Elon Musk Claims Neuralink Brain Chip Can Restore Vision

Elon Musk said on Wednesday this week that he expects a brain chip developed by his company Neuralink to start trials on humans within the next six months.

In his presentation, as quoted from The Guardian, Sunday (4/12/2022), Musk revealed a number of updates to the wireless brain chip that the company was developing.

As well as predicting clinical trials, he mentioned planning to implant one of the chips himself.

“We want to be very careful and confident it’s going to work properly before putting a device into a human,” Musk said, according to Reuters.

Neuralink itself is developing a brain chip interface, which is claimed to be able to restore a person’s vision, even in those who have been blind from birth.

In addition, this chip is also claimed to be able to restore the function of the whole body, including movement and verbal communication, for people with severed spinal cord.

The chip interface that targets the motor cortex could be tested on humans in the next six months.

The US drug regulator, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), has yet to grant a license to the company. But Musk said most of the FDA paperwork for approval to implant the device into humans had already been submitted.

Not On Target Schedule

The chip developed by Elon Musk has the goal of allowing the brain to control complex electronic devices, so that people who are paralyzed may be able to regain their motor function.

With it, brain diseases such as Parkinson’s, dementia, to Alzheimer’s, can be treated. Musk also talked about combining the brain with artificial intelligence.

However, Neuralink is actually not running according to schedule. In 2019, Musk said his goal was to receive regulatory approval by the end of 2020.

Musk later said at a conference in late 2021 that he hoped to begin human trials this year.

An employee noted that Neuralink had already missed internal deadlines for obtaining FDA approval to begin human trials several times.