Brain chip implant innovation may allow control of paralysis.

Arabian Sea Newspaper - Special

((Arabian Gulf)) Agencies: A company specializing in implanting brain chips is seeking to develop a method that enables quadriplegics to control digital and physical devices with their thoughts. Neuralink, a company that implants chips in human brains, announced on Thursday that it will begin a clinical study in Britain to test the method by which its chips may enable patients with quadriplegia to control digital and physical devices with their thoughts. The company, owned by billionaire Elon Musk, said in a post on the "X" platform that it is collaborating with the University College London Hospitals Fund and Newcastle Hospitals to conduct the study. It added that patients suffering from paralysis for reasons such as spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis are eligible to participate in the study. The company raised $650 million in its latest funding round last month and began human trials in 2024 by implanting a chip in the brain after addressing safety concerns raised by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, which initially rejected Neuralink's request in 2022. According to the company, five quadriplegic patients are currently using its device to control digital and physical devices with their thoughts. Media reports quoted a research and financial data company as saying that Neuralink, which was founded in 2016, has raised about $1.3 billion from investors, bringing its current value to nearly $9 billion.