IT之家10月14日消息，Science Corporation首席执行官马克斯·霍达克宣布，该公司已将自研的视力修复芯片PRIMA植入首位斯塔加特病患者体内。斯塔加特病是一种遗传性眼病，会逐步损害人的中心视力。曾是脑机接口企业Neuralink前总裁、联合创始人的霍达克在TechCrunch Disrupt大会的舞台上介绍，PRIMA项目的研发，是公司布局新型脑机接口宏大目标中的一环。霍达克在演讲中表示，视网膜属于中枢神经系统，他们认为人工耳蜗、视网膜假体、运动假体，都属于不同类型的脑机接口。
IT Home reported on October 14 that Science Corporation CEO Max Hodak announced the company has implanted its self-developed vision restoration chip PRIMA into the first Stargardt disease patient. Stargardt disease is a hereditary eye disease that progressively damages central vision. Hodak, former president and co-founder of brain-computer interface company Neuralink, introduced on the TechCrunch Disrupt stage that PRIMA project R&D is part of the company's grand goal of布局 new brain-computer interfaces. Hodak said in his speech that the retina belongs to the central nervous system, and they believe cochlear implants, retinal prostheses, and motor prostheses all belong to different types of brain-computer interfaces.
霍达克描绘了这样一幅愿景，脑机接口将广泛应用于各类医疗技术，而不只是用来操控电脑。PRIMA芯片已经在欧洲获批商用，用于治疗地图样萎缩失明的患者。而该公司认为这项技术还能用于多种疾病，包括目前尚无根治手段的斯塔加特病。斯塔加特病会侵害视网膜外层，导致眼部感光细胞逐步凋亡，但负责向大脑传递视觉信号的视网膜内层有可能得以保留。患病后视野中心会出现暗点，并且随时间不断扩大。全球大约有15万人因该病丧失视力。
Hodak painted a vision where brain-computer interfaces will be widely applied across various medical technologies, not just for controlling computers. The PRIMA chip has already been approved for commercial use in Europe for treating patients blinded by geographic atrophy. The company believes this technology can also be used for multiple diseases, including Stargardt disease, which currently has no cure. Stargardt disease attacks the outer retina, causing photoreceptor cells to gradually die, but the inner retina responsible for transmitting visual signals to the brain may be preserved. After onset, a dark spot appears in central vision and expands over time. About 150,000 people worldwide lose vision due to this disease.
霍达克说，用这套设备方案的优势之一在于，如果把大脑比作计算机，视觉本质就是电位，也就是沿视神经传递的电信号。对于大脑而言，视觉仅此而已。所以只要能让视神经向大脑其他部位正确发送信号，就能为患者重建视觉。该公司称，这名斯塔加特病首例受试者于今年5月在澳大利亚悉尼眼科医院接受了PRIMA植入手术，相关临床试验仍在推进。患者在第一次康复训练中看到了单个字母，第二次训练时已经可以读出单词。
Hodak said one advantage of this device solution is that if the brain is compared to a computer, vision is essentially electrical potentials—electrical signals transmitted along the optic nerve. To the brain, vision is nothing more than that. So as long as the optic nerve can correctly send signals to other parts of the brain, vision can be reconstructed for patients. The company said the first Stargardt disease subject received PRIMA implantation surgery at Sydney Eye Hospital in Australia in May this year, with related clinical trials still advancing. The patient saw individual letters in the first rehabilitation training session and could read words by the second session.
使用这套设备时，患者需要接受一小时的手术，在眼球后部感光细胞退化的位置植入一枚微型芯片。患者再佩戴带有摄像头的眼镜，将捕捉到的外界画面传输给芯片。这枚植入物本质上相当于人工感光细胞。霍达克介绍，这名患者体内的植入芯片大小为2毫米乘2毫米，放置在眼底。患者的视觉感受就像透过一根吸管看东西。它无法提供大视野的彩色视觉，只在中心视野形成一小块黑白画面，但成像锐利、对比度高，一次可以看清几个字母。下一步目标是扩大视野。想要制作更大的植入芯片，就要兼顾眼球的曲面结构，同时需要把电极做得更小，以此接近人眼原生的细节分辨水平。
When using this device, patients undergo a one-hour surgery to implant a microchip at the location in the back of the eye where photoreceptor cells have degenerated. Patients then wear camera-equipped glasses that transmit captured external images to the chip. This implant is essentially an artificial photoreceptor. Hodak introduced that the implanted chip in this patient is 2mm by 2mm, placed at the fundus. The patient's visual experience is like looking through a straw. It cannot provide large-field color vision, only a small black-and-white image in central vision, but the image is sharp with high contrast, able to see several letters at once. The next goal is expanding the field of view. Making larger implants requires accommodating the eyeball's curved structure while making electrodes smaller to approach the human eye's native detail resolution.
他继续说道，他们已经找到了清晰的技术路线。下一代产品正在研发，预计明年开展人体试验，五年内，他们有希望让视力水平接近天然视力。霍达克在离开Neuralink后，于2021年创立了Science Corporation，当时公司就公布计划，研发先进神经工程与脑机接口技术。但公司打算先验证技术可行性，并搭建可持续的商业模式，这也是他们先从为视障人群恢复视力入手的原因。关于Science Corporation的脑机接口技术，该公司此前表示，其传感器将植入颅骨内、贴附在大脑表面，这一点和Neuralink设备不同，后者是直接植入脑组织内部。
He continued that they have found a clear technical route. The next-generation product is under development, with human trials expected next year; within five years, they hope to bring vision levels close to natural vision. After leaving Neuralink, Hodak founded Science Corporation in 2021, when the company announced plans to develop advanced neural engineering and brain-computer interface technology. But the company planned to first validate technical feasibility and build a sustainable business model—which is why they started with restoring vision for the visually impaired. Regarding Science Corporation's brain-computer interface technology, the company previously said its sensors will be implanted inside the skull, attached to the brain surface—different from Neuralink's device, which is implanted directly into brain tissue.
霍达克表示，短期来看，他们的首个临床适应症尚未对外公布，是一种大众耳熟能详的神经退行性疾病。他们也在研究脑卒中相关应用。举例来说，如果患者因脑卒中造成部分脑组织坏死，只要在大脑深部两个不同区域建立信号连接，就相当于新增皮层区域，如同完整新增脑区，这是传统电极无法实现的。而长期来看，公司的终极使命，是搞清楚大脑如何产生意识，并学会打造人工构造的大脑。霍达克还提到，Science Corporation认为，未来很多人都会使用某种脑机接口。虽然公司现阶段的产品并不是面向健康的40岁人群设计，但他们认为，人到六七十岁时，大多会需要某种脑机接口。他说，他们希望找到方法，不只是延长寿命，更要延长健康生存期。
Hodak said in the short term, their first clinical indication has not yet been publicly announced but is a neurodegenerative disease familiar to the general public. They are also studying stroke-related applications. For example, if a patient has partial brain tissue necrosis due to stroke, as long as signal connections are established between two different regions deep in the brain, it is equivalent to adding new cortical areas—like adding a complete new brain region—which traditional electrodes cannot achieve. In the long term, the company's ultimate mission is to understand how the brain produces consciousness and learn to build artificially constructed brains. Hodak also mentioned that Science Corporation believes many people will use some form of brain-computer interface in the future. Although the company's current products are not designed for "healthy 40-year-olds," they believe most people in their sixties and seventies will need some kind of brain-computer interface. He said they hope to find ways not just to extend lifespan, but to extend healthy lifespan.
