Elon Musk’s Neuralink implanting a computer chip in the brain of a person with paralysis

Elon Musk’s Neuralink implanting a computer chip in the brain of a person with paralysis

Elon Musk’s brain-chip startup Neuralink has received permission to implant a chip in patients with paralysis in the first phase. Reuters noted that the company received permission from the Independent Review Board on Tuesday to implant a chip in a patient with paralysis for the first time.

According to the news, patients with paralysis due to spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis will be selected for this test. However, the company has not revealed how many people will be implanted with the chip in the first phase. According to the company, it will take six years to complete the first phase.

A robot will be used to surgically implant a brain-computer interface (BCI). According to Neuralink, this chip will be implanted in a part of the brain, from where the entire movement of the body is controlled. The company’s first goal is to help control the keyboard or computer cursor with the help of human thought.

Earlier, Neuralink expected to get permission to implant the chip in 10 patients. But later, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) got permission to transplant only in a small number of people. A former employee of Neuralink told Reuters that the FDA had reduced the number of people receiving the transplant because of safety challenges.

Alan Musk’s goal is to implant a chip in people suffering from conditions such as depression, autism, obesity, and schizophrenia to cure them as quickly as possible. Last May, Neuralink announced that it had received approval from the FDA for a first-in-human clinical trial. At that time, the company was implanting chips in people.

Reuters quoted experts as saying that even if the brain-computer interface device is safe to use in humans, it will take a decade before Neuralink can be implanted for commercial purposes.