Neuralink Isn't Telling Us Something...

Summary

Elon Musk's Neuralink faces challenges with its invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) technology, as evidenced by the thread retraction issues in its first human patient. Former Neuralink co-founder Benjamin Rapaport's new venture, Precision Neuroscience, offers a safer, less invasive alternative with the Layer 7 cortical interface, which collects high-resolution neural data without penetrating the brain. Rapaport's technology has already been tested successfully in 14 human patients, potentially revolutionizing BCI for medical applications.

Takeaways

• 🧠 Elon Musk's Neuralink is pushing the boundaries of neuroscience with its brain implant technology, but also faces challenges regarding safety and feasibility.
• 💡 A new competitor, Precision Neuroscience, founded by Neuralink's co-founder Benjamin Rapaport, is introducing a safer, less invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) technology.
• 👨‍⚕️ Dr. Benjamin Rapaport, with an impressive academic and professional background, left Neuralink in 2018, which suggests his departure may indicate concerns about the direction of the company.
• 🔌 Traditional BCI methods, such as the Utah array, involve invasive procedures that can cause physical damage and scar tissue, limiting their long-term effectiveness.
• 🧵 Neuralink's initial approach used ultra-thin, flexible threads to minimize damage, but these threads have shown to retract from the brain, raising safety and efficacy concerns.
• 🐒 Anonymous sources suggest that thread retraction has been an ongoing issue in Neuralink's animal testing, indicating potential problems that were not fully addressed before human trials.
• 🤔 The patient, Nolan, was not informed about the possibility of thread retraction, raising ethical questions about patient consent and transparency.
• 🔄 Neuralink's proposed solution involves increasing the depth of the thread implantation, which could double the potential damage and side effects.
• 🛡️ Precision Neuroscience's Layer 7 cortical interface is a non-invasive, thin film array that sits on top of the brain and collects data without penetrating the brain matter.
• 📈 Precision has successfully implanted and tested their BCI with multiple human patients, demonstrating the feasibility of high-resolution data collection without invasive procedures.
• 🏆 The advancements made by Precision Neuroscience could significantly lower the barriers to entry for BCI technology, making it more accessible and potentially revolutionizing the field.

Q & A

What is Neuralink's primary goal with their brain implant technology?

Neuralink aims to push the boundaries of modern neuroscience and brain-computer interface (BCI) technology, with the goal of creating a minimally invasive implant that can effectively communicate with neurons within the human brain.

Who is Benjamin Rapaport and what is his significance to Neuralink?

Benjamin Rapaport is one of the nine founding members of Neuralink. He holds multiple advanced degrees from prestigious institutions and was a resident neurosurgeon before joining Neuralink, bringing significant credibility to the team. His departure from the company in 2018 raised concerns about the direction and safety of Neuralink's technology.

Why did Benjamin Rapaport leave Neuralink?

Benjamin Rapaport left Neuralink primarily due to concerns about patient safety, particularly regarding the invasiveness and potential risks associated with Neuralink's brain implant technology.

What is the main challenge with invasive BCI implants like those proposed by Neuralink?

The main challenge with invasive BCI implants is the physical damage they cause to the brain tissue upon penetration. This can lead to scar tissue formation and rejection by the brain, reducing the effectiveness of the implant over time.

What was the issue with Neuralink's first human patient, Nolan Arbau?

Nolan Arbau, Neuralink's first human patient, experienced the successful implantation of 64 threads carrying 1,024 electrodes into his cerebral cortex. However, by February, 85% of those threads had retracted from the brain, indicating a significant issue with maintaining a stable connection.

What is the proposed solution by Neuralink to address the thread retraction issue?

Neuralink's proposed solution, which has been approved by the FDA, is to increase the depth of the thread implantation to 8 mm, doubling the previous depth, in an attempt to achieve a more stable connection within the brain.

What is the Layer 7 Cortical Interface developed by Precision Neuroscience?

The Layer 7 Cortical Interface is an ultra-thin film array developed by Precision Neuroscience, founded by Benjamin Rapaport. It is designed to sit on top of the brain, collecting high-resolution data from neurons without causing physical damage to the brain matter.

How does the Layer 7 Cortical Interface differ from Neuralink's approach?

Unlike Neuralink's invasive approach, the Layer 7 Cortical Interface is a non-invasive BCI technology that does not penetrate the brain. It sits on the surface of the brain, effectively 'eavesdropping' on neuronal conversations without causing damage.

