According to reports, Elon Musk’s business Neuralink’s intentions to test brain chips that could “help make the blind see” on humans were rejected by the US authorities due to major safety concerns.
Neuralink, Musk’s BCI business, had previously stated that it would begin conducting human trials by November of this year.
He provided a video showcasing the brain-computer interface (BCI) Neuralink was developing. In the video, Pager, a nine-year-old monkey with a Neuralink chip implanted in his brain, is shown being instructed to play Pong using a joystick.
After mastering the patterns, the monkey’s brainwaves were connected to the game and he was able to play it without the joystick.
Tech experts claimed that the film would revolutionize medicine and alter how people interacted with computers forever, which led to extensive media coverage of the story.
According to a recent Reuters article, US officials rejected Musk’s request to test brain chips on humans due to safety concerns, meaning that Musk’s Neuralink implants won’t be as readily accessible and embraced as Musk would have liked.
According to the source, Elon Musk has predicted that Neuralink will soon start human testing of a ground-breaking brain implant to treat chronic ailments including paralysis and blindness at least four times, despite being denied by US health officials.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had not previously informed the media that Neuralink had been rejected.
According to Reuters, before Musk and Neuralink can start human testing, a crucial step on the way to ultimate product clearance, they must address dozens of concerns.
The gadget’s lithium battery, the potential for the minuscule cables to migrate to other parts of the brain, and if and how the device could be withdrawn without injuring brain tissue were the FDA’s top safety concerns. Even as recently as November 2022, Musk was rejected.
Musk said that the business had submitted “most of our files” to the FDA during the hour-long demonstration in November, although he did not mention any specific formal submission. Executives from Neuralink erroneously stated that the FDA had questioned them about safety following the presentation. They claimed that this was part of an ongoing and open debate.
Musk has stated that Neuralink would receive FDA clearance and license for human testing by November 30 of this year, assuming the FDA granted them the necessary rights to do so.
About a year after being refused permission to conduct human studies, Neuralink is still addressing FDA concerns, the article said. Three workers questioned the company’s ability to handle the issues quickly, especially given the deadline.
