Billionaire Elon Musk’s brain chip company Neuralink is officially recruiting human beings for a clinical trial, the biotech firm announced on Tuesday.
The trial will be open to individuals with quadriplegia resulting from cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), Neuralink announced on its website. It seeks to assess the brain implant’s safety, the performance of its “surgical robot” and gauge the chip’s effectiveness in allowing paralyzed people to influence external devices through their thoughts. (RELATED: Elon Musk Says He Has A Monkey That Can Play Video Games With Its Mind Thanks To Brain Chip)
A robot will surgically implant a chip into humans’ brains to “record and transmit brain signals wirelessly to an app that decodes movement intention,” according to Neuralink’s announcement. The purpose of this is to enable individuals to “control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone.”
Neuralink received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct its first human study in May, Reuters reported. This was a crucial step in advancing the company’s “mission to create a generalized brain interface to restore autonomy to those with unmet medical needs,” according to the announcement.
The trial will last about six years to make sure the chip is functioning like it is supposed to, according to a study brochure.
We’re excited to announce that recruitment is open for our first-in-human clinical trial!
If you have quadriplegia due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), you may qualify. Learn more about our trial by visiting our recent blog post.…
— Neuralink (@neuralink) September 19, 2023
Musk committed to receiving a brain chip implant from Neuralink during a company event in November.
Neuralink did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.
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