World's first head transplant with robotic surgeons? Startup claims 'revolutionary' procedure

BrainBridge, a neuroscience and biomedical engineering startup from the US, has claimed that they are developing the world's first head transplant system. According to their website, it is "a groundbreaking device that will represent a landmark achievement in the fields of neuroscience, human engineering, and artificial intelligence."

A video showing how BrainBridge will be doing the head transplant with the help of robots was shared on social media, and it has gone viral. The animated video shows two surgical robots operating on two bodies at the same time. From one body, they remove the head and places it on the other body. The animation further shows how the robots would work on the body if this technology becomes a reality. (Also Read: World's most powerful MRI scans first images of human brain)

As per BrainBridge, this system is a "revolutionary concept for head transplant system, employing cutting-edge robotics and artificial intelligence to ensure successful head and face transplantation procedures with improved outcomes and faster recoveries."

Take a look at the video here:

This video was shared on May 22. Since being posted, it has gained close to nine million views. The share also has numerous likes and comments. Several people reacted to the clip expressing how they found it unsettling.

Here's what people had to say:

An individual wrote, "To date, there has been no surgery or therapy capable of rejoining a severed spinal cord within the same individual, let alone between different individuals."

A second said, "Just to be clear, this robot, not a human, is going to be doing neurosurgery, plastic surgery, a tracheostomy, vascular surgery, anaesthesia…We don't have a robot that can do any of those things by themselves, let alone a procedure like this, which has never been done to a human."

"No way this is real! Has this been successfully done?" posted a third.

A fourth added, “Never in a million years when I was thinking about the future of medicine did I expect to see a head transplant.”