Perhaps not everyone will feel comfortable reading on, but anyway, the world’s first «head transplantation system» from BrainBridge has been unveiled and is expected to be operational within eight years. BrainBridge, a startup in the field of neuroscience and biomedical engineering, presented its almost fantastic concept in an eight-minute video with eerie sound effects.
In the CGI demonstration, a fully robotic system simultaneously removes the heads of the donor and recipient bodies before swapping them out with a conveyor belt. There are no humans in sight (except for the patients) — the robotic arms and lasers are powered by artificial intelligence.
BrainBridge claims that the system will give new hope to patients suffering from incurable diseases such as terminal cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and paralysis. A patient with a dead brain and a functioning body and vital organs in good condition can become a donor for transplantation.
However, one of the several major obstacles to be overcome is the inability of medicine to adequately repair nerve and spinal cord damage. Without this, any head recipient will be paralyzed from the neck down.
The company is looking for specialists to help overcome these barriers and hopes that the publicizing of the concept will help attract «the best talent from around the world».
«In the short term, we expect the project to lead to breakthroughs in spinal cord reconstruction and whole-body transplantation. But in the long term, the project will expand into areas that will transform healthcare».
The concept belongs to the project manager from Dubai, Hashem Al Ghaili, a biotechnologist and science communicator.
«Every step of the BrainBridge concept has been carefully thought out based on extensive research conducted and published by experts in various fields of science. The goal of our technology is to push the boundaries of what is possible in medical science and provide innovative solutions for those struggling with life-threatening conditions. Our technology promises to open the door to life-saving treatments that were unimaginable just a few years ago,» says Al-Ghaili.
The project does not stop with full-body transplants: they also plan to transplant a face from a donor. Face transplants have already been performed with great success, but it is an extremely complex operation that requires months of planning and several surgical teams. According to BrainBridge’s plans, the operation will also be performed using the same artificial intelligence robotic surgeon as the head transplant.
«The process utilizes advanced high-speed robotic systems to prevent brain cell degradation and ensure full compatibility. The entire procedure is guided by real-time molecular-level imaging and AI algorithms to facilitate precise reconnection of the spinal cord, nerves, and blood vessels».
Recently, renowned neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero announced that he had successfully transplanted a human head. However, both the donor and the recipient were deceased, which casts doubt on the «success». Now he hopes that the first successful head transplant «is just around the corner» — he planned to transplant another body to a terminally ill manwho changed his mind after falling in love.
For now, body transplantation remains very far away and may never materialize. However, discoveries in an attempt to achieve this could be huge leaps forward in medical care, especially for spinal cord injuries. Whether heads will one day be swapped like car parts in a factory remains to be seen. But as BrainBridge claims, without the pesky fragile body, the brain could live for several hundred years.
Sources: Metro, BrainBridge
Spelling error report
The following text will be sent to our editors: