Billionaire Tesla boss Elon Musk is ‘a year away from creating device that enables paralysed people to walk’

BILLIONAIRE tech tycoon Elon Musk claims he is a year away from creating a Six Million Dollar Man. Musk, 48, is developing a 1in diameter device to implant in the brain — and says it will enable paralysed people to walk. He reckons its chips and electrodes can fix almost anything wrong with the brain, […]

BILLIONAIRE tech tycoon Elon Musk claims he is a year away from creating a Six Million Dollar Man.

Musk, 48, is developing a 1in diameter device to implant in the brain — and says it will enable paralysed people to walk.

AP:Associated Press

Elon Musk said people could be like the Six Million Dollar Man — a reference to the 1970s TV series in which a maimed astronaut is rebuilt using bionic implants[/caption]

He reckons its chips and electrodes can fix almost anything wrong with the brain, as well as improve vision.

Musk said: “The device were are working on right now is about an inch in diameter.

“It has a battery and a blue tooth and a charger and the electrodes are inserted into the brain by robot.

“It can help with a range of brain injuries from epilepsy to stroke and muscle control and memory and eyesight.

“The device is a substitute for circuits that are broken. There is still a lot of work to do.

“When I say we’ve got a shot at putting this into a person in a year I mean exactly that hopefully restoring some functionality that they have lost.”

He said people could be like the Six Million Dollar Man — a reference to the 1970s TV series in which a maimed astronaut played by Lee Majors is rebuilt using bionic implants and given superhuman powers.

Musk sent two astronauts into space in May.

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