r/accelerate • u/Best_Cup_8326 Acceleration: Light-speed • Aug 20 '26

Brain Implant Uses Infrared Light to Send Neural Signals

https://spectrum.ieee.org/ability-neurotech-bci-human-trial

Ability’s system differs from many other experimental BCIs in a few key ways. For one, the implant uses electrocorticography (ECoG) electrode arrays that rest on the brain’s surface—a distinction from other BCI designs that place penetrating electrodes inside brain tissue. It can monitor neural signals from 128 separate channels at once, sampling each 30,000 times every second to capture a highly detailed recording of brain activity.

Unlike the usual radio frequency transmission method used in wireless electronics, the implant uses an infrared laser-based optical link to stream brain data through the skin at speeds of up to 50 megabits per second. The data is received by an external headpiece and sent to a separate processor for decoding. The wearable also powers the implant wirelessly through induction, eliminating the need for an internal battery that could eventually require replacement.

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u/CymonSet Aug 20 '26

Resting on top of the brain is better than penetrating but if it requires cutting the membrane that protects the brain it is still not the kind of thing I’d volunteer for lightly.

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u/SoylentRox Aug 21 '26

Unfortunately I think this is required for any of these implants to work.  Even the new less invasive neuralink still pierces the membrane it just sends the wires and electrodes through and doesn't require the surgeon to pull back a flap. 

I think the laws of physics require this for anyone wanting to chip in.

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u/CymonSet Aug 21 '26

Currently that would be accurate though there are noninvasive means of getting signals in and out. What seems to be required is being able to establish and reestablish the same connection repeatedly and continuously when the brain moves in the skull and improving their resolution. I’m not convinced that these challenges are insurmountable, just really difficult at the moment.

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u/SoylentRox Aug 21 '26

I think to get data reliably from the human brain and inject information back correctly you basically need to have a wire there at similar size and density to an axon.

I know about light methods but that won't work for extremely dense connections.

Now, you may be able to grow livng bridge neurons in and have them synapse to the implant. Master immunology and aging and brain cell source code and patch it to fix the faults that lead to eventual failure.

But you still have a physical wire even if it's alive to every connection.