Brain-computer startup aims to treat depression without opening a skull

Inner Cosmos calls its system a digital pill. The idea is that tiny pulses of electricity will normalise the connections among neurons and improve people’s moods. — High resolution photo created by rawpixel.com - www.freepik.com

Many neurosurgeons have dreamed for years of ending depression with a jolt from brain-implanted electrodes. A startup called Inner Cosmos Inc says it can do just that without needing to drill deeply into a person’s skull.

The Scotts Valley, California-based company is developing a machine that would send tiny electrical currents into the far reaches of the brain to target imbalanced networks that contribute to depression. Such a process ordinarily requires invasive cranial surgery, but Inner Cosmos said its brain-computer interface, or BCI, can be placed by shaving a millimetres-thin layer from the top of the skull and installing the implant in the resulting indentation.