Implantable chips that bring people closer to speaking and walking VIDEO

Once it seemed like mere science fiction, but the technology of implantable chips and brain-computer interfaces is now moving closer and closer to real life, allowing people with severe disabling diseases to communicate and walk more freely. This is indicated by two studies published in the journal Nature Medicine. The challenge is to bring these results to humans, and at the same time, it is an international technological challenge in which Europe risks falling behind the United States and China. "Neurotechnology research has advanced tremendously also in Europe, but several barriers related primarily to regulatory aspects still need to be overcome," tells ANSA Luca Berdondini, a senior researcher at the Italian Institute of Technology in Genoa who works in this sector. "Europe—he continues—must equip itself with solutions to facilitate, while respecting all ethical aspects, the transition from research to clinical application. Something is changing, but we must react quickly to position ourselves alongside the United States and China, which are growing immensely." How rapid these advancements are is indicated by the two recently published results. In the first study, led by Sergey Stavisky and David Brandman of the University of California, Davis, a brain-computer interface was used for two years at home by a man with severe paralysis and difficulty speaking due to Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). So far, the research concerns only one individual, and more cases will be needed to draw certain conclusions. In any case, "the study is extremely interesting," comments Berdontini, "because it demonstrates how we can think about bringing implantable devices into the home. It is an important step forward, although we still need to see how generalizable this approach is to other people." The second study, led by the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) and the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV), concerns a chip combined with Artificial Intelligence that has allowed 40 Parkinson's patients to walk better and more autonomously. Coordinated by Jocelyne Bloch and Eduardo Moraud of EPFL and CHUV, researchers used AI to develop real-time decoders: they interpret directly from brain activity the movements the person intends to make and use the signals to calibrate electrical stimulation in a matter of seconds, making a technique used for over 30 years much more adaptable to circumstances. In both cases, Berdondini concludes, "the challenge is to bring research results to humans. These technologies are growing; certainly, since the arrival of Elon Musk's Neuralink, there has been an acceleration. These results are undoubtedly an incentive for companies developing these technologies, because they provide key proof that this is a viable path." Video: On the left, one of the 40 people with Parkinson's involved in the implantable chip trial (source: EPFL) All rights reserved © Copyright ANSA