Published By: Soham Halder

From Science Fiction to Reality: Neuralink's 'Blindsight' Device to Restore Vision Gets FDA Approval; The Future Ahead

A ray of hope for people suffering from blindness as Neuralink’s Blindsight device gets an FDA approval.

Remember the famous character named Geordi La Forge from American science fiction television series Star Trek? Yes, we are talking about the boy born with blindness and received ‘VISOR’ which is an arc-shaped prosthetic device attached at the temples to provide him the vision. The fiction is turning into reality with another revolutionary invention by Elon Musk-owned Neuralink’s ‘Blindsight’ device. Let's find out some exciting details and future prospects of this device.

 

(Credit - X/@elonmusk)

FDA Approves Blindsight:

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in US provides special ‘Breakthrough Device Designation’ to a few medical devices for treating or diagnosing life-threatening conditions. This is basically aimed at accelerating the development of devices currently under research or review.

Tesla founder Elon Musk has recently announced that Neuralink has received approval from the FDA. "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," the tech titan tweeted.

How Blindsight Works?

Taking about working principle, the novel Blindsight device functions by directly implanting an array of microelectrodes into the visual cortex of the patient. The array will activate neurons depending on input from an external camera producing a visual image. Thus, a peroson with functional visual cortex will be eligible to get this implant.

Future Prospects:

Musk shared his vision about this revolutionary device: "to set expectations correctly, the vision will first be at 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".

Meanwhile, through VISOR, Geordi was also able to perceive a wide range of electromagnetic spectrum including radio waves, infrared, ultraviolet, visible and beyond.

Once Elon Musk’s shared his vision for his start-up Neuralink: “A backup drive for your non-physical being, your digital soul.” The primary objective of upcoming trial is to examine the safety and functionality of this revolutionary device. The major challenge during human trial would be low density of electrodes, which might possibly result in an unclear visual perception.

Neuralink’s Uniqueness:

Founded in 2016, Neuralink has a mission “To create a generalised brain interface to restore autonomy to those with unmet medical needs and unlock human potential.”

The concept may seem to be a dystopian science fiction streaming on your television. On May 25, 2023, Neuralink announced that it has received U.S. Food and Drug Administration allowance for any in-human clinical trial.

The concept of brain interface devices started developing since 1960s. In 2016, Elon Musk started Neuralink and unveiled the brain-computer interface (BCI) named ‘Link’ - a computer chip with electrodes, which can be implanted surgically onto human brain. This can also be connected to external electronic devices.

 

(Credit - X/@iam_smx)

The company has performed the first-ever brain chip implantation in human patient in January, 2024. Just couple of weeks ago, Elon Musk confirmed brain chip implantation to eight more patients by end of 2024.

Undoubtedly, Neuralink's progress in BCI technology holds huge promise in transforming the lives of patients suffering from neurological disorders. By prioritizing accessibility, informed consent, long-term monitoring, as well as robust regulation, Neuralink can ensure its innovations aligning with societal values.