Elon Musk’s Neuralink received permission to implant brain chips in Canada

The trial will take place at one of the University Health Network (UHN) hospitals in Toronto. “We are incredibly proud to be at the forefront of this scientific advancement in the field of neurosurgery,” said UHN President Kevin Smith. He added that UHN will be the “first and exclusive” location for Neuralink trials in Canada, but did not specify when they would begin.

The Neuralink page of the social network X, which also belongs to Musk, states that the company has received permission from Health Canada to conduct human trials. The company said it is seeking volunteers among patients with quadriplegia caused by ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease) or spinal cord injuries.

Previously, Musk’s company implanted brain implants in several patients in the United States. The company’s first patient, Nolan Arbaugh, 29, who was paralyzed from the shoulders down eight years ago, said that thanks to the device he was able to use a computer and even play video games.

Later, a problem arose with the chip implanted in Arbo: some of the electrodes stopped reading signals because the Neuralink specialists did not take into account how much the brain could move inside the skull. It was possible to restore the device’s operation without surgical intervention; The company’s specialists turned off the electrodes that received a weak signal and focused the sensors on groups of neurons that emitted a strong signal.