their temporal lobe.
“There’s a very unique opportunity when someone is undergoing a major neurosurgical procedure,” said Angle. “They’re going to have their skull opened up, and there’s going to be a piece of brain that will be imminently removed. Under these conditions, the marginal risk of testing out a brain implant is actually very low.”
While Paradromics’ Connexus implant is still being reviewed by regulators, research institutions such as the University of Michigan are allowed to use the devices as long as they prove there is no significant risk to the patient.
“You do all of these steps, you validate the hardware, you have this really high degree of rational certainty that things are going to work,” Angle said, “but still emotionally when it works and when it happens the way you expected it to, it’s still very, very gratifying.”