Neuralink, a company founded by Tesla CEO Elon Musk, is set to begin its first clinical trial of a brain implant device. The news was revealed by Musk on a social media platform, and it has been reported that the company has received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for the trial.
The experimental chip implant has already been tested on monkeys, and the trial will now move forward with human participants. Those eligible to take part in the trial are patients who are paralyzed due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
The six-year human trial will begin with an 18-month study, followed by at least two hours a week of working on the brain-computer interface. The goal of Neuralink, which was launched in 2016, is to create a communication channel between the human brain and external devices by implanting ultra-thin wires within the brain and connecting them to a custom-designed chip with groups of neurons that can read information.
There is a high level of interest in the trial, with reports indicating that thousands of people are eager to be implanted with Neuralink’s brain implant devices. The company has ambitious plans to implant chips in more than 22,000 people by 2030.
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