This Chinese Startup Wants to Build a New Brain-Computer Interface-No Implant Required

"Gestala, newly founded in Chengdu with offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong, plans to use ultrasound technology to stimulate-and eventually read from-the brain, according to CEO and cofounder Phoenix Peng. It's the second company to launch in recent weeks with the aim of tapping into the brain with ultrasound. Earlier this month, OpenAI announced a major investment in brain-computer interface startup Merge Labs, cofounded by its CEO, Sam Altman, along with other tech executives and members of Forest Neurotech, a California-based nonprofit research organization."

"One of the most common uses of ultrasound is to monitor the development of a fetus during pregnancy. But researchers have also been interested in ultrasound's potential to treat diseases, not just diagnose them. Depending on the intensity of the ultrasound, it can be used to destroy abnormal tissue such as blood clots or cancer, or modulate neural activity without the need for surgery."

"Initially, Gestala wants to build a device that delivers focused ultrasound to the brain to treat chronic pain. Pilot studies have shown that stimulating the anterior cingulate cortex, a brain region involved in the emotional component of pain, can reduce pain intensity in people for up to a week. Peng says Gestala's first-generation device will be a stationary benchtop machine. Patients would need to come into a clinic to receive the treatment."

Gestala, founded in Chengdu with offices in Shanghai and Hong Kong, plans to use ultrasound technology to stimulate and eventually read the brain. Focused ultrasound can modulate neural activity without surgery and is already approved for Parkinson's disease, uterine fibroids, and some tumors. Gestala's initial clinical target is chronic pain, leveraging pilot studies showing anterior cingulate cortex stimulation can reduce pain intensity for up to a week. The first-generation device will be a stationary benchtop machine used in clinics. The company is in discussions with Chinese hospitals to test the technology. A second-generation device is planned for later development.

Read at WIRED