What is the advantage of Precision Neuroscience's approach in terms of patient safety?

Precision Neuroscience's approach offers a safer alternative to Neuralink's technology. The Layer 7 Cortical Interface can be easily placed on and removed from the brain without causing damage, making it a less invasive and more patient-friendly option.

How has Precision Neuroscience been able to test its technology with human patients?

Precision Neuroscience has been able to test its technology by incorporating the implantation of the Layer 7 Cortical Interface into routine open brain surgeries, such as benign tumor removals or Parkinson's disease treatments, where patients are already undergoing procedures that expose their brains.

What is the significance of the advancements made by Precision Neuroscience in the field of BCI?

The advancements made by Precision Neuroscience significantly lower the barrier to entry for BCI technology, proving that high-resolution data can be collected from neurons without invasive procedures, which has the potential to revolutionize the field and make BCI a major focus in the coming decade.

Outlines

00:00

🧠 Neuralink's Safety and Innovation Challenges

Elon Musk's Neuralink is pushing the frontiers of neuroscience with brain implant technology, yet faces significant safety and ethical challenges. The company's initial approach involved invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) implants, which caused physical damage to the brain tissue. The departure of co-founder Benjamin Rapaport in 2018, a highly credentialed neurosurgeon, indicated potential concerns over safety. Despite Neuralink's minimalist design and maximalist performance goals, the first human trial with patient zero, Nolan Arbau, revealed issues with thread retraction, suggesting that the technology might not be as effective or safe as initially thought. The narrative underscores the complexities and risks associated with human experimentation in cutting-edge technology.

05:01

🔬 The Emergence of a Safer BCI Alternative

In the wake of Neuralink's challenges, a new competitor, Precision Neuroscience, founded by Benjamin Rapaport, has developed a safer, less invasive BCI technology called the Layer 7 Cortical Interface. This ultra-thin film array, only 1/5 the thickness of a human hair, sits on the brain's surface, capturing electrical signals without penetrating the brain matter, thus avoiding physical damage. The Layer 7 has been successfully implanted in multiple human patients, demonstrating high-resolution data collection without the need for deep brain penetration. Rapaport's innovation challenges Neuralink's approach, suggesting that effective BCI can be achieved with minimal intrusion, potentially revolutionizing the field of brain-computer interfaces.

10:02

🛠️ Precision's Layer 7: A Paradigm Shift in BCI

Precision Neuroscience's Layer 7 Cortical Interface represents a significant shift in the development of brain-computer interfaces. The technology, which can be implanted and removed without harm during routine neural surgeries, has been tested in 14 human patients, offering a non-invasive method to collect neural signals. With the ability to map physical movements to electrical signals in real-time, Precision's approach provides a practical and immediate application for patients with disabilities or illnesses. The Layer 7's success in collecting high-resolution data without brain penetration indicates a future where BCI technology can significantly improve the quality of life for those in need, without the risks associated with invasive procedures.

Keywords

💡Neuralink

Neuralink is a company founded by Elon Musk that is developing brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. It aims to push the boundaries of neuroscience by creating implants that can interact directly with the human brain. In the video, Neuralink's technology is discussed in terms of its innovative approach and the challenges it faces, particularly regarding safety and the effectiveness of its implant threads.

💡Brain-Computer Interface (BCI)

A brain-computer interface is a technology that enables direct communication between the brain and an external device. BCIs are the central theme of the video, as they represent the cutting-edge of human-computer interaction and have potential applications in medicine and beyond. The script discusses the invasiveness of current BCI technology and the quest for safer, more effective alternatives.

💡Benjamin Rapaport

Benjamin Rapaport is a key figure in the video, identified as one of the founding members of Neuralink with an impressive academic and professional background. His departure from Neuralink in 2018 and subsequent founding of Precision Neuroscience is highlighted as a significant event, indicating a shift in the direction of BCI technology development.

💡Invasive BCI

Invasive BCI refers to brain-computer interface technologies that require penetration of the brain tissue, such as the Utah array mentioned in the script. The video discusses the trade-offs between invasive and non-invasive BCIs, emphasizing the potential for physical damage and the challenges of maintaining stable connections with invasive implants.

💡Safety

Safety is a critical concern in the development of BCI technology, as highlighted by Benjamin Rapaport's departure from Neuralink. The video script discusses the risks associated with invasive BCIs, such as causing physical damage to the brain and the formation of scar tissue, which can reduce the effectiveness of the implant over time.

