Elon Musk Says Neuralink’s ‘Blindsight’ Device Will Allow The Blind To Eventually Have Better Than Natural Vision — Just Like Geordi La Forge Of Star Trek

Elon Musk discussed a groundbreaking development: a device that can restore sight, even to those who have been blind from birth.

What Happened: On Tuesday, Musk took to X to highlight the Blindsight device. The billionaire entrepreneur shared a post from his brain chip company, Neuralink, announcing that the Food and Drug Administration had granted “Breakthrough Device Designation” for Blindsight.

The Breakthrough Devices Program is a voluntary initiative by the FDA to accelerate the development, assessment, and review of medical devices that treat or diagnose life-threatening or debilitating conditions. It offers manufacturers faster feedback and prioritized review, ensuring timely access to innovative, safe, and effective devices, according to the agency’s website.

The device will enable individuals who have lost both eyes and their optic nerve to see, provided their visual cortex is intact. This includes those who have been blind since birth, said Musk.

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Musk cautioned that initially, the vision provided by the device will be low resolution, akin to Atari graphics.

He said, “Eventually it has the potential be better than natural vision and enable you to see in infrared, ultraviolet or even radar wavelengths, like Geordi La Forge.”

Musk has invoked the Star Trek character Geordi La Forge portrayed by LeVar Burton previously as well. His character is equipped with a VISOR, which he found extremely unpleasant to wear initially and allows him to see things like people’s heart rates and temperatures and even detect lying humans.

Why It Matters: This announcement comes on the heels of Neuralink’s recent successes, including the successful use of its brain chip by a second trial patient, known as “Alex,” who is now able to use design software and play video games with the device.

Neuralink, founded by Musk, implanted its brain-computer device into a second human patient with a spinal cord injury as of August, aiming to help them control devices with their mind. Despite past controversies over animal trials, the company plans to expand to eight more patients this year.

Image via Shutterstock

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This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Shivdeep Dhaliwal