Canadian neurosurgeons seek six patients for Musk's Neuralink brain study
CTV
Canadian neurosurgeons in partnership with Elon Musk's Neuralink have regulatory approval to recruit six patients with paralysis willing to have a thousand electrode contacts in their brains.
Canadian neurosurgeons in partnership with Elon Musk's Neuralink have regulatory approval to recruit six patients with paralysis willing to have a thousand electrode contacts in their brains.
The trial, called CAN-PRIME, has started recruiting patients for a study that will test the safety and efficacy of a device that allows people to move cursors with their minds, a surgeon leading the trial said.
Neuralink announced regulator Health Canada's approval this week. Neuralink has implanted two such devices in patients in the United States.
Directors at Neuralink reached out to Toronto-based University Health Network neurosurgeon Andres Lozano a year ago, he told Reuters. He figures his experience with other forms of brain implants played a role.
"Myself and our entire team jumped at the possibility of participating in this trial," Lozano said.
The trial will use a two-ton (1.8-tonne) robot to implant 64 electrodes, each with 16 contacts, into the hand-motor areas of patients' brains.
The idea is that the electrodes will transmit activity in those areas so that by thinking about movement, the patient can make connected devices move.
