Since so few people are using these devices, it is yet unknown how long they will last. The Utah array has so far survived up to 10 years in monkeys. As per Robert Gaunt, a biomedical engineer at the University of Pittsburgh and a member of Copeland's research team, Copeland's implants are still functioning, but not as well as they did in the initial few months after being placed.

According to reports, Electronics and engineering systems are exceedingly difficult to integrate with the human body, according to Gaunt. "The body is constantly attempting to get rid of these things because it is an aggressive environment." Implanted arrays—the spiky probes that go into the brain—can elicit an immunological response in the neuronal tissue that surrounds the electrodes.

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Studies have shown that this discomfort can lower the quality of the signals. Additionally, scar tissue that forms around brain implants can affect their ability to receive messages from nearby neurons. A BCI is less effective at completing its intended features the less data that it can read from neurons.

Experimenting with completely different types of materials is one-way researchers are trying to extend the lifespan of implants. Parylene, a protective polymer covering utilized in the medical device industry for its resilience and low permeability to moisture, insulates the Utah array. But over time, it's likely to corrode and crack, and other materials might prove to be more durable.

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Blackrock Neurotech, which makes the Utah arrays, is testing one with a coating made of a combination of parylene and silicon carbide, which has been used in industrial applications for more than a century, according to Florian Solzbacher, CEO of Blackrock Neurotech.