Neuralink, Elon Musk’s company that deals with research and development to directly connect our brains to computers, has announced that it has received authorization to experiment with its technologies on humans after having tried them on various species of animals. The company has communicated that it has been authorized by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), the United States federal agency that deals with drugs and medical devices, which has not yet provided details on the decision.
In a tweets Neuralink wrote, “We are thrilled to announce FDA clearance to initiate our first clinical study in humans!”
The tweet was later shared by Musk, who in addition to controlling the company owns Twitter. Neuralink had long since submitted its request to the US authorities, necessary to start new tests and continue the development of its technologies.
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…
— Neuralink (@neuralink) May 25, 2023
The company has been around since 2016 and is headquartered in California where around 400 people work, but is strengthening its presence in Texas with the construction of a new campus. The promising results of the first animal experiments had allowed Neuralink to obtain in recent years funding for over 350 million dollars, a significant figure for the sector of neural interfaces, i.e. systems that make possible a direct communication route between the brain and an external device such as a computer.
In general, neural interfaces are seen as an important opportunity to allow patients with paralysis and other debilitating diseases to recover their functionality, for example by returning to move their limbs. Some devices of this type have already been tested on humans by other companies and research groups, with positive results often ending up in the newspapers, even if still sporadic and far from allowing a full recovery of the patients’ functionality.
However, Neuralink has an even more ambitious goal. In addition to implants in the brain to treat paralysis, the company is working on systems that could one day serve to enhance the activities of the human brain, such as instant access to information stored on a computer and its computational capabilities. It is a result that at the moment appears science fiction, but as Musk and recently the company itself has often recalled, “we want to go beyond the capabilities of a normal human body with our technology”.
We want to surpass able-bodied human performance with our technology. Using only his mind, here’s precision cursor control from Pager (star of Monkey MindPong) achieving 65% and 88% of the median Neuralinker using a mouse. Join us to breakthrough to 110% and beyond!🧠#techtuesday pic.twitter.com/Ugtav0h7Mg
— Neuralink (@neuralink) April 19, 2023
The experimentation had so far involved some animals, with particular attention to pigs. Neuralink has developed a chip that is implanted in the brain through a surgical operation, carried out by means of a robot which according to the company allows for more precise implantation of the tiny connectors of the device that come into contact with the brain tissue. These electrodes detect the electrical signals produced by the brain, process them and transmit new ones to transfer information.
The FDA clearance will now allow Neuralink to test its system directly on humans, in clinical trials that will then have to be submitted to regulatory authorities. If the experiments work and prove to be safe for patients, the company can then apply to the FDA for marketing clearance for its devices. However, we are still a long way from this step and it is by no means certain that Neuralink will be able to achieve its ambitious goals.
