Innovation: Neuralink will allow blind people to see again

The vision of giving sight back to the blind is within reach thanks to Neuralink’s innovative technology. Their latest project, known as “Blindsight”, has the potential to give sight not only to people who have gone blind in the course of their lives, but also to those who have been blind from birth.

A decisive milestone was recently reached when the US Food and Drug Administration classified the implant device as a “breakthrough device”. This means that it is a ground-breaking technology, the development and testing of which is particularly encouraged – although this does not yet constitute market approval.

Neuralink’s founder, Elon Musk, describes the way the device works as revolutionary: it aims to directly address the visual center of the brain to restore vision. Interestingly, it does not matter if the optic nerve is damaged as long as the visual cortex in the brain remains intact. Initially, the visual impressions may still be coarse-grained and of low resolution – similar to the pixel graphics of early Atari games – but Musk predicts that “Blindsight” could even surpass natural vision in the future.

One fascinating vision mentioned in this context is the ability to see wavelengths that are normally hidden from the human eye, such as infrared or ultraviolet. This would offer people a completely new, expanded perception of the world. Musk even draws parallels here with the fictional technology of the VISOR device from the Star Trek series, which enabled the blind character Geordi La Forge to see.