In the past few years, Neuralink has faced investigation for\u00a0mistreatment of lab animals\u00a0and seen the\u00a0departure of several company executives. Nevertheless, the PRIME trial is a significant milestone for a company less than 10 years old.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, Neuralink\u2019s challenges are far from over. Implanting a device is just the beginning of a decades-long clinical project beset with competitors, financial hurdles, and ethical quandaries.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\u00a0first reported demonstration\u00a0of a brain-computer interface occurred in 1963. During a lecture at the University of Oxford, neuroscientist William Grey Walter bewildered his audience by linking one of his patient\u2019s brains to the projector, where they advanced the slides of his presentation using only their thoughts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the current wave of exploration in using brain-recording techniques to restore movement and communication to patients with severe paralysis began in the early 2000s. It draws on studies from the 1940s that measured the activity of single neurons, and more complex experiments on rats and monkeys in the 1990s.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Neuralink\u2019s technology belongs to the next generation of recording devices. These have multiple electrodes, greater precision, and are safer, longer-lasting, and more compatible with the body.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The\u00a0Neuralink implant\u00a0is thinner, smaller, and less obtrusive than the \u201cUtah array\u201d device, widely used in existing brain-computer interfaces, which has been available since 2005.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Neuralink\u2019s device is implanted by a special robot that rapidly inserts polymer threads, each containing dozens of electrodes. In total, the device has 3072 electrodes \u2013 dwarfing the 100 electrodes of the Utah array.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Neuralink faces stiff competition in the race to commercialise the first next-generation brain-computer interface.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Arguably its most fierce competitor is an Australian company called\u00a0Synchron. This Melbourne-based start-up recently used a microelectrode mesh threaded through the blood vessels of the brain. This allowed paralysed patients to use tablets and smartphones, surf the internet, send emails, and manage finances (and\u00a0post on X, formerly Twitter).<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Synchron implant is described as a \u201cminimally invasive\u201d brain-computer interface. It requires only a minor incision in the neck, rather than the elaborate neurosurgery required by Neuralink and most other brain-computer interfaces.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2021, Synchron received a \u201cBreakthrough Device Designation\u201d in the United States, and is now onto its third clinical trial.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This competitive landscape raises potential ethical issues concerning the welfare of patients in the PRIME study. For one, it\u2019s notoriously difficult to recruit participants to neural implant studies. Patients must meet strict criteria to be eligible, and the trials are inherently risky and ask a lot of participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Musk\u2019s public profile may help Neuralink find and enrol suitable patients. However, the company will need to be prepared to provide long-term support (potentially decades) to patients. If things go wrong, patients may need support to live with the consequences; if things go right, Neuralink may need to make sure the devices don\u2019t stop working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In 2022, a company called Second Sight Medical Product demonstrated the risks. Second Sight made retinal implants to treat blindness. When the company\u00a0went bankrupt, it left more than 350 patients around the world with obsolete implants and no way to remove them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If Neuralink\u2019s devices are successful, they\u2019re likely to transform patients\u2019 lives. What happens if the company winds up operations because it can\u2019t make a profit? A plan for long-term care is essential.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
What\u2019s more, the considerable hype surrounding Neuralink may have implications for obtaining informed consent from potential participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Musk\u00a0famously compared\u00a0the implant to a \u201cFitbit in your skull\u201d. The device itself, Musk recently revealed, is misleadingly named \u201cTelepathy\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
This techno-futurist language may give participants unrealistic expectations about the likelihood and kind of individual benefit. They may also underappreciate the risks, which could include severe brain damage.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In this next chapter of the Neuralink odyssey, Musk and his team must maintain a strong commitment to research integrity and patient care. Neuralink\u2019s establishment of a\u00a0patient registry\u00a0to connect with patient communities is a step in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Long-term planning and careful use of language will be necessary to preventing harm to patients and families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The nightmare scenario for all neurotechnology research would be a repeat of Walter Freeman\u2019s\u00a0disastrous pre-frontal lobotomy experiments\u00a0in the 1940s and 1950s. These had catastrophic consequences for patients, and set research back by generations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Nursing assignment help news article<\/a><\/strong>! Share with your Friend for daily latest news Nursing Assignment help<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n To continue read article visit : monash.edu<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" In the past few years, Neuralink has faced investigation for\u00a0mistreatment of lab animals\u00a0and seen the\u00a0departure of several company executives. Nevertheless, the PRIME trial is a significant milestone for a company less than 10 years old. However, Neuralink\u2019s challenges are far from over. Implanting a device is just the beginning of a decades-long clinical project beset … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1159,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[135],"tags":[136,137],"class_list":["post-1157","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","tag-latest-nursing-news","tag-nursing-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.assignmentsamples.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1157","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.assignmentsamples.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.assignmentsamples.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.assignmentsamples.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.assignmentsamples.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1157"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.assignmentsamples.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1160,"href":"https:\/\/www.assignmentsamples.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1157\/revisions\/1160"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.assignmentsamples.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1159"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.assignmentsamples.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.assignmentsamples.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.assignmentsamples.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}