(Reuters) – Elon Musk’s brain-chip startup Neuralink has registered details about a study evaluating its device in patients on the U.S. government’s database of clinical trials.
Neuralink is testing its implant to give paralyzed patients the ability to use digital devices by thinking alone, a prospect that could help people with spinal cord injuries.
The study was registered as a “first-in-human early feasibility study” on Monday.
Early feasibility studies are exempt from a requirement to post trial details on the U.S. National Institutes of Health’s website, ClinicalTrials.gov, but major medical journals often require trials be registered on the database.
Neuralink’s feasibility study aims to enroll three patients, according to the database.
The Wall Street Journal reported earlier this month that more than 1,000 quadriplegics had signed up for its patient registry.
The study uses a robot to surgically place a brain-computer interface (BCI) implant in a region of the brain that controls the intention to move, Neuralink had said.
In January, Neuralink implanted the device in the brain of its first patient, Noland Arbaugh, who is paralyzed from the shoulders down due to a 2016 diving accident.
The device has allowed Arbaugh to play video games, browse the internet and move a computer cursor on his laptop by thinking alone, according to company blog posts and videos.
(Reporting by Bhanvi Satija in Bengaluru)
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