Ability Neurotech records from the human brain for the first time
In an intraoperative study at TU Munich, the start-up's batteryless BCI technology captured brain signals from patients undergoing brain tumor surgery.
Ability Neurotech, which is developing an implantable, batteryless brain-computer interface, has completed its first-in-human procedure. Its system recorded signals from the human brain for the first time.
The study
The work took place at the Department of Neurosurgery of the Technical University of Munich’s university hospital (Klinikum rechts der Isar) in Germany. It is an intraoperative study: the technology is tested briefly during surgery that patients are already having, here for brain tumors, rather than left implanted.
The study will include up to five people. The first patients were tested under general anesthesia to validate the system end to end and confirm signal recording. The company says later stages will involve awake patients performing speech and movement tasks, so the team can test decoding.
Why it matters
Intraoperative studies are a common, lower-risk first step for new BCI hardware. Precision Neuroscience and Paradromics took similar routes. They show whether a device captures usable brain signals in people before companies seek approval for long-term implants. CEO Rotem Kopel called the recordings a key milestone toward “safe and ethical long-term BCI implantations”.
Learn more: Microelectrode array · Clinical trial pathway · Brain-computer interface