Neuralink announced it has received Breakthrough Device Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its Blindsight device, which aims to restore vision for individuals who have lost their sight.
The company is encouraging people to apply to its Patient Registry and explore career opportunities on its website.
Neuralink CEO Elon Musk stated that the Blindsight device is designed to enable vision even for those who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve, provided the visual cortex is intact.
“It will even enable those who have been blind from birth to see for the first time,” Musk said. He noted that initial vision quality would be low resolution, similar to Atari graphics, but the technology has the potential to surpass natural vision, including the ability to see in infrared, ultraviolet, or even radar wavelengths, “like Geordi La Forge” from the TV show Star Trek: The Next Generation.
Musk expressed gratitude towards the FDA for the designation, saying, “Much appreciated, @US_FDA!”
This is definitely a gamechanger for those that get to experience seeing for the first time, or restored vision. It’s crazy to believe this is even possible.