💡Neuroscience

Neuroscience is the scientific study of the nervous system, including the brain. The video script touches on the history of neuroscience, referencing early experiments with electroencephalography and the ongoing quest to understand and interact with the brain. The development of BCI technology is portrayed as a significant advancement in the field of neuroscience.

💡Electrodes

Electrodes are components of BCI technology used to detect and transmit electrical signals from the brain. The script discusses the evolution of electrode design, from rigid pins in the Utah array to the ultra-thin and flexible threads used by Neuralink, and the challenges of maintaining a stable connection with the brain.

💡Scar Tissue

Scar tissue is a form of connective tissue that forms as a response to injury or damage. In the context of BCI technology, the video script explains how the formation of scar tissue around invasive implants can reduce their effectiveness over time by impairing the ability to communicate with neurons.

💡Precision Neuroscience

Precision Neuroscience is a company founded by Benjamin Rapaport after leaving Neuralink. The company is developing a less invasive BCI technology called the Layer 7 cortical interface. The script highlights Precision Neuroscience's approach as a safer alternative to Neuralink's methods, focusing on surface-level interaction with the brain.

💡Layer 7 Cortical Interface

The Layer 7 cortical interface is a product of Precision Neuroscience, designed as an ultra-thin film array with electrodes that sit on top of the brain without penetrating it. The video script describes this technology as a breakthrough in BCI, offering a safer and potentially more effective method for capturing brain signals.

💡Wireless Transmitter

A wireless transmitter in the context of BCI technology refers to a device that sends the captured neural signals to an external device without the need for physical connections. The script mentions a wireless transmitter used by Precision Neuroscience that plugs into the electrodes of their cortical interface and broadcasts the signals via Bluetooth.

Highlights

Elon Musk's Neuralink is pushing the boundaries of neuroscience with its brain implant technology.

Neuralink faces challenges with human experimentation and safety concerns in brain-computer interface technology.

Benjamin Rapaport, one of Neuralink's founding members, left the company in 2018 due to safety concerns.

Rapaport's extensive credentials in science and medicine add weight to his departure from Neuralink.

The human brain's electrical activity is the key to brain-computer interfaces, but it remains a mystery after a century of study.

Neuralink's design aims to minimize damage to the brain with ultra-thin and flexible threads for电极 connections.

The first human patient with Neuralink experienced thread retraction, indicating potential issues with the implant's design.

Neuralink's plan to increase thread depth to 8 mm raises further safety and damage concerns.

Benjamin Rapaport's new company, Precision Neuroscience, offers a safer, less invasive BCI technology.

Precision's Layer 7 cortical interface is an ultra-thin film array that sits on top of the brain without penetrating it.

Layer 7 has been successfully implanted in human patients with minimal invasiveness and easy removal.

Precision Neuroscience has demonstrated that high-resolution brain data can be collected without penetrating the brain.

Neuralink's approach may still be necessary for Musk's vision of merging the human brain with AI, but it's not the only path.

Precision Neuroscience's innovations have lowered the barrier to entry for BCI technology.

The Layer 7 interface can be placed on different regions of the brain without compromising the skull's integrity.

Precision has already tested its technology with 14 human patients, showing its safety and effectiveness.

Brain computer interface technology is set to be one of the biggest stories of the coming decade.

