Musk’s Neuralink begins recruitment for its first human test of a brain-computer interface

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San Francisco. Neuralink, the brain-computer interface company owned by Elon Musk, is now recruiting for its first human trials to help people with paralysis control devices.

The company said it has received approval from the independent institutional review board and the first hospital site to begin recruitment for its first human clinical trial.

“The PRIME study (short for Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface) aims to evaluate the safety of our implant (N1) and surgical robot (R1) and its efficacy in patients with paralysis,” the company said in a statement late Tuesday. “The aim is to assess the initial functionality of our wireless brain-computer interface (BCI) to enable us to control external devices with our thinking.”

During the study, the R1 robot will be used to surgically place extremely fine and flexible threads of the N1 implant into the area of ​​the brain that controls movement intention.

Once installed, the N1 implant is cosmetically invisible and is intended to record and transmit brain signals wirelessly to an app that decodes movement intent.

“The initial goal of our BCI is to provide people with the ability to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone,” Neuralink said.

The PRIME study is being conducted under an investigational device exemption (IDE) granted by the FDA through May 2023.

“This represents an important step in our mission to create a generalized brain interface to empower people with unmet medical needs to become self-reliant,” the Musk-owned company said.

People who have quadriplegia caused by cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) can enroll in the six-year trial.

The FDA in March this year rejected Neuralink’s proposal to implant a chip in the human brain due to safety risks.

However, Musk’s Neuralink will not be the first to implant a BCI in humans.

Neuralink rival Synchron began human trials in the US in May last year on six severely paralyzed patients to help them control digital devices with their hands using only thoughts.(IANS)

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