Key Takeaways:
- FDA approves Neuralink’s ‘Blindsight’ brain chip for restoring sight.
- Designed for individuals with complete or partial blindness, including non-functional optic nerves.
- Neuralink invites applications for their Patient Registry and job openings.
- FDA’s Breakthrough Device Designation accelerates the development of innovative medical devices.
- Elon Musk highlights the potential for restoring vision, even for those blind since birth.
- Neuralink, founded in 2016, focuses on brain-computer interfaces for neurological disorders.
- Currently, clinical trials are being conducted with three participants for spinal cord injury assistance.
- One participant successfully controls video games and creates 3D designs using the implant.
The innovative brain-chip startup Neuralink, founded by Elon Musk, has been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
This approval comes after the firm created a pioneering appliance for experimental implants named ‘Blindsight.’
The brain chip called ‘Blindsight’ is specifically created to help people with complete or partial blindness, including those with non-functional optic nerves.
Neuralink expressed their excitement about the FDA’s Breakthrough Device Designation for ‘Blindsight.’ They invite anyone interested in aiding their mission to restore sight to apply to their Patient Registry and view openings on their career page.
The FDA bestows its breakthrough designation on medical gadgets that diagnose or treat difficult conditions, fast-tracking their growth and assessment.
Musk shared this monumental update across his social media platforms, signalling the profound potential of ‘Blindsight’ – to restore vision, even in the most extreme cases of blindness.
He stated, “The ‘Blindsight’ gadget from Neuralink is designed to empower those with complete loss of vision, including those with non-functioning optic nerves, to see again. As long as the visual cortex remains undamaged, it can even allow those who have been blind since birth to see for the first time.”
Established by Musk in 2016, Neuralink specializes in the creation of groundbreaking brain-computer interfaces that aim to revolutionize treatments for neurological disorders.
Their technology consists of a brain implant that reads neural signals and wirelessly broadcasts them to external gadgets, including computers and mobile devices.
Neuralink is reportedly running a clinical trial with three participants to assess the device’s efficacy in assisting individuals with spinal cord injuries.
Additionally, a second patient has successfully received Neuralink’s brain-computer interface implant, enabling them to control video games and produce 3D designs through mere thought.
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