Transcripts

Elon musk's neuralink brain implant is

pushing the boundaries of what modern

Neuroscience can achieve I think that's

something we can all agree on but the

company might also be pushing the

boundaries of what is considered to be

safe or even possible when it comes to

brain computer interface technology

neuralink is in a vulnerable position

right now as they begin to face the

realities of human experimentation and

in the mid of all this a new competitor

is rising up a ghost from Elon musk's

past has returned to take the throne

with a better safer brain implant this

could be a

problem let's begin with a story this is

Benjamin Rapaport you probably don't

recognize him but he was one of the nine

founding fathers of neuralink back in

the year 2017 Elon Musk says that he

interviewed over 1,000 people before

deciding on the team of eight doctors

scientists and Engineers that would join

him in the creation of a new brain

implant

technology and looking at Ben's resume

it's easy to see why he made the cut a

master's degree in physics and

Mathematics from Harvard a master of

science from Oxford a PhD in engineering

from MIT and a medical degree from

Harvard Medical School he was working as

a resident neurosurgeon in the years

before neuralink came to be so so that

is all very important to establish that

this is not just another tech bro this

is a person who brings massive

credibility to the table so when we tell

you that Benjamin left neuralink in

March 2018 just one year after the

company was announced to the public we

know that this decision carries some

weight and the primary reason for Ben's

departure is also the key to today's

story safety without getting too deep

into the Weeds on how brain computer

interfaces work we know that the brain

is teeming with electrical activity

everything that you do everything you

feel everything that you know it all

begins with trillions of electrical

signals bouncing around through billions

of neurons inside of the gray matter of

the human brain this has been known for

a hundred years hansberger started his

experiments with electroencephalography

in 1924 but even after a Century of

observation the human brain is still

mysterious we know that the best Clues

to solve our mystery are found closest

to the source inside the human skull we

can observe brain activity from the

outside by placing electrodes on the

scalp but the signals are muffled

imagine you're living in an apartment

and your next door neighbor is having a

party you can try to listen in through

the wall and that will provide some

information about what's going on you

might know what kind of music they're

listening to the approximate size of the

group if they're laughing or arguing

imagine that the people attending the

party are neurons in a human brain by

observing them through a wall or a skull

you can measure the overall Vibe of the

party but you will never know the

details of what went on inside but if

you were able to walk through the door

and enter the room suddenly there would

be infinitely more detail to learn about

the party you would hear the music

clearly you would see the people you

would know what they are saying and once

inside you could go one step further and

walk right up to a neuron and start a

conversation from here there's no

telling how much you can learn this is

all a metaphor for the invasiveness of

BCI but instead of opening a door we

have to cut through skin and bone and in

order to initiate that personal

conversation with a neuron we need to

penetrate the brain matter this all

comes at a cost we know that Elon Musk

is a minimalist when it comes to design

F but he's a maximalist when it comes to

Performance the fastest cars the most

powerful rockets and his approach to

neuralink is no different Elon would

never be satisfied with just EES

dropping on the party he's going

straight to interrogating the neurons as

close up as possible the cost of an

invasive BCI implant is always going to

be damage to the brain there is no way

to skirt around the fact that when you

penetrate the brain tissue you cause

physical damage the first invasive brain

implant dates back to the early 2000s

the Utah array created by Black Rock

Neuroscience it's like a very small bed

of nails that would penetrate the outer

cortex of the brain with tiny rigid pins

the depth of the implant would typically

be around 1.5 mm and these implants are

known to cause scar tissue and physical

rejection from the brain material so

they can't be used as long-term

permanent Solutions once the scar tissue

forms the ability to have a conversation

with the neuron is greatly reduced this

is the primary challenge that neuralink

was hoping to overcome with their own

BCI design one that used ultra thin and

Ultra flexible threads to interface with

the brain tissue the idea being that

these microscopic threads would carry

the electrode connections into the brain

so gently that the body wouldn't even

notice and hence wouldn't try to reject

the implant or form any scar tissue and

this Theory could prove to be true but

so far it's proven to be ineffective at

maintaining a stable connection to the

brain neuralink patient zero Nolan arbau

experienced the successful implantation

of 64 nuring threads these threads

carried a total of 1,24 individual

electrodes directly into his cerebral

cortex and this happened for the first

time in late January 2024 by February

85% of those threads had retracted from

the brain they fell out and this is a

problem that neurolink may have been

expecting several Anonymous sources who

claimed to work at the company told

Reuters that the thread retraction had

been an issue with monkey and pig test

subjects for years this is unconfirmed

reporting but it wouldn't be surprising

given the severity of the retraction

issue with Nolan's implant it would be

weird for this to have happened for the

first time so many years into the

testing phase what's even more troubling

is that Nolan has said that he was never

even informed on the possibility of

thread retraction he was completely

taken by surprise when the problem

occurred neuralink claims to have a

solution though and this has been

approved by the FDA but it's not exactly

an ideal fix and this relates directly

to Benjamin rapaport's concerns with

