Neuralink, Elon Musk’s venture into neurotechnology, marked a significant milestone by successfully implanting its device in a human for the first time on Sunday.
Mr Musk, confirming the news via a post on X (formerly Twitter), reassured that the patient is on a smooth path to recovery.
With a vision to empower individuals with severe paralysis, Neuralink is pioneering a brain implant aimed at enabling control over external technology solely through neural signals.
Following US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval in May 2023, the company commenced recruiting patients for its inaugural in-human clinical trial.
In the tweet, the billionaire entrepreneur announced the debut product from Neuralink, dubbed “Telepathy.” If successful, this technology could revolutionize communication for those battling degenerative diseases like ALS, potentially allowing them to navigate social media and communicate via mind-controlled cursor movements and typing.
Mr Musk, envisioning the transformative impact, remarked, “Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.”
The commencement of the in-human clinical trial signifies a significant stride in Neuralink’s journey towards commercialization. However, the road to FDA approval entails rigorous data collection and safety testing for medical device companies.
Details regarding the number of participants in Neuralink’s initial trial remain undisclosed, with the company yet to respond to inquiries about the recent procedure.
The trailblazing neurotechnology company, also achieved a significant milestone on September 2023 by gaining approval from an independent institutional review board and its first hospital site to commence recruitment for its groundbreaking first-in-human clinical trial, dubbed the PRIME Study.
This pivotal trial, aiming to evaluate safety, functionality, and promise for individuals with paralysis, follows Neuralink’s FDA approval in May 2023, and a successful fundraising round, raising $280 million in August.
The PRIME Study focuses on Neuralink’s fully-implantable, wireless brain-computer interface (BCI), aiming to empower individuals to control external devices with their thoughts.
The study seeks participants suffering from quadriplegia due to cervical spinal cord injury or ALS. This innovative trial, conducted under an investigational device exemption granted by the FDA, represents a crucial step towards Neuralink’s mission of developing a universal brain interface to restore autonomy for those with unmet medical needs.
Interested individuals were called to join Neuralink’s Patient Registry for potential participation in current and future clinical trials.
Within the burgeoning BCI industry, Neuralink stands out, bolstered by Musk’s prominent profile as CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
BCIs translate brain signals into commands for external devices, with several other companies, such as Synchron, Precision Neuroscience, Paradromics, and Blackrock Neurotech, also making notable strides in this field.
Paradromics is gearing up for its inaugural trial involving human subjects in the first half of this year, while Precision Neuroscience completed its first in-human clinical study last year.
In 2021, a patient equipped with Synchron’s BCI even managed to post on CEO Tom Oxley’s Twitter account.
As the race towards advancing brain-computer interface technology intensifies, the frontrunner remains uncertain, with each company striving to make its mark on this transformative frontier.