FDA Grants Neuralink With Breakthrough Device Tag For 'Blindsight' Implant 14
Neuralink said on Tuesday it has received the FDA's "breakthrough device" designation for its experimental implant aimed at restoring vision. Called Blindsight, the device "will enable even those who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve to see," said Neuralink founder Elon Musk. Reuters reports: The FDA's breakthrough tag is given to certain medical devices that provide treatment or diagnosis of life-threatening conditions. It is aimed at speeding up development and review of devices currently under development. Neuralink did not immediately respond to a request seeking details about when it expects the Blindsight device to move into human trials.
Re:Musk Promises (Score:4, Insightful)
If Elon Musk is claiming it will give blind people sight, what do we expect it to actually do?
Pick up interference and beam Fox News directly into your brain? Hallucinate things which aren't really there?
Jump start an industry that was going nowhere? Change the world in ways that you said were positive, until he did it?
That's what experience would suggest,
Re: (Score:2)
Experience suggests you're both right.
Re: (Score:1)
Musk gets a lot of credit for stuff he either didn't do, or which applies to the US only.
The brain implant industry was progressing without him. Unless this claim turns out to be true, Nuralink isn't even at the forefront.
Re: (Score:2)
If Elon Musk is claiming it will give blind people sight, what do we expect it to actually do?
Pick up interference and beam Fox News directly into your brain? Hallucinate things which aren't really there?
Jump start an industry that was going nowhere? Change the world in ways that you said were positive, until he did it?
That's what experience would suggest,
Historical Musk sure, but for the past few years he's been a lot more hype and political rantings more than change.
The FDA approved an implantable vision device in 2018 [fda.gov], and it looks like the trials are proceeding [medint.ai].
That's not to say that Musk is doing something bad, I do hope this succeeds, but people find it understandably annoying when his companies come out with a fairly routine tech and it's hailed as a big breakthrough like none of those previous advanced exist.
Re: (Score:2)
That's not to say that Musk is doing something bad, I do hope this succeeds, but people find it understandably annoying when his companies come out with a fairly routine tech and it's hailed as a big breakthrough like none of those previous advanced exist.
Electric cars existed ... but nobody seemed to make them really work out at scale until Musk.
Re: (Score:2)
That's not to say that Musk is doing something bad, I do hope this succeeds, but people find it understandably annoying when his companies come out with a fairly routine tech and it's hailed as a big breakthrough like none of those previous advanced exist.
Electric cars existed ... but nobody seemed to make them really work out at scale until Musk.
Agreed, that and SpaceX with Starlink are pretty huge.
But like I said, the past few years have been lots of hype and not much delivery.
The cybertruck is a boondoggle, it frankly feels like Ford scared him with the F-150 lightening and so he just tried doing something completely different so he wouldn't have to compete.
His self-driving deadlines are a punchline, and his tech has fallen behind competitors despite a massive first mover advantage.
His robots are well behind established competitors.
The Boring com
Re: (Score:2)
The cybertruck is a boondoggle, it frankly feels like Ford scared him with the F-150 lightening and so he just tried doing something completely different so he wouldn't have to compete.
This is the statement that first raised an eyebrow. The Cybertruck's very atypical design was first revealed in 2019. The Lightning was revealed in 2021. One company rushed a product to market in fear of new competition, and it wasn't Tesla.
The market for electric pickups is best described as miniscule for now, but the Cybertruck is very handily outselling all its competitors. Is competing. Can't say if that is because or in spite of its differences.
Agreed, that and SpaceX with Starlink are pretty huge.
But like I said, the past few years have been lots of hype and not much delivery.
What is your cutoff for past few years? Starlink onl
Re: (Score:1)
His self-driving deadlines are a punchline, and his tech has fallen behind competitors despite a massive first mover advantage.
He had no "first mover Advantage".
Just the opposite.
He suffered from a serious "not invented here syndrome"
He simply could have bought 95% of the Technology/algorithms from European companies.
Re: (Score:2)
Grammar much, editors? (Score:1)
This title not parse.
May I suggest "FDA Grants Breakthrough Device Tag To Neuralink's 'Blindsight' Implant."
Incredible (Score:2)
Poor name choice (Score:2)
The term "blindsight" already has a meaning [wikipedia.org] and what the device solves isn't that.
Musk's Lab Rats (Score:2)