A company called Paradromics—a main competitor to Elon Musk’s Neuralink—has
received approval from the US FDA (Food and Drug Administration) for the first
long-term human trial of its brain-computer interface (BCI).What is the goal?Early
next year, they will implant their device into two volunteers who cannot speak
because of brain diseases or injuries.The trial has two main aims:Make sure the
device is safe.Help the person communicate again with real-time speech.How does
the device work?Paradromics’ BCI uses a small, thin disk (about 7.5 mm wide)
covered in electrodes.This disk is implanted into the cerebral cortex
(the outer layer of the brain) to record signals from individual brain
cells (neurons) about $1.5 \text{ mm}$ deep.A wire connects this brain
device to a battery and a wireless transmitter implanted in the person’s chest.
What will the volunteers do?The two volunteers will have the electrode disk
implanted in the part of the brain that controls the lips, tongue, and voice box.
They will be asked to imagine speaking sentences shown to them.The system will
record their brain activity and learn which patterns of signals match each
intended speech sound.What is the final result?When the people in the study
imagine speaking, the recorded brain signals will immediately be turned into
like their old voice.This is the first BCI trial officially aimed at creating
Paradromics’ CEO, Matt Angle, says that helping people communicate again is
“most likely the biggest improvement in their quality of life you can achieve
right now using a BCI.”