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Science Corporation, the startup from former Neuralink president and co-founder Max Hodak, has enlisted a top neurobiologist to lead the first U.S. human trials for its biohybrid brain-computer interface.<\/p>\n
Dr. Murat G\u00fcnel, chair of Yale Medical School\u2019s Department of Neurosurgery, has signed on as a scientific adviser after two years of discussions. His goal is to surgically place the first sensor for a future interface \u2014 one that will eventually combine lab-grown neurons with electronics \u2014 into a patient\u2019s brain.<\/p>\n
Science, founded in 2021, completed a $230 million Series C fundraising round last month<\/a> that valued the company at $1.5 billion. Its most advanced product is PRIMA, a device for restoring vision in people with blindness caused by macular degeneration and similar conditions. Science acquired the technology in 2024 and has advanced it through clinical trials, with plans to make it more widely available in Europe once regulatory approval is obtained, perhaps as soon as this year.<\/p>\n Hodak, however, co-founded the company with a bigger vision<\/a> in mind: creating reliable communication links between computers and the human brain \u2014 both to treat disease and to establish a path toward human enhancement, such as adding entirely new senses to the body. He has dedicated his career to that proposition, from talking his way into a graduate neuroscience lab as a college student, to founding his first biotech computing startup, to building Neuralink alongside Elon Musk.<\/p>\n Neuralink and other organizations have succeeded in using electronic sensors to detect brain activity in patients suffering from ALS, spinal injuries, and other conditions that sever the brain\u2019s communication with the body. Users with implanted devices can control computers or generate words on a screen simply by thinking about them. However, the path to a real market<\/a> for these devices remains murky, given regulatory challenges and the relatively small number of patients with applicable diagnoses.<\/p>\n For his part, Hodak concluded that the conventional method of influencing the brain with electricity by using metal probes or electrodes is the wrong path forward. While the technology can achieve remarkable results, G\u00fcnel says these probes cause brain damage that is likely to undermine device performance over time. That limitation led the Science founding team toward a more organic approach.<\/p>\n \u201cThe idea of using natural connections through neurons and creating a biological interface between the electronics and the human brain is genius,\u201d G\u00fcnel told TechCrunch.<\/p>\n Techcrunch event<\/p>\n \n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\tSan Francisco, CA<\/span> Alan Mardinly, a co-founder and the company\u2019s chief science officer, has led development of Science\u2019s biohybrid sensor with a team of 30 researchers. The final device will be embedded with lab-grown neurons. Those neurons can be stimulated with pulses of light and are designed to naturally integrate with the neurons in a patient\u2019s brain, forming a bridge between biology and electronics. In 2024, the company released a working paper<\/a> that showed the device could be safely implanted in mice and used to stimulate brain activity.<\/p>\n Inside the company, the focus now is developing prototypes of the device and working out how to grow neuron cells for different therapeutic applications that meet the standards for medical use.<\/p>\n G\u00fcnel will advise the team as it is preparing for human clinical trials and is already in discussion with the medical ethics boards that oversee experiments involving human subjects. The first step will be testing the company\u2019s advanced sensor, without the embedded neurons, inside a living human brain.<\/p>\n Unlike a Neuralink device, which is inserted directly into brain tissue, Science\u2019s sensor will be implanted inside the skull but rest on top of the brain. Possibly because of that distinction, the company says it doesn\u2019t plan to seek FDA approval for these trials, arguing the tiny device \u2014 which contains 520 recording electrodes packed into an area the size of a pea \u2014\u00a0poses no significant risk to patients.<\/p>\n The team\u2019s plan is to find patient candidates who already require significant brain surgery, like stroke victims who need a piece of their cranium removed to reduce the impact of brain swelling. In such a case, G\u00fcnel expects to place the sensor on top of their cortex and evaluate its safety and efficacy in measuring brain activity.<\/p>\n G\u00fcnel believes the device could help address multiple neurological conditions if it proves successful. One early use could be delivering gentle electrical stimulation to damaged brain or spinal cord cells to encourage healing. A more complex application might involve monitoring neurological activity in patients with brain tumors, and providing early warnings to caregivers about oncoming seizures.<\/p>\n If the full potential of these devices is realized, though, G\u00fcnel wonders if they might provide more effective treatments for conditions like Parkinson\u2019s disease, a progressive disorder that gradually robs patients of control over their bodies. Current treatment options include experimental<\/a> brain cell transplants and deep brain stimulation with electricity, but neither has been proven to reliably stop the disease from advancing.<\/p>\n \u201cI imagine this biohybrid system as combining those two \u2014 you have the electronics, and you have the biological system,\u201d he told TechCrunch. \u201cIn Parkinson\u2019s, for example, we cannot stop the progression of the disease; in neurosurgery, all we are doing is putting an electrode to stop the tremors. Whereas if you can really put the [transplanted] cells back in the brain, protect those circuits, there\u2019s a chance, and I believe it\u2019s a good chance, that we can stop progression of the disease.\u201d<\/p>\n There is much work to be done before then, however. G\u00fcnel says it would be \u201coptimistic\u201d to expect trials to begin in 2027.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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