Elon Musk’s Neuralink accepts patients now
Neuralink, Elon Musk's company working on brain-computer interfaces (BCI), is now welcoming applications from Canadians who are interested in trying out their experimental technology aimed at assisting people with various conditions.
The decision to include Canadians in the trials comes amidst criticism aimed at Neuralink from a U.S. lawmaker. The lawmaker has accused the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of not adequately inspecting Neuralink before allowing human trials to proceed.
Recently, a 29-year-old American man named Noland Arbaugh had a computer chip implanted into his brain by Neuralink. This chip is designed to be "cosmetically invisible." In a livestream event last week, Neuralink showcased Arbaugh using the brain chip to play online chess using only his thoughts.
Arbaugh became paralyzed from the shoulders down after a diving accident eight years ago. He received the Neuralink implant in January of this year.
Neuralink announced on Saturday that its patient registry is now accepting applications from Canadians.
To be eligible, Canadians must be 18 years or older and have conditions such as quadriplegia, paraplegia, vision loss, hearing loss, inability to speak, or major limb amputation affecting above or below the elbow and/or knee.
By applying, potential patients are competing for a position in Neuralink's Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface (PRIME) study.
According to the company, the PRIME study "has the potential to significantly improve the lives of individuals with paralysis," similar to Arbaugh.
Neuralink has advertised that individuals with their brain-chip can control a computer or smartphone solely through their thoughts. This includes tasks such as making phone calls, browsing the internet, and playing online games.
To operate, the Neuralink implant utilizes a transmitter connected to extremely thin "threads" that capture neural signals. The implant is surgically placed into the patient's brain by a robot, as described on the start-up's website.
The FDA granted Neuralink approval to carry out its initial human trial in September 2023.
In a letter addressed to the FDA on Monday, Democratic U.S. Representative Earl Blumenauer expressed concerns about "troubling evidence" of violations in animal testing at Neuralink. Reuters reported that these violations have been documented since at least 2019.
Neuralink has stated that they are dedicated to upholding animal welfare standards.
Blumenauer asked the FDA to explain how it justified letting Neuralink proceed with human trials despite reports of problems in how they handled animal testing.
He wrote, "These reported failures to follow standard procedures could have put animals in danger and might have affected the accuracy of data collected for human trials."
In reply to questions from Reuters regarding Blumenauer's letter, the FDA stated that it would address the lawmaker's concerns directly. The agency also mentioned that it regularly conducts inspections following the approval of a human trial. Upon inspecting Neuralink, the FDA reported that it did not discover any violations that would compromise the safety of the trial.
Neuralink's brain chip is named Telepathy. In January, Musk compared the product to "if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a professional typist or auctioneer." (Hawking, a renowned theoretical physicist, was diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS.)
In addition to its current capability to control computers or smartphones, Musk has expressed his aspiration for the chip to one day help patients regain movement in their limbs.
With the help of Telepathy, Arbaugh was able to stay up all night playing the video game Civilization 6, solely using his mind to control it. Arbaugh mentioned that he wouldn't have been able to do this before Neuralink.
Arbaugh likened the experience of using Neuralink's Telepathy to controlling the cursor with "the Force" from the Star Wars franchise.
"In a livestream to X, Arbaugh expressed, 'I could get it to move wherever I wanted, just by staring somewhere at the screen, and it would move where I wanted it to, which was such a wild experience.'"
Arbaugh also mentioned that since his Neuralink surgery, he's been learning French and Japanese, and finds reading much easier than before.
Arbaugh stated that he hasn't experienced any "cognitive impairments" as a result of the two-hour surgical procedure.
"It's not flawless; we've encountered some challenges," Arbaugh disclosed. "I don't want people to believe this marks the end of the road. There's still much work to be done, but it has already transformed my life."