Implan Blindsight Neuralink Gets 'Device Breakthrough' Label From FDA

Illustration of Blindsight implants (photo: Screenshot of Neuralink YouTube)

JAKARTA Blindsight, an experimental implant belonging to Neuralink made to restore vision, has received a Breakthrough Device label from the US Food and Drug Supervisory Aviation Agency (FDA).

The news of the labeling was delivered directly by Neuralink Owner Elon Musk on Wednesday, September 18. With the label given, Neuralink could continue the development stage and test Blindsight for patients who registered.

Musk said that Blindsight's technology could restore the eye function that was lost during its visual cortex. This technology is claimed to be able to help the visually impaired and low-vision person to look back, even though his eyes have been problematic since birth.

"Blindsight's departure from Neuralink will allow those who have lost both eyes and optical nerves to see. As long as the visual cortex is intact, this device will even allow those who have been blind since birth to see for the first time," Musk said through his account on platform X.

The Tesla and SpaceX owner explained that Blindsight's implant vision would gradually increase. Initially, the resolution of the views would be very low like Atari's graph, then equivalent to finally surpassing human vision in general.

"Initial views will be low-resolution, such as Atari's graph, but ultimately potentially better than natural vision and allow you to see in infrared, ultraviolet, or even radar wavelengths," Musk explained.

Although the Breakthrough Device label has allowed Blindsight to be tested, it is not yet known when this implant will be paired to the patient with the first eye problem. Implant installation operations may be kept secret by Neuralink until it is declared successful.