Elon Musk’s Neuralink is reportedly entering talks with one of the United States’ largest neurosurgery centers to explore testing brain-implant chips on people. Reuters confirms this development, signaling a potential shift toward human trials under close medical supervision.
The Barrow Neurological Institute in Arizona is the center referenced in these discussions. Neuralink aims to assemble a dedicated research team at the institute that would study the chips and advance the creation of a direct neural interface between a human brain and a computer system.
According to Reuters, Neuralink seeks to persuade the U.S. Food and Drug Administration about the safety of its brain chips through rigorous research and documented results. A prior FDA action in early 2022 blocked human testing by Neuralink due to concerns about safety and risk, prompting the company to pursue additional data and validation before any future trials.
While Barrow has not issued a public comment about the negotiations, the institute is known for its deep expertise with neuroimplants and its extensive history of clinical research in neural devices. This background could position Barrow as a credible partner capable of addressing the technical and regulatory questions that accompany early human studies.
Reuters notes that Neuralink is concurrently engaging with several other research centers, exploring partnerships that could broaden access to clinical settings, patient populations, and multidisciplinary expertise. These parallel discussions reflect Neuralink’s strategy to build a robust foundation for evaluating neural interface technologies in a translational research framework.
Previously, a source from socialbites.ca quoted a neurophysiologist who argued that Musk might face high hurdles in achieving reliable results with neuro-interfaces. The ongoing negotiations, however, indicate a continued interest in advancing brain-computer integration, underscoring the broader industry push toward practical neurotechnology applications for medical and assistive purposes.