While Neuralink’s technology takes for the moment the form of a unique implant, composed of 1,024 electrodes, intended to interact with a specific area of the brain, Starfish Neuroscience envisages for its part the use of several much smaller implants, each targeting a specific brain region. The idea is to be able to stimulate several areas of the brain. mm long and would have data recording faculties and stimulation by two -phase impulses.
On paper, these implants promise to be tiny and they would consume extremely little energy, which could even eliminate the need to recharge them. A first implant prototype must be tested by the end of 2025.
Starfish focuses today on medical uses, including the treatment of neurological diseases such as Parkinson’s disease, depression or even bipolar disorder. However, with Gabe Newell at the head of the project, many observers already imagine video game applications, with implants specially dedicated to this use, in order to create completely new immersive experiences. But this vision of men-machine interaction remains at this stage of science fiction.
As a reminder, Neuralink paved the way, with the striking example of a quadriplegic capable of playing chess on a computer thanks to the implant which was grafted to the brain. His next avowed objective is now to allow a patient to control a robotic arm, by the simple strength of his thought.