In Research Institute Medical primatology in Sochi, an operation was performed to install a Russian ELVIS neuroimplant in a monkey. Animal Testing — the latest stage of preclinical testing of the technology, which in the future will restore sight to blind and deafblind people. The Foundation for the support of the deafblind “Connection” is working together on this. and the non-profit Sensor-Tech Laboratory.
The two-hour operation was performed by experienced neurosurgeon Artur Biktimirov. He was assisted by a professional medical team — neurophysiologist, anesthetists, veterinarians. A six-year-old male baboon was chosen for testing. He is clairvoyant. The aim of scientists in this case — check the functioning of the implant (matrix with electrodes), evaluate the biocompatibility of brain tissues and system components, and determine the nuances. Soon they will perform such operations on several dozen monkeys to find out how well the animals see using electronic vision.
What is the system?
His name ELVIS — short for English electronic vision (“electronic vision”).”The main thing is that everyone sees the world around him not with his eyes, but with his brain . Object vision is formed in its occipital lobe, called the visual cortex. If we process a certain visual image using a neural network and stimulate the visual cortex with small currents, a person will see flashes of light — phosphenes. So you can replace the retina and the optic nerve with a video camera, “connect” to the brain and directly, without the help of the eyes, send a signal to the area responsible for vision.< /p>
This process is carried out by three blocks of the system: an implant with a microchip (installed in the brain and stimulating the cortex with weak currents), a hoop with two cameras (the user wears it on the head and the cameras read the real-time image, acting as eyes) and the processing unit (attached to the belt and connecting to the hoop). The microcomputer analyzes the image of the cameras, highlights the outlines of important objects and transmits the processed frames directly to the brain on the implant.
Who will the neurochip help?
The synchronous operation of the three components of the system allows you to begin to see the world around — distinguish the silhouettes of objects and people, understand where and what is. The technology will be effective for blind and deafblind people who have retinal damage, optic nerve pathology or other severe visual impairments. This group includes patients with complex diseases such as terminal glaucoma, terminal retinitis pigmentosa, genetic retinal dystrophies, total retinal detachment, tumors of the optic nerve and visual pathways. The neuroimplant will allow people to see who, for whatever reason, is physically deprived of eyes.
There are now about 300,000 blind people in Russia. The neuroimplant, as the developers promise, will help at least 20% of them regain sight of objects and the ability to navigate independently in space, accurately identifying objects that fall into the field camera view. The technology is suitable for those who have completely lost their sight, but have a preserved brain and visual experience.
When will people start installing it?
The operated monkey is doing well. Over the next two years, the project team will install a neuroimplant in dozens of primates and conduct a series of behavioral experiments. All testing is performed in accordance with international ethical standards.
“We are just steps away from the start of research involving blind volunteers, — says the director of the Sensor-Tech Laboratory Denis Kouleshov. — Our task was not only to test the equipment and the electrodes, it was also important to work out the surgical nuances. In the next steps we will check how electronic vision works in animals, if they can see blindfolded, only with the help of ELVIS. We expect animal testing to continue until the end of 2023.
In 2024, researchers want to move on to implanting the first blind volunteers. They already receive many applications for participation (you can leave them on the site) and in a few years they will start the selection of candidates. Until 2026, it is planned to produce the first experimental batches of the neurochip for human testing. These blind and deafblind volunteers (no more than 10 people) will become the first Russian users of a full-fledged bionic cortical implant.
From 2027, as expected by authors of the project, the operation of installing the ELVIS neurochip will become widely available in Russia and will enter medical practice.
