First launched in 2016, Elon Musk’s brain implant company Neuralink is close to conducting its first human trials. The company recently posted two hiring ads for a clinical trial director and coordinator.
According to the listing, the trial director will oversee the startup’s long-promised and highly-anticipated first human trials of the brain-machine interface. Additionally, they’ll work alongside “some of the most innovative doctors and top engineers” to build and lead the team responsible for enabling clinical research practices in humans. The Neuralink device is designed to help treat neurological disorders like paralysis. Musk said preliminary research with the device in macaques has already allowed monkeys to play video games with their thoughts alone.
NASA Planning First-Ever Trip to the Dark Side of the Moon
Last December, Musk told the Wall Street Journal that Neuralink hoped to implant its device in human brains sometime this year. However, his prior predictions were a bit overly optimistic. He initially speculated that the device would be in human skulls by 2020. News of hiring a clinical trial director does show promise that research will begin very soon. This is, of course, all pending FDA approval. Neuralink must first undergo a comprehensive submission, review, and approval process based on the feasibility test. Typically, device makers hire trial directors to assist in the trial design to maximize the likelihood of FDA approval. Another company working on brain-machine interfaces, Synchron, attained FDA approval last year.
Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below! In case you missed it, Apple Removes Noise Cancellation From iPhone 13 Models.
