VOA科学技术2023--US Approves Testing of Neuralink Brain Implant in Humans

US Approves Testing of Neuralink Brain Implant¹ in Humans

The American technology company Neuralink has received U.S. government approval to test its brain implant device in humans.

The approval came from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Neuralink says the FDA's approval will permit the company to expand its current testing program involving animals.

Neuralink is owned by American billionaire Elon Musk². He also owns several other companies, including Tesla, SpaceX and Twitter.

The coin-sized device is designed to be placed inside the skull³. Small wires connect it directly to the brain. The implant contains a small computer that is built to communicate with the brain. This lets it control operations in the body.

Neuralink has said the technology is designed to treat brain disorders⁴ and help spinal⁵ cord injury victims regain⁶ body movement. It might also be able to help blind people see again.

Musk has said he believes the device could also be used to improve intelligence to help humans keep up with supercomputers and artificial intelligence (AI) technology.

Neuralink said in a statement that the FDA approval was "an important first step" for the technology. "We are excited to share that we have received the FDA's approval to launch our first-in-human clinical study," Neuralink said on Twitter.

Neuralink said it had not yet started the process of choosing human subjects to test the implants⁷ on.

Musk spoke⁸ about the technology during a presentation last December. He said the company had been "working hard to be ready for our first human (implant)." He added that the company wanted to be "extremely careful" and make sure the implant works "well before putting a device in a human."

During the presentation, Neuralink showed several monkeys "playing" simple video games and controlling a computer with use of the Neuralink implant. The company has also tested the device on pigs and sheep.

Reuters news agency has reported on the company's animal experiments in the past. Some Neuralink employees told Reuters last year that the company had made mistakes in animal operations. They said the mistakes came because the process was hurried. This led to more animal deaths than necessary, the employees said.

Neuralink tested the implant on animals in hopes of producing data that would help the company gain FDA approval for human testing, the employees told Reuters.

In one 2021 case reported by Reuters, the company implanted 25 out of 60 pigs with the wrong-sized devices. All the pigs were later killed. Employees told the news agency that such mistakes could have been easily avoided with more preparation.

Reuters said it reached out to both Neuralink and Musk for comments on its reports. Neither answered the requests for comments.

The Department of Transportation is separately looking into Neuralink, Reuters reported. The department's investigation⁹ centers on whether the company illegally transported dangerous pathogens on devices removed from monkey brains without following effective containment¹⁰ measures.

Neuralink is also under investigation by the U.S. Department of Agriculture's (USDA) Office of Inspector¹¹ General, the news agency said. That investigation is looking into possible animal-welfare violations¹² and the USDA's oversight¹³ of Neuralink.

Several other companies are also working on devices to link the brain to computers. One of them is New York-based startup Synchron. It announced in July it had completed its first brain-computer implant, called an interface¹⁴, in a human.

Rajesh Rao is co-director of the Center for Neurotechnology at the University of Washington. After Musk's presentation last year, Rao said he does not believe Neuralink is ahead of other companies in developing brain-computer interfaces¹⁵. But he said he does think the company is "quite ahead" in hardware development of the devices.

Words in This Story

implant – n. a device placed inside the body in a medical operation

pathogen – n. a small organism, such as a virus or bacterium¹⁶, that can cause disease

oversight – n. responsibility for a job or activity that seeks to make sure it is being done correctly

skull – n. the structure of bones that form the head and face of a person or animal

spinal cord – n. the large group of nerves which runs through the center of the spine¹⁷ and carries messages between the brain and the rest of the body

welfare – n. the state of being happy, healthy, or successful; well-being

1 implant   

vt.注入，植入，灌输

参考例句：

• A good teacher should implant high ideals in children.好教师应该把高尚理想灌输给孩子们。
• The operation to implant the artificial heart took two hours.人工心脏植入手术花费了两小时。

2 musk   

n.麝香, 能发出麝香的各种各样的植物，香猫

参考例句：

• Musk is used for perfume and stimulant.麝香可以用作香料和兴奋剂。
• She scented her clothes with musk.她用麝香使衣服充满了香味。

3 skull   

n.头骨；颅骨

参考例句：

• The skull bones fuse between the ages of fifteen and twenty-five.头骨在15至25岁之间长合。
• He fell out of the window and cracked his skull.他从窗子摔了出去，跌裂了颅骨。

