Brain-computer interface company Neuralink begins recruiting clinical trial patients and will conduct human trials

Musk’s brain-computer interface startup Neuralink announced on Tuesday that it had received approval from an independent review board to conduct the first human trial of implanting brain implants into paralyzed patients

Neuralink stated that this research aims to test the safety and effectiveness of Neuralink’s wireless fully implantable brain-computer interface, allowing paralyzed patients to control external devices with their brains.

At the same time, the company officially opened the recruitment of clinical trial patients. Patients who are paralyzed due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may be eligible to participate in this trial.

According to Neuralink, this human trial will last for six years, and participants will first participate in an 18-month study, after which they will spend at least two hours a week conducting research on brain-computer interfaces.

Neuralink did not disclose details about the number of subjects and research plans. However, the company said they plan to reimburse research-related expenses such as transportation to and from study sites

Neuralink’s brain-computer interface device is an invasive brain implant that can manipulate external devices by controlling neural signals, helping severely paralyzed patients regain their ability to communicate with the outside world. In the future, this technology may also allow paralyzed people to walk again and blind people to regain sight

In May, Neuralink announced that its first human clinical trial had been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which was an important milestone for the brain-computer interface field and Neuralink. According to McKinsey’s predictions, in the next 10 to 20 years, the global brain-computer interface industry will create an economic value of US$70 billion to US$200 billion

Researchers have long been testing implants that would allow paralyzed patients to control computers and other devices. For example, two recently published studies suggest that brain-computer interfaces can help ALS patients communicate by typing on a computer.

Musk once said that Neuralink’s short-term goal is to help paralyzed people realize the function of thought typing. In the future, it will also be able to allow paralyzed people to walk, let the blind see, and ultimately realize a "human-computer symbiosis."

But Neuralink has also been controversial for many years, partly because of Musk's over-promise, and partly because of some of the company's internal practices.

There have been problems with the way the company treats monkeys for testing. For example, Musk recently said that testing was only done on "dying monkeys" and that no monkeys died as a result of being implanted with Neuralink devices. However, regulators found numerous problems with the company's treatment of animals

Editor/Fan Hui

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