Elon Musk's Neuralink startup is looking for humans to try out its brain implant.
Neuralink on Tuesday kicked off recruitment for the company’s first clinical human trials for its brain chip. Potential participants may be wary following allegations that the startup mishandled medical supplies. But Neuralink says the trial is designed to help people suffering from paralysis.
The so-called “PRIME study” is all about installing the brain chip so that a paraplegic can control an external device using their thoughts. As a result, the trial is specifically looking for people who suffer from paralysis in all four limbs. “If you have quadriplegia due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), you may qualify,” Neuralink tweeted on Twitter.
Still, the experiment will be invasive. The trial will involve using a robot to surgically implant Neuralink’s N1 implant “in a region of the brain that controls movement intention.” The N1 implant can record brain activity through 64 fine threads that contain 1,024 electrodes.
The company’s brochure reveals the implant is about the size of a large coin, but no one will be able to notice you’ve received the chip.
“Once in place, the N1 Implant is cosmetically invisible and is intended to record and transmit brain signals wirelessly to an app that decodes movement intention,” the startup added. “The initial goal of our BCI [brain-computer interface] is to grant people the ability to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone.”
The trial is expected to last six years. With the implant installed, users will use a company app that can decode brain activity to control computer devices.
The recruitment comes after Neuralink received FDA approval to perform clinical human trials. Interested users can sign up through Neuralink’s website.