3 people received implants to detect cancer in their brains

San Francisco A startup with ties to Elon Musk Neuralink His testing has begun Brain transplant To detect and treat cancer in humans.

Coherence Neuro says it has temporarily placed a coin-sized implant in the brains of three people undergoing surgery to remove brain tumors at the Royal Melbourne Hospital in Australia. The implant was held in place for about 30 minutes before being removed, providing an important safety check before the device is implanted long-term in patients with brain cancer.

Known as A Brain-computer interfaceThe Coherence Neuro device is designed to sense the unique electrical signals of tumors and deliver mild electrical stimulation to prevent their growth. While the implant was in patients’ brains, the company was able to see how it performed for a short period. (Patients had consent before surgery.)

Matthew McDougall, chief neurosurgeon at Neuralink, is an advisor and investor in Coherence. Rory Murphy, a neurosurgeon at Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona who is an investigator on one of Neuralink’s trials, is also scheduled to participate in future trials of the coherence device.

The idea behind treating brain tumors with electrical stimulation comes from the ancient observation that cancerous tissue has distinct electrical properties. “These are electrical conditions, just like epilepsy, just like depression. It’s a network problem in the brain,” says Ben Woodington, CEO and co-founder of Coherence.

In 2019, researchers at Stanford University discovered Found A group of aggressive brain tumors called high-grade gliomas drives their growth by forming synapses with healthy nerve cells. In that study, the researchers showed that giving a seizure drug to mice succeeded in cutting off the tumors’ electrical signals and slowing their growth. It has also been shown that the use of low-intensity electricity leads to disruption of cancer cell division in brain tumors.

A wearable device called Optune, developed by Novocure, was first approved in 2011 to treat adults with glioblastoma, which makes up about half of cancerous brain tumors. Earlier this year, the company received regulatory approval to treat pancreatic cancer with its device, which is attached to the scalp or stomach with adhesive patches depending on the type of cancer.

The Optune device can improve survivability by several months if worn most of the day, but people have to shave their heads to use it and carry a battery in a backpack or on a hip belt.

Coherence wants to deliver electrical stimulation in a more convenient way. The implant is placed in the skull and has 16 threads that extend into the brain tissue. It is designed to be implanted during brain tumor surgery, when the tumor is removed. Even when tumors can be completely removed, it is common for them to return after surgery, something the Coherence device is designed to protect against.

The company initially aims to treat glioblastoma, which has a higher risk of recurrence than lower-grade tumors. Glioblastoma patients have few options and a bleak prognosis. Most patients live only 15 to 18 months after their diagnosis, with a five-year survival rate of less than 10 percent.

Currently, glioblastoma patients get an MRI of their brain every two to three months so doctors can monitor tumor growth and adjust their drug regimen as needed. But Woodington doesn’t think this is frequent enough. Brain tumors can suddenly become more aggressive, and doctors don’t have a good idea what happens between scans. The Coherence device is designed to monitor people continuously and provide personalized electrical stimulation.

The connected app will allow patients to record their symptoms, which are sent to doctors along with their disease status and the amount of stimulation they receive. Doctors can set up treatment remotely or let the device do it automatically. By detecting rapid tumor growth, the device can signal to doctors when to intervene in surgery before an MRI can.

The company plans to start a trial next year on glioblastoma patients, where the device will be permanently implanted in them.