Neuranlink said on September 19 that it has received approval from an independent review board to begin recruiting for human trials of a brain-computer interface (BCI) brain implant for paralyzed patients. Notably, the study will use surgical robots to implant implants into areas of the brain that control human movement.

Neuralink’s initial research goal is to use brain-computer interface implants to enable paralyzed patients to control a computer cursor or keyboard to express their thoughts. This is what many brain-computer interface companies are working on.

According to the company’s public information, those who are paralyzed due to neck spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis will be eligible to participate in the study. Neuralink did not say how many participants would take part in the trial. The trial will take about six years to complete.

Neuralink’s brain-computer interface chip, described by Musk as a Fitbit implanted in the skull, is connected to the brain through tiny wires. These electrodes are used to record and decode electrical signals from the brain, coordinating hand and arm movements.

But experts say that even if the brain-computer interface device proves safe for human use, it could still take more than a decade for the startup to license it for commercial use.

“Musk’s brain-computer interface belongs to the sports or rehabilitation type of brain-computer interface, mainly to help paralyzed patients regain the ability to move, such as walking, or typing through the mind, and domestic companies have also made some breakthroughs in this area.” A domestic clinician engaged in the field of brain computer interface research told the first financial reporter.

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Recently, several international teams have published research using brain-computer interface technology to help paralyzed patients regain motor function. On August 23, for example, two studies published in Nature showed that two patients who were severely paralyzed and unable to speak were able to communicate with others with unprecedented accuracy and speed by using invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) technology.

Compared with the previous “head-mounted” non-invasive brain computer interface equipment, the invasive brain computer interface can collect higher quality EEG signals, which helps in subsequent decoding and signal processing.

In China, brain-computer interface devices have not yet been approved for human clinical trials. There are more than 1 million patients with consciousness disorders in China, and the frequency of 80,000 to 100,000 per year, patients with different degrees of visual disorders, movement disorders, language disorders, etc., may be the beneficiaries of brain-computer interface technology in the future.

According to a McKinsey study, the brain-computer interface market is expected to reach $70 billion to $200 billion between 2030 and 2040. The application of brain computer interface in medical treatment is urgent and the market has broad prospects.

However, considering that the development of brain-computer interface products is still in the early stage, and the technology iteration and technology trend are uncertain, some insiders suggest paying attention to the surgical service providers of brain-computer interface.