Brain-Computer Startup Aims to Treat Depression Without Opening a Skull
Inner Cosmos expects to begin human trials later this year.
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Many neurosurgeons have dreamed for years of ending depression with a jolt from brain-implanted electrodes. A startup called Inner Cosmos Inc. says it can do just that without needing to drill deeply into a person’s skull.
The Scotts Valley, California-based company is developing a machine that would send tiny electrical currents into the far reaches of the brain to target imbalanced networks that contribute to depression. Such a process ordinarily requires invasive cranial surgery, but Inner Cosmos said its brain-computer interface, or BCI, can be placed by shaving a millimeters-thin layer from the top of the skull and installing the implant in the resulting indentation.