Science Corp. to Implant First Brain Sensor in Human Patient

Science Corporation, the startup founded by former Neuralink president and co-founder Max Hodak, has recruited a leading neurobiologist to spearhead the first U.S. human trials for its biohybrid brain-computer interface.

After two years of discussions, Dr. Murat Günel, chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Yale Medical School, has joined as a scientific advisor. His initial objective is to surgically implant the first sensor for a future interface—one designed to eventually integrate lab-grown neurons with electronics—into a patient's brain.

Founded in 2021, Science completed a $230 million Series C funding round last month, valuing the company at $1.5 billion. Its most advanced product is PRIMA, a device that restores vision in individuals blinded by macular degeneration and similar conditions. Science acquired the technology in 2024, has progressed it through clinical trials, and plans to broaden its availability in Europe pending regulatory approval, potentially as early as this year.

Hodak co-founded the company with a more ambitious vision: establishing reliable communication links between computers and the human brain. This aims not only to treat disease but also to explore human enhancement, such as adding entirely new senses. He has devoted his career to this pursuit, from securing a place in a graduate neuroscience lab as an undergraduate, to founding his first biotech computing startup, to co-creating Neuralink with Elon Musk.

Neuralink and other groups have successfully used electronic sensors to detect brain activity in patients with ALS, spinal injuries, and other conditions that disrupt communication between the brain and body. Users with implanted devices can control computers or generate text on a screen through thought alone. However, the path to a viable market for these devices remains unclear, hampered by regulatory hurdles and the relatively small patient population with qualifying diagnoses.

Hodak concluded that the conventional approach of using metal probes or electrodes to influence the brain with electricity is fundamentally flawed. While the technology can produce impressive results, Günel notes these probes cause brain damage that likely degrades device performance over time. This limitation led Science's founders to pursue a more organic strategy.

"The concept of leveraging natural neuronal connections to create a biological interface between electronics and the human brain is brilliant," Günel told TechCrunch.

Alan Mardinly, a co-founder and the company's chief science officer, has led a team of 30 researchers in developing Science's biohybrid sensor. The final device will be embedded with lab-grown neurons. These neurons, which can be stimulated with pulses of light, are designed to integrate naturally with a patient's own brain neurons, forming a bridge between biology and electronics. In 2024, the company published a working paper demonstrating the safe implantation of the device in mice and its use to stimulate brain activity.

Internally, the current focus is on developing device prototypes and determining how to grow neuron cells for various therapeutic applications that meet medical standards.

Günel will advise the team as they prepare for human clinical trials and is already in discussions with medical ethics boards overseeing human subject research. The first step will involve testing the company's advanced sensor—without the embedded neurons—inside a living human brain.

Unlike Neuralink's device, which is inserted directly into brain tissue, Science's sensor will be implanted inside the skull but rest on the brain's surface. The company cites this distinction as a reason it does not plan to seek FDA approval for these initial trials, arguing the tiny device—packing 520 recording electrodes into an area the size of a pea—poses minimal risk to patients.

The team plans to identify candidate patients already undergoing major brain surgery, such as stroke victims requiring removal of a skull section to relieve brain swelling. In such cases, Günel anticipates placing the sensor on the cortex to evaluate its safety and efficacy in measuring brain activity.

Günel believes a successful device could help address multiple neurological conditions. An early application might involve delivering gentle electrical stimulation to damaged brain or spinal cord cells to promote healing. A more complex use could involve monitoring neurological activity in brain tumor patients and providing caregivers with early warnings of impending seizures.

If the full potential of such devices is realized, Günel speculates they might offer more effective treatments for conditions like Parkinson's disease, a progressive disorder that gradually strips patients of bodily control. Current options include experimental brain cell transplants and deep brain electrical stimulation, but neither has proven reliably capable of halting disease progression.

"I envision this biohybrid system as a fusion of the two—you have the electronics and the biological system," he told TechCrunch. "In Parkinson's, for example, we cannot stop the disease from advancing; in neurosurgery, we merely implant an electrode to suppress tremors. But if you can truly reintroduce [transplanted] cells into the brain and protect those neural circuits, there is a chance—a good chance, I believe—that we could stop the disease's progression."

Considerable work remains before that point, however. Günel states it would be "optimistic" to expect trials to commence in 2027.