Test animals at Elon Musk’s controversial biotech business Neuralink died as a result of a multitude of issues from brain chip implant procedures, contradicting the multibillionaire’s claims, according to a new report.
Nuralink has been developing chips that can be implanted into the skull, saying that such a computer-brain interface can let the blind and paralyzed walk again.
In the past, the company demonstrated the operation of its technology in monkey models, including one example of a nine-year-old macaque learning to play the 1970s popular video game, Pong.
However, the startup has received complaints from animal rights groups, notably the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM), which has previously criticized the company’s “inadequate care” of its study monkeys.
In a post on X earlier this month, Tesla CEO Elon Musk stated that “no monkey has died as a result of a Neuralink implant” in response to charges that the neurotech business inflicted “extreme suffering” on its primate test subjects.
“First our early implants, to minimize risk to healthy monkeys, we chose terminal monkeys (close to death already),” Mr Musk posted on X, the platform previously known as Twitter.
The multibillionaire also stated in a presentation last year that Neuralink’s animal testing was never “exploratory,” but rather used to corroborate scientific concepts.
“We are extremely careful,” he said at the presentation.
A number of monkeys on whom the implants were tested were euthanized after experiencing different symptoms
However, public documents obtained by PCRM — a non-profit organization that works against the use of live animals in experimentation – paint a different image.
According to the materials reviewed by Wired, a number of monkeys on whom the implants were tested were euthanized after experiencing different symptoms such as “bloody diarrhea, partial paralysis, and cerebral edema.”
One document reportedly noted that a male macaque was euthanized in March 2020 “after his cranial implant became loose” to the extent that they “could easily be lifted out”.
According to a necropsy report on one monkey, “the failure of this implant can be considered purely mechanical and not exacerbated by infection,” which appeared to contradict Mr Musk’s claim that no primates perished as a result of Neuralink’s chips.
Another primate, according to the article, “began to press her head against the floor for no apparent reason” and lost coordination, and her condition deteriorated for months before she was euthanized.
According to a necropsy report reported by Wired, this animal’s brain was bleeding and the neurotech firm’s implants left areas of her cerebral cortex brain region “focally tattered.”
However, the company held that its “use of every animal was extensively planned and considered to balance scientific discovery with the ethical use of animals”.
The Independent’s request for comment was not immediately responded to by Neuralink.
The latest allegation coincides with Neuralink’s announcement on Wednesday that it has started human trials for people with quadriplegia after testing its implants on pigs and monkeys.
“We’re excited to announce that recruitment is open for our first-in-human clinical trial,” the company posted on X.
“If you have quadriplegia due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), you may qualify,” it said.