Multi-billionaire Elon Musk on Wednesday said at an event that his brain-computer interface company, Neuralink could begin clinical trials on humans by implanting one of its devices in a human brain within the next six months. He also said that among his initial target would be the restoration of vision.
One of his claims, during the presentation of his device, also included implanting the device in his own head at some point in the future. His other bigger claim was that this chip implant could make it possible for people with paralysis to control computers outside of a lab.
But the field’s experts doubted whether this presentation showed improvement in the device, given the amount of work still in progress nationally.
The company is working on a brain chip connection that it claims could facilitate disabled patients to move and communicate again. Neuralink has been recently testing animals while it attempts to take approval from the US regulator for human clinical trials.
While giving the presentation, Musk said Neuralink had submitted the majority of the paperwork required for clinical trials on humans to the Food and Drug Administration, a regulator for medical devices used in the United States.
The human trials were earlier expected to begin in 2020 and later in 2022 but they have now been shifted to 2023.
The objective of Neuralink is to develop a brain implantable device that will enable brain activity to control a computer. Musk admitted that the business was testing its technology on monkeys back in 2019. It paraded pigs with the implants in 2020. Additionally, Neuralink published a video of a monkey using its brain to play Pong last year. The monkeys are returning this year. In a video demonstration, one of them used their implant to “type” the phrase “welcome to show and tell” by concentrating on the words and letters that were highlighted. In a different video, it was demonstrated how the monkeys were taught to use a wireless charger to charge the gadgets.
