World’s first head transplant system revealed – but is it possible?

Stop reading if you’re disgusted, but the world’s first ‘head transplant system’ has been unveiled – with hopes of starting to work within eight years.

Neuroscience and biomedical engineering startup BrainBridge has revealed its sci-fi concept in an eight-minute video, complete with gruesome sound effects.

In the CGI demo, the fully robotic system simultaneously removes heads from the donor and recipient’s bodies before swapping them onto each other via a gruesome conveyor belt.

There are no humans in sight (apart from the patients) as robotic arms and a vast array of lasers go to work, using artificial intelligence (AI) to direct the outrageously complex – and still purely theoretical.

BrainBridge claims the system would offer new hope to patients suffering from incurable diseases such as terminal cancer, neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, and paralysis.

However, one of the major obstacles to overcome is medicine’s inability – so far – to adequately repair nerve and spinal cord damage. Without it, any head transplant recipient would themselves be paralyzed from the neck down.

Develop

Currently, the company is in the process of recruiting specialists to help overcome these obstacles, and hopes that the unveiling of the concept “will attract top talent from around the world interested in pushing the boundaries of biomedical science and changing the world for the better “.

“In the short term, we hope the project will lead to a breakthrough in spinal cord reconstruction and whole body transplantation,” BrainBridge said. “But in the long term, the project will expand into areas that will transform health care as we know it.”

The concept is the brainchild of Dubai-based project manager Hashem Al-Ghaili, a biotechnologist and science communicator.

“Each step of the BrainBridge concept has been carefully considered, based on extensive scientific research conducted and published by experts in various scientific fields,” he said.

“The goal of our technology is to push the boundaries of what is possible in medical science and provide innovative solutions to those battling life-threatening diseases.

“Our technology promises to open the door to life-saving treatments that were unimaginable just a few years ago.”

For the transplant, the donor will be a brain dead patient with a functional body and vital organs in good condition.

But the process does not end there, since it is planned to also carry out a donor face transplant. Face transplants are already being performed, with great success, but they are extremely complex operations that require months of planning and several surgical teams.

According to BrainBridge’s plans, the operation will again be performed using the same AI-powered robot surgeon used for the head transplant.

A company statement added: “The process uses advanced, high-speed robotic systems to prevent brain cell degradation and ensure seamless compatibility.

“The entire procedure is guided by real-time molecular imaging and AI algorithms to facilitate precise reconnection of the spinal cord, nerves and blood vessels.”

With the process still in the design phase, there is little solid information on how well the operation will work, but the promotional video included details of how it would cool the bodies and use polyethylene glycol (PEG) to help “stick”. the spine together. PEG is already used to treat spinal cord injuries.

After the operation, significant physical rehabilitation and psychological support will be provided after four weeks of artificial coma to allow healing of the transplant sites.

But is it realistic to think that humans will one day be able to swap bodies? The idea has captured the imagination for centuries, notably through Mary Shelley’s tale of Frankenstein’s monster, a creature created from a hodgepodge of body parts, including animals.

The first recorded head transplant was attempted on a dog in 1908, without success.

Dr. Vladimir Demikhov continued his work in the 1950s by grafting a living head onto other dogs, creating two-headed dogs. Technically, this wasn’t considered a head transplant, and none of the subjects lived very long, unsurprisingly.

In the 1970s, scientist Dr. Robert White performed a head transplant, or “head swap,” on a rhesus monkey. The animal reportedly survived for eight days and was able to see, hear, smell and bite one of Dr. White’s colleagues, but it was unable to move its new body because the team was unable to reattach the spinal cord .

He has carried out around thirty transplants of this type.

More recently, controversial neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero claimed to have successfully performed a human head transplant. However, both the donor and recipient were deceased, calling into question exactly how success could have been measured.

He now hopes the first living head transplant will be “imminent” and had planned to carry out the operation on a terminally ill man, who changed his mind after falling in love.

Bioethicist Dr Paul Root Wolpe said the proposed operation “crosses a fine line between medical care and murder”, according to the Daily Star.

Currently, for most, head transplants remain a long way off and may never be feasible.

However, progress in achieving this – if done ethically – could translate into huge advances in medical care, particularly in the area of ​​spinal cord injuries.

It remains to be seen whether the heads will ever be swapped out like car parts in a factory. But as BrainBody argues, without fragile, pesky bodies, brains could live for several hundred years.

Does this mean that living for centuries will eventually be as simple as swapping one body for another?

MORE: Popular Supplements May Actually Increase Heart Disease Risk

MORE: Boots hailed for new service that lets you get a skin diagnosis within 24 hours

MORE: Ancient viruses linked to schizophrenia, bipolar and depression

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.