In December 2022, it became known that the US Department of Agriculture had opened an investigation against
What is known
At an event in late November 2022, Elon Musksaid that he had sent to the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) all the documents that are necessary to launch clinical trials in humans. Two months later it became known that the FDA did not approve this idea.
The main concerns of the regulator are related to the workbattery system that is used in the brain-computer interface (BCI). The FDA believes that if the device fails, the current discharge can fry nearby brain tissue.
Another FDA complaint concerns the procedureBCI extraction for upgrading or replacement with a new chip. The development of Neuralink has 64 very thin flexible threads that are implanted in the brain. This takes approximately 15 minutes. The regulator believes that when the chip is removed, some of the threads may come off and begin to move around the brain with the risk of getting stuck in it.
Elon Musk's companies will now need to be convincedFDA is that the development is safe for humans. The chips have previously been tested on pigs. At the same time, last year, the Reuters news agency, after talking with current and former employees of Neuralink, said that approximately 1,500 animals died during the experiments.