Frontier stage
Panel

Decoding the global state of implantable brain-computer interfaces

In person
  • Date
    9 July 2025
    Timeframe
    09:50 - 10:30 CEST
    Duration
    40 minutes
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    Implanted brain-computer interfaces (iBCI) are progressing quickly, with over 25 years of research on long-term electrode implantation for communication and motor control applications and considerable private investment in recent years. Despite this progress and groundbreaking demonstrations in social media, no iBCIs have received market approval, nor are they validated as lifelong solutions.

    This panel, comprised of experts from science, neuroengineering, clinical practice, neuroethics as well as pioneers with lived iBCI experience, will identify and discuss critical barriers and opportunities to accelerate advancement and translation of iBCI technologies, including addressing:

    • limited availability of comprehensive data on past and ongoing clinical trials
    • ethical, legal, and sociotechnological concerns that impact the development, validation and deployment of these technologies
    • lack of harmonization of iBCI metrics and governed registries of iBCI users
    • concerns with long-term viability of electrode implants
    • critical issues associated with end-of-trial due to economic factors, obsolesce, device maintenance, security and privacy, and going out-of-business
    • lack of diversity of participants and limited longitudinal data
    • AI regulations
    • iBCI segmentation
    • lack of transparency

    The panel will conclude with discussion of the outlook for these technologies, the impact of technological convergence (BCI, IoT, AI, VR/AR, etc.), including the in-depth perspectives of participants with lived experience and the fast evolution of the field.