Shown is a robotic surgeon for implanting a brain chip developed by Elon Musk's Neuralink (4 photos)

The use of brain implants is carried outfor several decades, but their large size and sophisticated accompanying equipment do not allow them to be used constantly, without disrupting the patient's usual lifestyle. Since 2016, Neuralink, founded by Elon Musk, has been working on a compact brain implant that can return a person to a normal life. During a recent presentation, Neuralink experts showed the ability to read data on pig brain activity using an implanted sensor that transmits information over a wireless network.

One of the stages in the work on solving the problemcreation of implants, Neuralink calls the development of a robotic surgeon that minimizes the human factor and eliminates errors when implanting miniature devices into the brain. During the demonstration of a pig with an implant, it was stated that a device was sewn into the animal's brain, receiving information over 1024 wires. Only a robot, which was designed for this in Neuralink and created at Woke Studios, is capable of performing an operation with such a huge number of connecting wires.

The robot shown at the presentation has "growth"more than 2.4 meters and has the ability to move along five axes. These parameters help to precisely coordinate the operation of the surgical needle. In parallel with the work on implantation of implants, the robot carries out continuous scanning and telemetry of the brain, determining the parameters of the patient's vital functions. During the implantation of microwires, the robot must “bypass” all blood vessels, which makes the operation bloodless.

When designing the robot, the surgeon wasthe existing developments were used. The color and shape of the device should evoke only positive emotions in the patient and in no way scare him. Therefore, in the Neuralink robot, light colors were used to decorate the body, and the shape of the parts and limbs of the device was designed exclusively for the implementation of utilitarian tasks.

According to Elon Musk, the robotic surgeon will be able to complete the implantation operation in just one hour. The patient will be able to leave the hospital almost immediately after the operation is completed.

Source: businessinsider