Elon Musk’s Company Wants To Test Brain Implants In People

International tech tycoon; Elon Musk, said his Neuralink business is shortly applying for approval to test its brain implant on humans.

Mr. Musk stated that his team is in the process of petitioning US regulators to permit them to test the device during a presentation that was live-streamed on Wednesday night.

In roughly six months, he predicted, the business should be able to implant the device in a human brain as part of a clinical trial.

One of several organizations attempting to connect brains to computers, initiatives intended at treating brain illnesses, overcoming brain injuries, and other applications, is Elon Musk’s Neuralink.

The field extends back to the 1960s, but according to Rajesh Rao, co-director of the University of Washington’s Centre for Neurotechnology, “it took off in the 1990s.” And in more recent times, there have been several developments, particularly in the field of communication brain-computer interfaces.

Mr. Rao, who viewed Mr. Musk’s presentation online, stated he does not believe Neuralink has made any significant advancements in the field of brain-computer interfaces. But, he continued, “in terms of the actual hardware in the devices, they are quite ahead.”

With ultra-thin wires running directly into the brain, the Neuralink device, which is roughly the size of a huge coin, is intended to be implanted in the skull.

According to Mr. Musk, the first two uses in humans will be to restore vision and aid those who have limited or no muscle control in using digital gadgets quickly.

He said that he also thinks brain impulses from a person with a broken neck might be connected to Neuralink devices in the spinal cord.

“We’re confident there are no physical limitations to enabling full body functionality, said Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX and the man who recently took over Twitter.

Other teams’ research has shown that persons with paralysis may control computers and robotic limbs with the help of implanted sensors.

An experimental brain-computer interface being evaluated by the consortium BrainGate was used by three volunteers in a 2018 study published in the journal PLOS ONE who had paralysis below the neck affecting all of their limbs.

The interface uses cerebral activity recorded from a tiny brain sensor to navigate through things like email and apps.

Nine patients with chronic spinal cord injuries were able to regain their ability to walk thanks to a study published in Nature recently by researchers at the Swiss research facility NeuroRestore. The study identified a specific type of neuron that is activated by electrical stimulation of the spinal cord.

Additionally, scientists have been developing brain-machine interfaces to restore eyesight. Certain businesses, according to Mr. Rao, have created retinal implants, but Mr. Musk’s announcement indicated that his group would employ signals that would directly target the visual cortex of the brain, a technique that some academic organizations are also investigating, “with mixed results.”

An email addressed to the press office was not immediately answered by Neuralink representatives.