Elon Musk’s company Neuralink had finally received approval for human testing of its brain-computer interface (BCI). After initially rejecting the application, the US Food and Drug Administration finally gave the company the go-ahead on Thursday.
Neuralink, which aims to develop an implant that would allow humans to interface directly with computers as well as enabling medical applications such as controlling prostheses. Last year, the company showed off a monkey that was able to play the simple video game Pong on a monitor using its mind.
Neuralink is by no means the first company to try to achieve these goals. Many other institutions have made advances over the past decades, but the field is a difficult one and progress is slow. In its previous rejection, the FDA cited concerns such as the devices using lithium for their batteries, migration of the wires inside the brain and the difficulty of extracting the devices without harming brain tissue.
The company’s use of animals to develop the technology has infuriated activists, but this is a standard practice in development of BCI technology. Last year, whistleblowers accused the company of killing 1500 animals since its inception.
In a guidance document, the FDA says that, “The field of implanted BCI devices is progressing rapidly from fundamental neuroscience discoveries to translational applications and market access. Implanted BCI devices have the potential to bring benefit to people with severe disabilities by increasing their ability to interact with their environment, and consequently, providing new independence in daily life.”
China is also aggressively pursuing the development of BCIs as part of their ‘China Brain Project’, as discussed in the journal Neuron. It has a significant advantage as it has a large population of macaques to draw on, along with fewer ethical concerns and policies expediting biotech research.
