Startup Science Corp will begin selling a retina chip in Europe that restores some sight to people with a form of age-related blindness, a milestone for the company that aspires to eventually bring brain implants to the market.
This is the first device from a US brain implant company to be made widely available to patients. Science’s Prima implant is a chip that sits on the back of the eye and, with the aid of a special pair of glasses, enables people to regain some vision.
“This is the first in hopefully a long series of commercial products that proceed to advance that horizon, sometimes incrementally, but relentlessly,” Chief Executive Officer Max Hodak said in an interview.
The Prima implant received the CE mark, which allows sales in Europe without the need for additional country-level approvals.
Science Corp, based in Alameda, California, is the second most valuable US brain implant company, behind Elon Musk’s Neuralink. The area is attracting billions of dollars of investment and support from the world’s richest people. The Chinese government has also declared it a national priority, and China this year approved its first brain-computer interface for commercial use. Related News Bandwidth costs less to reach Canada than northern Nigeria, industry stakeholders say Trump "close" to decision on "massive attack" on Iran, says US media outlet Credible elections hinge on media, INEC, informed voters, stakeholders say