4 disorders   

n.混乱( disorder的名词复数 )；凌乱；骚乱；（身心、机能）失调

参考例句：

• Reports of anorexia and other eating disorders are on the increase. 据报告，厌食症和其他饮食方面的功能紊乱发生率正在不断增长。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The announcement led to violent civil disorders. 这项宣布引起剧烈的骚乱。 来自《简明英汉词典》

5 spinal   

adj.针的，尖刺的，尖刺状突起的；adj.脊骨的，脊髓的

参考例句：

• After three days in Japan,the spinal column becomes extraordinarily flexible.在日本三天，就已经使脊椎骨变得富有弹性了。
• Your spinal column is made up of 24 movable vertebrae.你的脊柱由24个活动的脊椎骨构成。

6 regain   

vt.重新获得，收复，恢复

参考例句：

• He is making a bid to regain his World No.1 ranking.他正为重登世界排名第一位而努力。
• The government is desperate to regain credibility with the public.政府急于重新获取公众的信任。

7 implants   

n.（植入身体中的）移植物( implant的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• Hormone implants are used as growth boosters. 激素植入物被用作生长辅助剂。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• Perhaps the most far-reaching project is an initiative called Living Implants From Engineering (LIFE). 也许最具深远意义的项目，是刚刚启动的建造活体移植工程 (LIFE)。 来自英汉非文学 - 生命科学 - 医学的第四次革命

8 spoke   

n.（车轮的）辐条；轮辐；破坏某人的计划；阻挠某人的行动 v.讲，谈（speak的过去式）；说；演说；从某种观点来说

参考例句：

• They sourced the spoke nuts from our company.他们的轮辐螺帽是从我们公司获得的。
• The spokes of a wheel are the bars that connect the outer ring to the centre.辐条是轮子上连接外圈与中心的条棒。

9 investigation   

n.调查，调查研究

参考例句：

• In an investigation,a new fact became known, which told against him.在调查中新发现了一件对他不利的事实。
• He drew the conclusion by building on his own investigation.他根据自己的调查研究作出结论。

10 containment   

n.阻止，遏制；容量

参考例句：

• Your list might include such things as cost containment,quality,or customer satisfaction.你的清单上应列有诸如成本控制、产品质量、客户满意程度等内容。
• Insularity and self-containment,it is argued,go hand in hand.他们争论说，心胸狭窄和自我封闭是并存的。

11 inspector   

n.检查员，监察员，视察员

参考例句：

• The inspector was interested in everything pertaining to the school.视察员对有关学校的一切都感兴趣。
• The inspector was shining a flashlight onto the tickets.查票员打着手电筒查看车票。

12 violations   

违反( violation的名词复数 )； 冒犯； 违反（行为、事例）； 强奸

参考例句：

• This is one of the commonest traffic violations. 这是常见的违反交通规则之例。
• These violations of the code must cease forthwith. 这些违犯法规的行为必须立即停止。

13 oversight   

n.勘漏，失察，疏忽

参考例句：

• I consider this a gross oversight on your part.我把这件事看作是你的一大疏忽。
• Your essay was not marked through an oversight on my part.由于我的疏忽你的文章没有打分。

14 interface   

n.接合部位，分界面；v.(使)互相联系

参考例句：

• My computer has a network interface,which allows me to get to other computers.我的计算机有网络接口可以与其它计算机连在一起。
• This program has perspicuous interface and extensive application. 该程序界面明了，适用范围广。

15 interfaces   

界面( interface的名词复数 )； 接口（连接两装置的电路，可使数据从一种代码转换成另一种代码）； 交界； 联系

参考例句：

• If the class needs to be reprogrammed, new interfaces are created. 如果class需要重新程序设计，新的interfaces创建。
• Interfaces solve this problem of evolving code. Interfaces解决了代码升级的问题。

16 bacterium   

n.(pl.)bacteria 细菌

参考例句：

• The bacterium possibly goes in the human body by the mouth.细菌可能通过口进入人体。
• A bacterium is identified as the cause for his duodenal ulcer.一种细菌被断定为造成他十二指肠溃疡的根源。

17 spine   

n.脊柱，脊椎；(动植物的)刺；书脊

参考例句：

• He broke his spine in a fall from a horse.他从马上跌下摔断了脊梁骨。
• His spine developed a slight curve.他的脊柱有点弯曲。