Elon Musk, Tesla CEO has announced that Neuralink, his brain-chip startup company, has received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for an experimental implant device that will “enable even those who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve to see”.
Musk tweeted on Wednesday “The Blindsight device from Neuralink will enable even those who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve to see. Provided the visual cortex is intact, it will even enable those who have been blind from birth to see for the first time,”.
Reuters reports that the FDA's breakthrough tag is given to certain medical devices that treat or diagnose life-threatening conditions. It is aimed at speeding up the development and review of devices currently under development.
The News Outlet says Neuralink did not immediately respond to a request seeking details about when it expects the Blindsight device to move into human trials. The FDA also did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Founded in 2016 by Musk and a group of engineers, Neuralink is building a brain chip interface that can be implanted within the skull, which it says could eventually help disabled patients to move and communicate again, and also restore vision.
In the tweet on X (formerly Twitter), Musk posted a photo of Geordi La Forge, a character from the sci-fi TV series Star Trek, who is blind from birth but uses different technological devices that allows him to see.
“To set expectations correctly, the vision will first be at low resolution, like Atari graphics, but eventually it has the potential to be better than natural vision and enable you to see in infrared, ultraviolet, or even radar wavelengths, like Geordi La Forge”.
Neuralink’s technology includes a brain implant that reads neural signals and wirelessly transmits them to external devices, including computers and mobile devices.
Business World reported that Neuralink is also developing an implant that enables paralysed individuals to control digital devices with their thoughts.
Neuralink is also reported to be conducting a clinical trial with three participants to evaluate the device’s effectiveness in aiding individuals with spinal cord injuries.
In August 2024, it was widely reported that Neuralink successfully implanted its brain-computer interface in a second patient, who is now able to control video games and create 3D designs using just their thoughts.
