Key Takeaways
1. Starfish Neuroscience has developed a compact, 2 x 4 mm brain-computer interface (BCI) chip that is wireless and battery-free, aimed at reducing implant size and power consumption.
2. The chip operates at a low power consumption of 1.1 milliwatts, significantly lower than competitors, and includes advanced features like 32 electrode sites and 16 simultaneous recording channels.
3. The device enables access to multiple brain areas, moving away from traditional single-location implants, and facilitates circuit-level treatments.
4. Starfish employs digital preprocessing to minimize bandwidth needs, allowing for a simplified wireless connection to external microcontrollers and supporting inductive power transfer.
5. The first silicon units are anticipated in late 2025, and the company seeks partners for wireless power and communication solutions while exploring broader applications beyond medical uses.
Starfish Neuroscience has revealed initial details about a brain-computer interface (BCI) chip that aims to reduce the size of implants while significantly lowering power usage. The device measures 2 x 4 mm and is built on TSMC’s 55 nm technology node. It is designed for completely wireless and battery-free functionality, and it will be at the core of a new generation of minimally invasive, distributed neural interfaces.
Shift in Clinical and Research Focus
There is a growing interest in circuit-level treatments that require access to multiple areas of the brain at once. Traditional implants tend to focus on just one location and depend on milliwatt-level power consumption, bulky hermetic designs, and wired power supplies. Starfish contends that this bulkiness, along with limited bandwidth and surgical challenges, hinder broader therapeutic applications.
Innovative Solutions to Power and Size Constraints
The chip developed by Starfish tackles these limitations in two ways. The total power consumption during standard recording is just 1.1 milliwatts, which is approximately one-sixth of what Neuralink’s N1 consumes. Furthermore, its design features a 0.3 mm-pitch BGA that fits into a compact area of 8 mm². Despite these constraints, the device accommodates 32 electrode sites, offers 16 simultaneous recording channels at 18.75 kHz, includes onboard spike detection, impedance checks, and has a current driver for biphasic stimulation pulses.
With digital preprocessing within the chip, only low-bandwidth wireless connections are required to transmit important data, simplifying connections with external microcontrollers and assisting Starfish in developing a battery-free, inductively powered system. The company is also creating low-power telemetry electronics to transfer energy and data through tissue. imec, recognized for its small neural hardware, has partnered in the silicon design, emphasizing the project’s commitment to size and efficiency.
Future Plans and Collaborations
The first silicon units are expected to be sent out in late 2025, and Starfish is on the lookout for partners involved in wireless power delivery, communication methods, or tailored implant designs. Co-founder Gabe Newell has a long-held fascination with BCIs, suggesting potential future applications in human-computer interaction beyond just medical uses, although the immediate focus is still on clinical research.
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