Editor TLN
Elon Musk already has what he was looking for. Neuralink, his neurotechnology company created in 2016, just got FDA permission to start their clinical studies with brain implants in humans. at least like that Neuralink itself has announced itwhich explains that this approval by the US regulatory agency marks the beginning of a new stage.
Neuralink wants to leave behind a year of scandals, where it received several complaints for irresponsible medicine. From experiments with monkeys playing Pong, they want to move on to human trials.
A new stage for Neuralink
It is not an idea that comes out overnight. In the middle of last December, Neuralink advertisement the creation of a registry of patients willing to try these implants. Specifically, Musk’s company was looking for adults with tetraplegia, paraplegia, vision loss, deafness or aphasia.
Human clinical trials don’t always go as expected. Although, if the demanding FDA (Food and Drug Administration) approves these tests, it is that in principle they have the necessary guarantees. Neuralink has announced that it has received approval, although for the moment that official confirmation has not also come from the regulatory body.
Elon Musk has not been slow to congratulate his company. At the moment, only approval has been received, but Neuralink explains that these human clinical trials have not yet been opened.
Since 2019, the company has publicly announced that it wanted to start these clinical trials. According to explains Reutersthe first application was not initiated until the beginning of 2022 and the FDA initially denied this petition, as explained by current and former employees. Something has changed this year, because a priori the regulatory body has finally given them the go-ahead.
FDA approval fits within what was promised by Elon Muskwho at the beginning of December explained that they were seeking to obtain the permit within six months.
Neuralink has a device capable of treating patients suffering from neurological disabilities. It is an implant with a series of wires and electrodes. One of the missions of this brain-computer interface is to allow a person to communicate through your thoughts. Something that has been researched for decades and has not yet been possible.
The goals of Elon Musk’s company are more than ambitious. And also dangerous in animal tests a significant percentage of them died. Of the 23 monkeys involved, 15 died or had to be euthanized.
In Xataka | Elon Musk against the brain: what is new and what is not in the advances that Neuralink has presented
