Neuralink, Elon Musk‘s brain implant business, announced that an independent review board has approved it to begin recruiting patients for its first human study. In a six-year research, the business is looking for people with paralysis to test its revolutionary technology.
Neuralink is one of several businesses working on a brain-computer interface (BCI) capable of collecting and analyzing brain signals. However, its billionaire CEO’s bombastic promotion of the firm, including pledges to construct an all-encompassing brain-computer to assist humans in keeping up with artificial intelligence, has sparked skepticism and prompted ethical issues among neuroscientists and other professionals.
The FDA declined the company’s request to expedite human trials last year, but in May it granted Neuralink an experimental device exemption (IDE), which allows a gadget to be used in clinical investigations. The agency hasn’t said how its first concerns were addressed.
Neuralink Initiates Clinical Trial for Brain-Computer Interface in Patients with Quadriplegia and ALS
According to Neuralink, it is seeking patients who have quadriplegia as a result of a vertical spinal cord injury or ALS. Participants will have a BCI surgically inserted in a part of the brain that regulates movement using a proprietary robot, to allow them to control a computer cursor or a keyboard using only their thoughts. According to a release, the study will assess the technology’s safety and functionality.
The announcement comes months after the company got regulatory approval for a trial. Its earlier animal testing is being investigated after reports that the experiments caused unnecessary suffering. Former staffers described the tests as “hack jobs,” telling Reuters that the gadget was inserted in the improper spot in pigs, resulting in their demise.
Several investigations were launched in response to the allegations, including one by the Department of Agriculture into animal mistreatment and another by the Department of Transportation into the mishandling of biohazardous chemicals across state lines.
The corporation did not immediately answer questions about when and where the study will take place, as well as how many people will be involved. Even if its technology is shown to be safe for human usage, it could take decades before it is approved for use in patients outside of the trial.