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According to Elon Musk, his brain device Neuralink is ready for human use and may start human testing as soon as it receives US Food and Drug Administration certification (FDA).
Musk made a number of audacious assertions about the potential of the implant during a “show and tell” of the company’s work on the technology. Musk stated that the overarching objective of the device was to develop a “whole brain interface” that could communicate with “any element of your brain.”
The “N1 implants” are about the size of a quarter, have “over 1,000 channels that are capable of recording and stimulating,” and can be charged wirelessly, as shown by a monkey that had been trained to sit next to a charging station to recharge it. Vice president and co-founder of Neuralink DJ Seo explained this during the presentation.
A video of a monkey using the device to move a pointer on screen was also shown during the event.
In the future, according to Musk, the gadgets may be used to restore sight to the blind and provide “full-body functionality” to those who have suffered spinal cord injuries. However, experts in the subject told the New York Times that given the status of the science at the moment, they would be wary of these claims.
The Verge notes that Musk previously stated he planned to do human trials in 2020 and then again in 2022 in response to claims that the gadget will soon undergo human trials. Musk asserts that despite this, the Neuralink devices are so small and undetectable that “I could have one implanted right now and you wouldn’t even know,” adding, perhaps in jest, “in one of these demos I will.”
People have expressed doubts about the chips’ readiness for people. The announcement comes in response to allegations of animal abuse made earlier this year by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) about the way Neuralink treated its monkey test subjects. According to the PCRM, the documents they collected demonstrate that the business conducted “very invasive, frequently lethal tests” on macaque monkeys.
The organization claimed that after Neuralink technicians removed pieces of the animals’ skulls, attached “pill boxes” to their heads, and inserted gadgets into their brains, the monkeys suffered from infections, convulsions, and loss of motor function.
According to PCRM, Neuralink utilized “BioGlue,” which destroyed brain tissue in the monkeys and caused anxiety, vomiting, and self-mutilation in the animals. This, PCRM said in a legal complaint of animal abuse. In response, Neuralink said that allegations of abuse were “misleading” and that it “met and still does” adhere to federally established standards.
The company stated in a blog post that “six animals were euthanized at the medical advise of the veterinary personnel at UC Davis, and two animals were euthanized as part of our work at planned end dates to acquire essential histology data.”
These factors included one device failure, one device failure including the use of an FDA-approved product (BioGlue), four suspected device-associated infections, and one surgical complication involving the use of a percutaneous medical device. In response, we created fresh operating procedures and a completely implanted device model for next operations.
Human volunteers may soon be sought after.
Following the presentation, Musk tweeted, “We are now convinced that the Neuralink device is ready for humans, so timing is a function of working through the FDA approval process.”
