According to Reuters, Neuralink believes its implants may treat illnesses including obesity and schizophrenia, and even facilitate telepathy. At a “show and tell” event in December, Musk claimed, “even if someone has never had a vision, ever, like they were born blind, we believe we can still restore vision,” per Quartz. He added that human trials might begin in six months.
According to a tweet from April, cited by the Washington Post, Neuralink has the goal of “surpassing able-bodied human performance with our technology.”
So far, only monkeys, sheep, and pigs have been used in the testing of its wireless charging devices, which are reportedly comprised of flexible threads carrying electrodes coupled to a coin-sized chip, which transfers data to computers, as reported by Insider. A monkey was able to play “MindPong” by sending brain impulses to a computer using Bluetooth in one experiment. Unfortunately, many animals have perished as a result of the progress. Reuters reports that the FDA declined Neuralink’s request to begin human trials at the beginning of this year due to concerns about the device’s lithium battery, the possibility of movement within the brain, and the difficulty of extraction without injuring brain tissue. According to the FDA, those concerns have been resolved.
According to Quartz, Musk claims that the surgical implantation performed by a “sewing machine-like robot” takes only 30 minutes and doesn’t require anesthesia. But the business claims it isn’t actively seeking participants for the studies just yet. Additionally, “We’ll announce more information on this soon!” is included.
At least 42 persons have undergone clinical trials using brain implants from rival firms Synchron and Blackrock Neurotech. Synchron’s product enables users to mentally transmit text messages. Patients with paralysis or other neurological problems can use computers, mobile devices, wheelchairs, and prosthetics with the help of Blackrock Neurotech’s MoveAgain technology.
