Neuralink seeks first human volunteer for revolutionary brain chip implant trial
An adult who is quadriplegic and under 40 years old is the best candidate to sign up for Neuralink's study, the firm said Bloomberg News. The gadget, which is roughly the size of a huge coin, is intended to be inserted into the skull and has incredibly thin wires that travel straight to the brain.
Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain implant startup, is looking for a volunteer to have a portion of their skull removed so a surgical robot may place electrodes and tiny cables within their brain.
One of the numerous organizations aiming to connect the nervous system to computers is Neuralink, situated in Fremont, California. Their goals include treating brain illnesses, recovering from brain injuries, and other uses.
An adult who is quadriplegic and under 40 years old is the best candidate to sign up for Neuralink’s study, the firm said Bloomberg News. The gadget, which is roughly the size of a huge coin, is intended to be inserted into the skull and has incredibly thin wires that travel straight to the brain.
According to Bloomberg News, the gadget is designed to remain in that position for years, reading and analyzing the user’s brain activity before wirelessly transmitting the results to a nearby laptop or tablet.
“The first human patient will soon receive a Neuralink device. This ultimately has the potential to restore full body movement.” Says Elon Musk.
The market for brain-computer interfaces is rising.
Future iterations of the gadget might benefit millions of individuals suffering from paralysis, stroke, and other crippling neurological disorders if it performs as intended.
According to clinicaltrials.gov, other brain or spine computer interface experiments are presently under progress in addition to Neuralink.
An device that helps a paralyzed man stand and walk normally was described by Swiss researchers earlier this year in the journal Nature. The implant reestablishes connection between the brain and spinal cord.
According to research company Accumen Research and Consulting, the worldwide brain computer interface market was estimated to be worth $1.9 billion in 2022 and is expected to grow to $8.9 billion by 2032.
How Neuralink technology functions
Neuralink announced in May that the US Food and Drug Administration has given its permission for human clinical studies. It’s yet unknown how secure or functional this gadget and related interfaces will be in the end.
Neuralink was prepared to test its first implant on a human patient, according to an announcement made by Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla.
“Neuralink will shortly be given to its first patient, a human being. This might eventually lead to the restoration of complete bodily mobility,” Musk said on his owned social media network X, which was once known as Twitter.
According to Bloomberg, Neuralink developed its own surgical robot that stands seven feet tall and is outfitted with cameras, sensors, and a small needle that has been laser-milled with the goal of preventing brain hemorrhage or scarring in patients.
Following the creation of an incision in the patient’s skull by a human surgeon, the robot carefully navigates around blood arteries to insert 64 electrode-laced cables, or “threads,” into the brain.
As mentioned by Bloomberg, no human surgeon would be qualified or permitted to do this kind of surgery with the level of accuracy needed. The thickness of each electrode-laced wire is 5 microns, which is equivalent to 1/14 of a human hair strand’s diameter.
According to Bloomberg News, Neuralink’s implant battery lasts for a few hours and can be wirelessly recharged using a personalized baseball cap.
According to the business, the objective is to provide the patient the ability to use a “think-and-click” system to accomplish computer-like tasks using their thoughts.
As per DJ Seo, vice president of engineering at Neuralink and co-founder, “the company’s short-term goal is to build a generalized brain interface and restore autonomy to those with debilitating neurological conditions and unmet medical needs,” Bloomberg News was informed. “Then, really, the long-term goal is to have this available for billions of people and unlock human potential and go beyond our biological capabilities.”
According to the news site, Neuralink’s robots have carried out 294 of these procedures in 2022 and 155 more on sheep, pigs, and monkeys in 2021. Its management of animal experimentation has also come under government investigation in the interim.
“The last two years have been all about focus on building a human-ready product,” Seo stated. “It’s time to help an actual human being.”
According to Bloomberg, craniectomy and preparation for procedures on human patients should take a few hours, with the actual implantation taking around 25 minutes.
According to documents available online, the business estimates that the present research of the gadget will take around six years. Participants will receive follow-ups on a regular basis throughout this period to check on progress and make sure the device is operating as planned.
According to Bloomberg, Neuralink has received approval from the FDA to conduct further implant studies in 2024. According to documents given to investors, the firm stated that it intends to undertake 11 procedures in 2024, 27 in 2025, and 79 in 2026. After that, it hopes to grow rapidly in the years that follow.
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