Brain-computer interface (BCI) startup founded by Elon Musk In preparation for its first human trial, Neuralink has started hiring employees.
The business intends to test its technique on paralyzed individuals as part of its mission to link human brains to computers.
A BCI will be implanted with the assistance of a robot, enabling users to operate a computer cursor or type with just their thoughts.
However, BCI implants have previously been made by other businesses in people.
After prior attempts to obtain permission, Neuralink finally received US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for its first human clinical trial in May. This was a significant step.
According to Neuralink at the time, the FDA approval constituted “an important first step that will one day allow our technology to help many people.”
According to former and present employees who spoke to the news agency Reuters, the business requested permission to implant its gadgets in 10 persons.
The final number that was chosen is unknown.
Brain Signals
64 flexible threads, each no thicker than a human hair, would be surgically implanted on a region of the brain that managed “movement intention” at the beginning of the six-year trial, according to the company.
These enable Neuralink’s experimental N1 implant, which runs on a remotely rechargeable battery, to record and transmit brain impulses to an app that decodes a person’s intended movement.
According to the business, individuals with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a condition in which the nerve cells in the spinal cord and brain deteriorate, or quadriplegia resulting from an injury may be eligible for the experiment.
While Mr. Musk’s involvement helps Neuralink become more well-known, he still has competitors, some of whom have a history going back almost two decades. In 2004, Blackrock Neurotech, a company based in Utah, implanted the first of several BCIs.
A Neuralink co-founder founded Precision Neuroscience with the intention of assisting those who are paralyzed. And it claims that its implant, which resembles a very thin piece of tape and rests on the surface of the brain, may be inserted via a “cranial micro-slit” in a much less complicated manner.
In the meanwhile, existing technology is producing results. Implants were utilized in two different recent US scientific investigations to track brain activity during speech attempts, which might later be decoded to aid with communication.
According to Dr. Adrien Rapeaux, a research associate at Imperial College London’s Neural Interfaces Lab, “Neuralink no doubt has an advantage in terms of implantation” because their surgery was robotically assisted.
However, Dr. Rapeaux, who is also a co-founder of the neural implant start-up Mintneuro, said it was unclear how their approach to translating brain signals into actionable decisions would perform better than, for instance, that employed by Blackrock Neurotech, and whether it is able to remain accurate and reliable over time, “a known issue in the field.”
