The first clinical trials of Neuralink outside the US will take place in Canada. Neuralink has received approval from Health Canada to begin human trials in the country, and the “first and exclusive surgical site” for the procedure will be Toronto Western Hospital. The company first opened its Canadian patient registry in March of this year, but it is now actively seeking potential participants. “Enrollment is open,” she announced on X.
As part of the CAN-PRIME study, Neuralink is implanting its implant into the participant’s brain so that it can interpret their neural activity. The implant will allow them to control a computer or smartphone using their brain without the use of wires or any physical movement. Neuralink says the study aims to “evaluate the safety of the implant and surgical robot, as well as assess the initial functionality of the [brain computer interface], which will allow people with quadriplegia to control external devices with their minds.” The experience gained during the trials could help the company find safer ways to place the implant in the brain, as well as expand the technology’s capabilities.
Neuralink’s first patient (pictured above) received his implant earlier this year. He experienced some problems when the implant threads moved away from his brain, although he is now doing well. He told X that he will soon test himself using Neuralink for 72 hours to demonstrate what the technology can do. For the second patient, Neuralink applied mitigating measures to prevent thread retraction. This patient was already using the computer-aided design (CAD) software just a few weeks after surgery in July. Neuralink is currently specifically looking for patients who “have limited or no use of both arms due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS)” to participate in trials in Canada.
