Tech billionaire Elon Musk says his company Neuralink is seeking a license to test its brain implant as soon as possible.


In a hands-on demonstration that was livestreamed Wednesday night, Musk said his team was asking U.S. regulators to allow them to test the device. He said he thinks the company should be able to place the implant in a human brain as part of a clinical trial in about six months, though that timeline is far from certain.

Musk's Neuralink is one of many teams working to connect the brain to computers in an attempt to help treat brain diseases, overcome brain injuries, and launch other applications.

The field dates back to the 1960s, said Rajesh Rao, co-director of the UW Center for Neurotechnology. "But it really took off in the 90s. Recently we have seen a lot of progress, especially in the field of communication human brain and computer interfaces." Rao, who has seen Musk's speech online, said he believes

Neuralink's achievements in brain-computer interfaces Not leading. "But ... they're pretty ahead on the actual hardware of the device," he said.

The Neuralink device is about the size of a large coin and is designed to be implanted in the skull, with ultra-thin wires running directly into the brain. The first two applications for humans will be restoring vision and helping people with little or no ability to use their muscles quickly use digital devices, Musk said.

He said he also envisions a Neuralink device that would bridge signals from the brain to the spinal cord in people with cervical spine fractures.

"We believe there is no physical limit to full-body functionality," said Musk, who recently took over social media Twitter. He is CEO of electric car company Tesla and space launch company SpaceX.

In experiments by other teams, implanted sensors have allowed paralyzed people to use brain signals to operate computers and move robotic arms. In a 2018 study in the journal PLOS ONE, three participants with paralysis from the neck down affecting the limbs used an experimental brain-computer interface tested by the BrainGate consortium. The interface records neural activity that drives emails and apps, among other things, to a small sensor in the brain.

A study recently published in the journal Nature by scientists at the Swiss research center NeuroRestore identified a type of neuron activated by electrical stimulation of the spinal cord that enabled nine patients with chronic spinal cord injuries to walk again.

Researchers have also been working on brain-machine interfaces for restoring vision. Several companies have developed retinal implants, Rao said. But Musk's statement suggests his team will use signals that target the brain's visual cortex directly. Some academic groups are also taking this approach, but with "limited success".

Neuralink did not immediately respond to an email to its press office. Dr. Jamie Henderson, a professor of neurosurgery at Stanford University and an advisor to Neuralink, said Neuralink differs from some other devices in that it can penetrate deeper into the brain. But he added: "There are many different systems with many different strengths."