Device would be surgically implanted into patients’ brains, with the idea that it would connect with computers to decode brain activity<\/p>\n<\/h3>\n
By Physician\u2019s Briefing Staff HealthDay Reporter<\/b><\/p>\n
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FRIDAY, May 26, 2023 (HealthDay News) — It may sound like the stuff of science fiction, but Elon Musk’s company Neuralink announced Thursday that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved a human clinical trial of a device that may restore or enhance function when implanted in a human brain.<\/p>\n
“We are excited to share that we have received the FDA’s approval to launch our first-in-human clinical study!” the company said in a statement<\/a> on Twitter Thursday. It is “an important first step that one day will allow our technology to help many people.”<\/p>\n The device would be surgically implanted into patients’ brains using a robot. The idea is that it would connect with computers to decode brain activity, The Washington Post<\/em> reported, but the FDA did not announce the trial approval or respond to requests for comment.<\/p>\n This is not the only implantable device under study. Blackrock Neurotech and Synchron have already implanted their devices in people for clinical trials, according to The Post<\/em>.<\/p>\n There are at least 42 people in the world with brain computer implants, The Post<\/em> reported, including a quadriplegic patient walking and an ALS patient typing by thinking about keystrokes.<\/p>\n While other companies have been focused on restoring function in people who have lost it because of health diagnoses, Neuralink has tweeted<\/a> previously, “We want to surpass able-bodied human performance with our technology.”<\/p>\n The concept is that a computer chip with electrodes would be sewed into the brain’s surface by a robot and then regularly updated. “I’m pretty sure you would not want the iPhone 1 stuck in your head if the iPhone 14 is available,” Musk said at an event in late November.<\/p>\n Neuralink, founded in 2016, has 400 employees and operates out of Fremont, California, with a campus under construction in Austin, The Post<\/em> reported. It has raised at least $363 million, according to data provider PitchBook.<\/p>\n