Elon Musk's brain implant company, Neuralink, has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct its first clinical trial of its experimental device in humans. The company aims to help restore people's vision and mobility by connecting brains with computers, and hopes to use its microchips to treat conditions such as paralysis and blindness, and to help certain disabled people use computers and mobile technology. The chips have gone through animal testing in monkeys. These chips have been designed to process signals from the brain and interpret the information through Bluetooth.
The FDA had previously rejected Neuralink's bid to test brain chips in humans on safety grounds. Several concerns had been pointed out with regards to conducting human trials from the FDA. A few of the serious concerns and issues were related to the lithium battery of the product, the probability and possibility of the implant’s wires migrating within the brain, and the concern of safely removing the device from the body without damaging brain tissue.
However, the company has since addressed these concerns and received approval for its first clinical trial. The extent of the approved trial is not yet known, and patient recruitment for the clinical trial is not yet open. Experts have cautioned that Neuralink's brain implants will require extensive rounds of testing and data safety collection, and no brain-computer interface (BCI) company has managed to clinch the FDA’s final seal of approval. Neuralink is closer to achieving the goal of its techno savvy project with FDA’s approval, bringing it one step closer to the market.
In a tweet, Neuralink said, "We are excited to share that we have received the FDA’s approval to launch our first-in-human clinical study! This is the result of incredible work by the Neuralink team in close collaboration with the FDA and represents an important first step that will one day allow our technology to help many people".
Neuralink is a neurotechnology business by Elon Musk and a group of seven scientists and engineers which was established in 2016. The business creates implantable brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) that link the brain to computers in an effort to help restore people's eyesight and mobility. The chips are intended to decipher brain impulses and transmit knowledge to devices through Bluetooth. Neuralink wants to utilise its microchips to enable some impaired individuals use computers and mobile technologies, as well as to treat illnesses like paralysis and blindness. The company's brain-computer interface is fully implantable, cosmetically invisible, and designed to let users control a computer or mobile device anywhere they go.
The use of brain implants raises concerns about privacy. The technology could potentially be used to monitor an individual's thoughts or behavior, which could be a violation of privacy. While brain implants like Neuralink have the potential to transform our lives for the better, they also raise several ethical and safety concerns that need to be addressed.
Editor: Ms.Fahima Afrin
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