– In six months we will probably have our first Neuralink integrated into a human. This is how Elon Musk opened the press conference about Neuralink, from the headquarters in Fremont, California. By drilling a hole in the skull and leading electrodes to different parts of the brain, Neuralink will turn science fiction into reality. Video animation of the process was shown at the press conference. Neuralink The ambition is to be able to help people with neurological injuries. For example, giving back control over one’s own body to the disabled, or giving sight back to the blind. – Even where someone has never had sight, where they were born blind, we believe we can restore sight, Musk said optimistically. – This is not a chip that will scan brain waves, but help control brain waves, he continued from the stage. From press conference in 2020: Elon Musk with a prototype of the machine that will install the chips in the brain. Photo: AFP Monkeys playing computer games Neuralink has conducted extensive animal experiments in recent years. Among other things on monkeys, who have had the Neuralink chip installed. In videos shown at the event, monkeys could be seen controlling cursors on the screen and using the keyboard, using brain waves. In addition, Neuralink has previously shown how a monkey can play the computer game Pong using the brain chip. A monkey plays Pong in a Neuralink experiment by thinking about where the ball should go. Neuralink However, this has not happened without problems. Earlier this year, Elon Musk could confirm that one of the monkeys had died as a result of the project. – Fantastic revolution Mathias Toft is section leader and senior physician at the Department of Neurology at Oslo University Hospital. He refers to the technology as “exciting” and thinks it is realistic that this will become a reality before long. – If you can make this work in a good way, it is a fantastic revolution, he says. He explains that similar projects involving connecting the brain with, among other things, computers and telephones have previously shown that the project is in principle possible. – By that I mean that thoughts can control something outside the body via such a connection. – If you can make it work well enough to transmit enough information and that it becomes precise enough, it offers a number of exciting possibilities for the medical treatment of paralysis, speech disorders, blindness and many other serious problems, he continues. Neurologist Mathias Toft calls the technology a fantastic revolution. He explains that people with paralysis can control various devices using the power of thought, and that this will open up a multitude of different areas of use. Photo: Stein Schinstad Despite the fact that he is positive about the technology, he nevertheless recognizes that the project does not come without challenges. – All new treatments will, among other things, have ethical issues and security challenges. There will also be a risk when electrodes are implanted in the brain, which can cause complications such as bleeding and infections, explains Toft and adds that electrodes are already implanted in the brain today to treat, among other things, Parkinson’s disease. The FDA is in power Although Musk is hopeful that the brain chip can be tested on humans within six months, this must first be approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The agency is subordinate to the US Department of Health and Welfare, and regulates, among other things, the introduction of medicines and medical equipment into the US. The FDA will have to undergo a full evaluation of the potential risk the procedure will entail, and thus assess whether the chip is safe for use. – We have submitted most of the paperwork to the FDA, Musk told the press conference on Thursday.
ttn-69
Elon Musk opens up to testing brain chips on humans – news Urix – Foreign news and documentaries
