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The wireless brain chip developed by Elon Musk’s company Neuralink that could reinstate patients' communication abilities is expected to enter human clinical testing in six months
The wireless brain chip developed by Elon Musk’s company Neuralink that could reinstate patients’ communication abilities is expected to enter human clinical testing in six months
Neuralink, which has missed several deadlines set by Elon Musk for human testing, claimed that the chip also aims to help disabled people walk and see again.
The company, with offices in the San Francisco Bay Area and Austin, Texas, has been conducting animal studies for the past few years in anticipation of receiving FDA clearance to launch human clinical trials.
During a much-awaited public update on the device, Musk said, “We want to be extremely careful and certain that it will work well before putting a device into a human.”
Musk emphasized the swift pace of development of the company’s device during a nearly three-hour presentation at Neuralink headquarters to a select group of invitees.
“The progress at first, particularly as it applies to humans, will seem perhaps agonisingly slow, but we are doing all of the things to bring it to scale in parallel,” he added. “So, in theory, progress should be exponential.”
After being asked for comment by Reuters, the FDA did not immediately respond.
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Musk said that the first two human applications for the Neuralink device will be to restore vision and enable muscle movements of persons who are unable to do so.
He said, “Even if someone has never had vision, ever, like they were born blind, we believe we can still restore vision.”
The event was initially scheduled for October 31, but Musk postponed it without explanation many days prior.
More than a year ago, during Neuralink’s last public demonstration, a monkey equipped with a brain chip played a computer game by thinking alone.
Musk, who also owns the electric vehicle company Tesla, the rocket company SpaceX, and the social media company Twitter, is known for his grandiose ambitions, such as the colonisation of Mars and the salvation of humanity.
His long-term goal is to create a chip capable of curing neurological conditions like Parkinson’s, dementia, and Alzheimer’s.
He also discusses the prospect of combining human and machine intelligence.
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Yet, Neuralink is now behind schedule. In a presentation given in early 2019, Musk stated his goal of obtaining regulatory permission by the end of 2020.
In late 2021, he expressed optimism at a conference, saying that he planned to begin human trials the following year.
According to current and former workers, Neuralink has missed internal deadlines to secured an FDA approval to commence human trials on multiple occasions.
Reuters claimed in August that after venting to Neuralink staff about the company’s lack of development, Musk had approached Synchron about making an investment.
In July, Synchron achieved a significant milestone when it implanted its device in a patient in the United States.
In 2021, it was granted regulatory approval for human trials in the United States, and in Australia, four individuals have been studied.
Jaw de Guzman is the content producer for Comms Room, a knowledge platform and website aimed at assisting the communications industry and its professionals.
