Chinese Startup to Build a New Brain-Computer Interface–No Implant Required
8 days ago
- #Ultrasound Technology
- #Brain-Computer Interface
- #Neuroscience
- China's brain-computer interface (BCI) industry is rapidly growing, with new companies like Gestala emerging.
- Gestala, based in Chengdu with offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong, uses ultrasound technology to stimulate and read brain activity non-invasively.
- Ultrasound, commonly used in medical imaging, can also treat diseases by modulating neural activity without surgery.
- Gestala's first-generation device is a stationary benchtop machine for treating chronic pain in clinics.
- The second-generation device will be a wearable helmet for home use under physician guidance.
- Gestala aims to expand its technology to treat depression, mental illnesses, stroke rehabilitation, Alzheimer’s, and sleep disorders.
- Unlike Neuralink's electrical signal-based BCI, Gestala's ultrasound-based interface measures changes in brain blood flow.
- Gestala's cofounders include Phoenix Peng, former CEO of NeuroXess, and Tianqiao Chen, founder of Shanda Interactive Entertainment.
- The company's name is inspired by Gestalt psychology, emphasizing the whole being greater than the sum of its parts.
- Challenges include the skull weakening ultrasound signals and the slower response of blood flow changes compared to neural activity.
- Merge Labs, another ultrasound-based BCI startup backed by OpenAI's Sam Altman, aims to restore lost abilities and enhance brain states.
- Experts like Maximilian Riesenhuber note that reading brain activity with ultrasound is more challenging than delivering targeted ultrasound.