patient safety in this field so the

original Utah array with the rigid

little pins penetrated 1 and2 mm deep

into the brain neuralink took that even

further with their flexible threads

reaching depths between 3 and 5 mm into

Nolan's brain matter but this was

clearly not effective so the new plan is

to place the threads 8 mm deep into

neural Link's second human patient for

those with trouble visualizing What A

millimeter is 8 mm is just a bit less

than 1/3 of an inch so that's getting

pretty deep nerling started off at

Double the industry standard and now

they're already going to double that

again and double the depth means double

the potential damage to the brain matter

double the potential for negative side

effects now this is still not nearly as

deep as other current electrode

procedures like deep brain stimulation

for example but it's still very much

unknown what kind of damage 64

insertions each 8 mm deep across a

relatively small segment of the brain

might do

it's also not known if this change will

even solve the problem for nuring if we

are still seeing retraction with the

threads in the next patient then it's

possible that nurlink design as

Innovative as it may be just doesn't

work this is obviously not the kind of

outcome that a business leader like Elon

Musk is going to accept but in science

there is always the potential of being

proven wrong it's the reason that we do

experiments in the first place there's a

very real potential here that neuralink

is just another very good idea in theory

that didn't work out in reality there

are no shortage of these failed ideas in

history and it's an outcome that we

should be prepared for what if you

didn't need to penetrate the brain 8 mm

or 3 mm or even 1 mm what if you could

get all of the information you need just

by walking through the door of the party

and going no further than that this is

the question that Benjamin rapor left

neuralink to investigate and he may have

already found the answer this is the

layer 7 cortical interface it's an ultra

thin film array that's only 1/5 the

thickness of a human hair and covered

with 1,24 tiny electrode sensors it's

designed to sit on top of your brain

where it can very effectively e drop on

all of the conversations that your

neurons are having without ever having

to cause any physical damage to your

brain matter sounds like a pretty good

deal the layer 7even was created by

Precision Neuroscience who you probably

never heard of but this is the company

that was founded by Benjamin Rapaport

after he left neuralink and this thin

film array is the safer less invasive

BCI technology that he had envisioned

back in 2018 one that Elon Musk would

have considered to be inferior because

it doesn't penetrate deep enough into

the neurons but in reality the opposite

it has proven to be true while Nur

Link's total electrode count in human

trials has dropped over time from 1024

down to just

154 Precision has been pushing forward

starting with one cortical interface and

then adding a second to the same patient

for a total of

248 electrodes that was last summer and

just recently in April 2024 Precision

set a new record with four interfaces in

implanted on one human brain for a total

of

4,096 electrodes all reading brain

signals at the same time the thin film

array is designed to be implanted

through a small slit that's cut into the

patient's skull then the electrodes are

slid in between the brain and its outer

protective layer called the dura the

thin flexible nature of the array allows

it to conform perfectly to the wrinkled

shape of the cerebral cortex like Saran

Wrap and then a wireless transmitter is

placed underneath the user's skin that

plugs into the electrodes and broadcasts

the neural signal wirelessly through

Bluetooth with such a small thin cut

into the skull just 1 mm across there

can be multiple arrays placed on

different regions of the brain without

compromising the patient's skull

Integrity you could have multiple neural

links but the skull is pretty quickly

going to start resembling swiss cheese

with all of those holes cut into it

Precision has already tested its layer 7

cortical interface with 14 human

patients over the past 3 years this is

made possible because the thin film

array is so easy and harmless to place

onto and remove from the brain that the

procedure can be incorporated into any

routine neural surgery so what Precision

does they find a case where a patient is

already undergoing open brain surgery

for something like a benign tumor

removal or Parkinson's disease treatment

that they simply Place their array on

the surface of the patient's exposed

brain and begin recording data in some

of these cases the patient is awake

through the entire procedure and will

participate in motion capture activities

that map physical movement of the hands

and fingers to electrical signals in

their brain this is a huge advantage to

Precision that neuralink cannot match

right now neuralink is only going ahead

with their implant in people who already

have full body paralysis so that limits

their research to imagined movement they

can't capture physical movement of their

patient at the same time and then when

Precision has got their data they simply

lift the array off of the patient's

brain and their head is sewn back up

with no Trace that the BCI was ever

there what the company has already been

able to prove is that you don't really

need to penetrate the brain in order to

collect high resolution data from the

neurons you only need to figure out how

to bypass the skull just being very

close on top of the brain matter is

still very good or at least good enough

for any practical medical reason maybe

nerling still needs to stick people with

threads to do elon's whole merge the

human brain with AI thing or whatever

that's supposed to be but if we just

want to help people with disabilities

and illness to live better lives then

it's already been proven that we do not

have to saw holes in their skull or

damage their brains to do that so in

many ways what Precision has done here

is dramatically lower the barrier to

entry for brain computer interface much

more so than neuralink ever could and

Innovations like this are exactly the

kind of development that will make brain

computer interface one of the biggest

stories of the decade to come