Musk’s Neuralink brain chip startup seeks to enroll 3 patients in study 

Elon Musk’s brain chip company Neuralink is looking to enroll three participants to evaluate its implant in a study that could last five years or more.

Neuralink is recruiting three paralyzed patients to test the safety and functionality of the device in people with spinal cord injuries. According to the details It was published in the National Institutes of Health’s clinical trials database.

The implant, being tested in the part of the brain responsible for motor functions, is intended to send brain signals to a smartphone app that can decipher intended movements, with the company hoping to eventually enable paralyzed people to use a keyboard or operate a computer using only their thoughts.

The study is expected to reach primary completion by January 2026, but the full study is not expected to be finished until January 2031, according to the clinical trials database.

The study participants are people between the ages of 22 and 75 who have severe quadriplegia, have not seen improvement for at least a year, and have a life expectancy of at least 12 months. Patients must also have “very limited or no movement” in their hands, arms or wrists due to spinal cord injuries or the neurological disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

The first Neuralink implant was placed in a human in January, but a few weeks after the procedure, the threads that record neural activity were pulled out of the brain and the implant stopped functioning.

The malfunction reduced the number of active electrodes, reducing the ability of 29-year-old quadriplegic Noland Arbaugh’s brain to control a computer cursor.

Neuralink said it saw “rapid and sustained improvement” after making the fixes and told the Food and Drug Administration it believes it has a solution to the problem. The Wall Street Journal.

Despite this issue, the company is touting Arbaugh’s ability to play online computer games, browse the internet, live stream and use other applications “simply by controlling the cursor with your mind.”