People Let a Startup Put a Brain Implant in Their Skulls—for 15 Minutes
Because it penetrates the tissue, the Utah array can cause inflammation and scarring around the implantation site, which leads to a decline in signal quality over time. And signal quality is important because it affects how well the BCI performs. No one actually knows how long Utah arrays can last in the brain; so far the record is held by Nathan Copeland, whose device is now in its eighth year. Placing a Utah array also requires surgeons to perform a craniotomy, making a small hole in the skull. It’s a major procedure…