Italian Startup to Implant Brain-Computer Interface

- The SiNAPS chip utilizes a high-density array of up to 1024 independent neural sensors on a single probe, designed to be minimally invasive for long-term implantation. This allows for the collection of high-resolution neural data from deep within the brain tissue, not just from the surface. - Corticale, the startup behind the SiNAPS chip, was founded in 2021 and is based in Genoa, Italy. The company has raised approximately $2 million in funding to support its development of brain-computer interface technologies. - The technology's ability to provide sensory feedback, such as touch, is a key area of advancement in modern neuroprosthetics. This is often achieved by sending signals from the prosthetic back to the brain through intracortical microstimulation, which can significantly improve the user's control and sense of embodiment with the limb. - The global market for brain-computer interfaces is experiencing rapid growth, with market size projections for 2035 ranging from approximately $13.8 billion to over $15 billion. - Corticale is entering a competitive field that includes established and well-funded companies like Neuralink, Synchron, and Blackrock Neurotech, many of which are based in North America, the current dominant market for BCI technology. - Competing approaches to BCI implantation include endovascular methods, like that of Synchron's Stentrode, which is delivered through the jugular vein to sit inside a blood vessel over the motor cortex. - The development of such advanced neural interfaces has been a long-term goal for researchers, with significant funding and research historically driven by organizations like the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) through programs such as SyNAPSE.