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Neuralink chip: electrodes in the brain
Photo: Neuralink/AFP
When Elon Musk invests in a company, the whole world takes a close look.
The tech billionaire has proven to be a visionary often enough.
Be it the reinvention of online payment, electric driving or space travel.
For several years, Musk has also been involved in the Neuralink company, whose goals sound like science fiction: a chip in the head is intended to bridge nerve damage and transmit thoughts to smartphones and computers.
According to Musk, not only should some neurological diseases no longer be a problem, it would also be possible to use a smartphone with the mind faster than anyone could use it with their thumb.
The Silicon Valley-based company has already developed this so-called brain-computer interface.
It was planted in a macaque and a pig.
Now it's going to be tested on humans too.
Neuralink is currently recruiting for a Clinical Trials Director.
According to a job advertisement, the candidate works closely with doctors and engineers as well as with the first subjects of a study.
The goal of Neuralink, which was founded in 2016, is initially to test the chip for medical purposes.
It could restore the mobility of people with spinal cord injuries or help with neurological diseases, so the promise.
As Musk recently announced, the company initially wants to work with tetraplegics once the US health authorities have approved it.
These are people who are unable to move their arms or legs, usually due to damage to the spinal cord in the cervical vertebrae.
Neuralink works with a chip that is docked directly to the brain and translates appropriate signals for computers.
The macaque managed to play the well-known computer game Pong without using a joystick.
Human testing was originally scheduled to begin last year.
In the long term, the company also hopes for applications beyond medical purposes.
Anyone who wants to could have such a chip implanted in a simple procedure, and thus control computers or share thoughts - that is the bold vision of the company.
However, some independent researchers are skeptical and consider the company's results overstated.
Other institutions also work with brain-computer interfaces.
joe
