Tesla CEO, Elon Musk, has announced a ground-breaking invention that would change how people who have lost their eyesight live.
Musk, in a tweet, announced that Neuralink, his brain-chip startup company, has gotten a go-ahead from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to develop an experimental implant device. The device, he said will “enable even those who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve to see”.
“The Blindsight device from Neuralink will enable even those who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve to see. Provided the visual cortex is intact, it will even enable those who have been blind from birth to see for the first time,” the tech billionaire tweeted early Wednesday.
The event was originally planned for the end of October this year. However, Musk postponed it just days before without giving a main reason.
A year ago, Neuralink’s last public presentation involved a monkey with a brain chip that played a computer game by thinking alone.
Musk, a serial inventor and entrepreneur owns electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla, rocket firm SpaceX, and social media platform X . He is also known for lofty goals such as colonizing Mars and starting a civilization. His ambitions with Neuralink, launched in 2016, are of the same grand scale.
He wants to develop a chip that would allow the brain to control complex electronic devices and eventually allow people with paralysis to regain motor function and treat brain diseases such as Parkinson’s, dementia, and Alzheimer’s. He also talks about melding the brain with artificial intelligence.
Neuralink’s Blindsight Competitor
Synchron, Neuralink’s rival, had been approached by Musk, earlier this year about a potential investment after he expressed frustration to Neuralink employees about their slow progress, Reuters reported in August.
Synchron crossed a major milestone in July by implanting its device in a patient in the United States. For context, this was the first time. It received U.S. regulatory clearance for human trials in 2021 and has completed studies in four people in Australia.
