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Company wants to build machine for head transplants

A company has now announced that it is working on the world's first ever head transplant system.(Bild: kameraOne (Screenshot))

Almost ten years ago, Italian neurosurgeon Sergio Canavero announced that he would soon be transplanting the first human head. Now a company has announced that it is working on the world's first ever head transplant system.

The head transplant system is a ground-breaking device that will represent a milestone in the field of neuroscience, human engineering and artificial intelligence, the company BrainBridge says on its website.

Hope for terminally ill patients?
The futuristic-looking system (see video above) is intended to give new hope to patients suffering from incurable diseases such as stage IV cancer, paralysis or neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, according to BrainBridge.

(Bild: kameraOne (Screenshot))

In the whole-body procedure, a patient's head is transplanted onto a healthy but brain-dead donor body so that consciousness, memories and cognitive abilities are retained. The concept for this comes from Dubai-based project manager Hashem Al-Ghaili, a biotechnologist and science communicator.

Should be available in eight years
According to BrainBridge, the procedure, which uses advanced robotics and AI for head transplants, should be available within eight years. The procedure will use advanced high-speed robotic systems to prevent the destruction of brain cells.

The whole-body procedure involves transplanting a patient's head onto a healthy but brain-dead donor body.(Bild: kameraOne (Screenshot))

"The entire procedure is guided by real-time molecular-level imaging and AI algorithms to enable precise reconnection of the spinal cord, nerves and blood vessels," project leader Al-Ghaili is quoted as saying on the company's website. "Our technology promises to open doors to life-saving treatments that were unimaginable just a few years ago," he says confidently.

No one knows how the psyche would react
Scientists have been dreaming of transplanting a head for more than a century and have already tested this in animal experiments. But even if all medical obstacles were to be overcome, no one knows how the human psyche would react to suddenly waking up from anesthesia with a foreign body ...