What happens to people with implants if the company that made them stops supporting the device? · Grey Matter

The precedent is the Argus II retinal implant: its maker, Second Sight, stopped producing it in 2019 and nearly shut down in 2020, leaving more than 350 implanted people without repairs, replacement parts or reliable information for medical procedures.

What happens to people with implants if the company that made them stops supporting the device?

The precedent is the Argus II retinal implant: its maker, Second Sight, stopped producing it in 2019 and nearly shut down in 2020, leaving more than 350 implanted people without repairs, replacement parts or reliable information for medical procedures. Every young neurotechnology company, Synchron among those now preparing for market approval, faces the same question, since venture-funded firms can pivot, merge or fail while their devices stay in people's bodies. Reviews of neural device research ask that support after a trial, and plans for a company's failure, be settled before implantation rather than after.