Neuralink is a company backed by Elon Musk. It works in the area of Brain Computer Interface (BCI).
Yesterday, Neuralink announced that it has received approval from the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to conduct human trials for its brain implant chips. FDA is the regulating authority for foods and medicines in the US.
Neuralink hopes to make these chips for the use of people who suffer from paralysis or blindness – helping them to walk or see again.
Earlier this week, a paper in the journal Nature demonstrated the use of brain computer interface. The researchers from University of Lausanne used BCI through a sensor worn by Mr. Gert-Jan Oskam, a 40-year-old Dutch man. (He was unable to walk because of an accident twelve years ago. )
The device takes the walking command from his brain and relays it to the spinal cord, from where the nerves and muscles pick it up. With training, he is now able to stand up and walk a little. The sensor is in a device that is worn on the head.
The image below is from the paper published in the journal Nature.
Neuralink’s device, however, is the size of a coin, and is designed to be implanted into the skull, with wires going into the brain.
The company has indicated that it has no plans to recruit people for the human studies yet. The start of the human trials will be announced later by the company. This news is only for getting the approval.
In this presentation, Neuralink shared its plans and current progress with BCI in late 2022.
And this is the demo given by Elon Musk three years ago.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r-vbh3t7WVI&t=5405s
Neuralink has, so far, tested the chips on animals like rats, sheep, and monkeys, among others.
There have been allegations that the animals were not treated well. Some employees also made these allegations. That investigation delayed the human testing approval by the FDA.