“The original goal of our BCI was to give people the ability to control a computer cursor or keyboard using only their thoughts,” Neuralink said.
The PRIME study is being conducted under an Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) granted by the FDA in May 2023.
“It represents an important step in our mission to create the perfect brain to restore independence to people with medical needs who don’t need it,” Musk’s company said.
People with quadriplegia due to a cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) may qualify for the six-year test.
In March of this year, the FDA rejected Neuralink’s plan to implant a chip into the human brain because of safety risks.
However, Musk’s Neuralink won’t be the first to implant a brain-computer interface in a human.
Neuralink rival Synchron launched a human trial in six patients with severe paralysis in the US to enable them to control digital devices hands-free, using only thought last year in May.
