Neuralink Approved For Human Brain Study
Elon Musk's company, Neuralink, got approval from the FDA for its first human study. This is a big deal for the company. They had trouble getting the approval before.
Since 2019, Musk has said his medical device company will start human trials. The company will use a brain implant to treat bad conditions like paralysis and blindness. Musk has predicted this at least four times.
The company was founded in 2016, but only applied for FDA approval in 2022. In March, seven current and former employees told Reuters that the application was rejected.
Employees said that the FDA had issues that Neuralink needed to solve before human trials. The problems were about the device's lithium battery, the wires of the implant moving in the brain, and removing the device without harming the brain.
On Thursday, the FDA gave approval. American lawmakers want regulators to check if the Neuralink animal testing panel caused errors. They think experiments were rushed.
The government is investigating Neuralink.
A few months ago, the USDA Inspector General started checking if the Animal Welfare Act was violated while researchers conducted tests on specific types of animals. Someone in the government asked for the inspection to take place. Reuters had already reported that the company had used over 1,500 animals in tests. Among them were more than 280 pigs, sheep, and monkeys. These animals were killed as part of the experiments, which began in 2018.
The USDA’s control of Neuralink is being investigated.
Neuralink tweeted on Thursday. They said they are not ready for clinical trials.
The Neuralink team worked hard. They worked with the FDA. They achieved an important step. Their technology can help people. They said this on Twitter. They said it on Thursday.
Musk wants Neuralink to do big things. He talked about it a lot. He got a lot of attention when he said he would put it in his kids.
Musk wants people with disabilities and those without to get implants easily. The implants can help with things like obesity, autism, and mental health issues. They can also help with web browsing and even telepathy.
