The US health regulator has approved Elon Musk’s Neuralink to implant its brain chip in a second person after addressing an issue with the first patient.
Earlier this month, Neuralink revealed that tiny wires implanted in the brain of its first patient had pulled out of position. Reuters reported last week that the company had known from animal testing that the wires might retract.
According to the WSJ, citing a person familiar with the company and a document it had viewed, the company plans to embed some of the device’s wires deeper into the brain to fix the problem.
Neuralink expects to implant its device in the second patient in June and aims to treat 10 people this year. More than 1,000 quadriplegics have signed up for its patient registry.
The company also plans to apply to regulators in Canada and Britain in the coming months to start similar trials.
The FDA stated it cannot discuss or disclose information related to any specific company’s human trial application or study.
Neuralink did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
In February, the company said the first patient implanted with the brain chip could control a computer mouse using their thoughts with “no ill effects.”
According to Neuralink, the study uses a robot to surgically place a brain-computer interface implant in the brain region that controls the intention to move.
