BrainBridge, a neuroscience and biomedical engineering startup from the US, has claimed that they are developing the world’s first head transplant system. According to their website, it is “a groundbreaking device that will represent a landmark achievement in the fields of neuroscience, human engineering, and artificial intelligence.”
A video showing how BrainBridge will be doing the head transplant with the help of robots was shared on social media, and it has gone viral. The animated video shows two surgical robots operating on two bodies at the same time. From one body, they remove the head and places it on the other body. The animation further shows how the robots would work on the body if this technology becomes a reality.
As per BrainBridge, this system is a “revolutionary concept for head transplant system, employing cutting-edge robotics and artificial intelligence to ensure successful head and face transplantation procedures with improved outcomes and faster recoveries.”
Technically, I think it would be a body transplant, not a head transplant, and the transplanted organ would actually reject you since the immune system is part of the body, not the head.
I didn’t call it a head transplant… but yes that’s what I was getting at. I would imagine that this needs something beyond immunosuppresants, not to mention how does the nervous system work? It can’t be as simple as plug in and go.
You would think if we had the ability to repair severed spinal neurons that we’d be doing it.
Last I heard, that part is currently just a bit ‘magic’, but they have some vague ideas. The processes I have heard about rely on an exceptionally sharp knife and a special glue for the spinal cords where anyone involved is either super secretive about what it is or claims it’s something super basic. The transplant idea mostly seems to rely on severing it cleanly though, that is the usual excuse I hear about why it can’t be used for other purposes like repairing spinal cords/etc.
Destroy the immune system and recreate it. I think you can do this will