A medical company manufactures a chip implanted in the brain to treat depression... and tests it in the head of an American man
A medical technology company named Inner Cosmos announced its new product, the “digital pill,” which uses electronic chips and electrical signals to treat depression in a highly effective way, according to the company.
The company had implanted the chip in the brain of an American man as a preliminary experiment, and it is planned that the chip will remain implanted in his brain for a full year.
Now, a round of formal clinical trials is planned to begin next month to test the chip, its efficacy, and possible side effects.
The “digital pill” consists of two main parts. The first part is the electronic chip, from which many contact points emerge that are designed to be placed on the cerebral cortex. This part needs to be implanted near the brain and inside the skull.
While the second part is the control and energy supply tool, it is placed on the scalp between the hairs so that it is close to the inner slice.
The idea of the chip is to send electrical signals to an area of the cerebral cortex responsible for general control and movement between operations, planning and memory.
It is believed that stimulating this area of the brain is effective in combating depression and reducing its effects.
The chip sends stimulus signals periodically and every 15 minutes.
The World Health Organization estimates that 5% of the world's adults suffer from depression, or an estimated 280 million people.
And while there are many drugs and options available to deal with the disease today, they often have bad side effects or unexpected effects that make searching for alternatives such as the new chip a tempting idea.
It is noteworthy that this brain chip is not the first in the field of medical technology.
Rather, many companies are working on similar technologies for many purposes, which usually include assisting with movement or restoring the senses, or providing a computer interface to the brain, as Elon Musk's company, Neuralink, has been planning for years.
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