Elon Musk, the world’s richest man, has announced that his brain chip firm Neuralink has received “breakthrough device” status for an implant aimed at helping blind patients regain their sight.
The US Food and Drug Administration “breakthrough device” program is aimed at “speeding up development, assessment and review for premarket approval” for medical devices that treat life-threatening or permanent conditions – as long as they meet safety standards.
In a post shared on X, Musk said the implant dubbed “Blindsight,” has gained clearance.
Musk, who excitedly shared the FDA’s decision, accompanied the news with a photo of “Star Trek: The Next Generation” actor LeVar Burton, whose character Geordi La Forge used a futuristic visor to see.
His post reads: “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.”
“To set expectations correctly, the vision will be at first be low resolution, like Atari graphics, but eventually it has the potential be better than natural vision and enable you to see in infrared, ultraviolet or even radar wavelengths, like Geordi La Forge.”
Elon Musk: Man of many vision
Musk co-founded Neuralink in 2016. It is one of many projects for the tech titan, who also owns X and the artificial intelligence startup xAI while also serving as CEO of Tesla and SpaceX.
Legit.ng in an earlier report revealed that Neuralink is also developing an implant that aims to allow para patients the ability to use digital devices with their brains.
In a video shared in January on X, Noland Arbaugh, a 30-year-old Arizona man who was paralysed from the neck down after a diving accident, became the first human to receive a Neuralink implant.
Another video was released featuring Arbaugh, who was able to play video games, browse the internet, post on social media, and control a laptop cursor using only his mind.
The video:
— Neuralink (@neuralink) March 20, 2024
