Could the impossible be possible??
Could someone born without a vision be able to see? According to billionaire and Neuralink owner Elon Musk, it's possible.
Elon musk has stated that Neuralink, a neurotechnology company that develops implantable brain-computer interfaces has created a chip, called The Link that can not only restore vision but can also bring back motor function to people with paralysis and treat brain diseases such as Parkinson's, Dementia, and Alzheimer's.
"Even if someone has never had the vision, ever, like they were born blind, we believe we can still restore vision," said Musk regarding the Neuralink chip on Wednesday.
The implant is supposed to be rechargeable and wireless. On wednesday's “show and tell” event musk stated 'It's like replacing a piece of the skull with a smartwatch,' The vice president of implants at Neuralink, DJ Seo shared footage of a robot built to perform the implant surgery.
The Link is a tiny computer chip with tiny flexible threads which the robot will sew into the brain. The chip will read brain signals and then translate them into motor controls.
As of now, the implant has been tested on animals, during the last public presentation of Neuralink more than a year ago, musk showed a monkey with a brain chip that played a computer game by thinking alone.
Elon musk said on Monday that they will hopefully start human trials in about 6 months, as of now they are waiting for FDA approvals. He also said that they are being very careful and want to make sure everything works before putting a device in a human.
In recent times Neuralink has missed many internal deadlines to get approval for Neuralink. In a 2019 presentation, Musk said Neuralink was aiming to receive regulatory approval by the end of 2020. Later in 2021, he said he hoped to start human trials this year. And now by the looks of it, human trials will start in mid-2023.
Elon Musk stated that the first aim of the implant is going to be to bring back vision and to enable movement in muscles for those who cannot do so.
“ As miraculous as it sounds, we are confident that it is possible to restore full functionality to someone with a severed spinal cord,” said Musk on Wednesday.
Neuralink was started back in 2016 and since then has worked on creating and perfecting this kind of implant. Whether they will work or not is still undecided.
But one thing that is for sure, is the fact that Elon Musk has targeted the sky and shocked the world time and again. If he is able to do so this time as well, then he and Neuralink will bring an exceptional new outlook to the world of medicine.
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