Neuralink sets its sights on curing blindness after gaining FDA approval
The next big breakthrough for Elon Musk's Neuralink company is underway
🤯 Neuralink’s latest project could help cure blindness
👍 The FDA has approved granted Neuralink’s new Blindsight device
👀 It could enable those who were blind from birth to see for the first time
👏 Neuralink has shown its brain chip can have incredible, life-changing results
After helping two quadriplegic patients, Neuralink is turning its attention to an implant aimed at restoring vision and potentially curing blindness.
The company’s ‘Blindsight’ device has received “Breakthrough Device Designation” from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which should help speed up the development of Neuralink’s new brain chip.
In a post on X, Elon Musk said: “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 [to] be better than natural vision and enable you to see in infrared, ultraviolet or even radar wavelengths, like Geordi La Forge.”
According to details on the US government’s clinical trials database (thanks, Reuters), Neuralink is expected to enroll three patients in its Blindsight trial and the study could take several years to complete.
Neuralink was launched by Elon Musk in 2016 and has been developing brain-computer interface technology to treat neurological disorders. The company has shown it’s successfully helped disabled patients control and interact with interfaces like a computer by thought alone.
Adam Vjestica is The Shortcut’s Senior Editor. Formerly TechRadar’s Gaming Hardware Editor, Adam has also worked at Nintendo of Europe as a Content Marketing Editor, where he helped launch the Nintendo Switch. Follow him on X @ItsMrProducts.