Tech billionaire Elon Musk’s company Neuralink has successfully implanted a brain chip that shows promising neural spikes into a person for the first time, with the aim of connecting the human brain to a computer to help people with neurological conditions, on Tuesday, the 30th of January, reports the BBC.
Musk has said the first patient is recovering well.
Neuralink, a company led by Elon Musk, reportedly received approval from the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May to test the brain chip it developed on humans and the
company has begun the six-year study.
The chip, which consists of 64 threads finer than a human hair, is surgically inserted into patients by a robot in the part of the brain responsible for controlling movement.
The experimental implant, powered by a wireless rechargeable battery, records and transmits brain signals to an app that decodes how the person wants to move.
Elon Musk announced on his platform X that Neuralink’s first product, called
Telepathy, will enable control of various devices through thoughts.
He added that the initial users of the device will be people who have lost the use of their limbs.
Musk stressed that the aim is to empower people with conditions such as Stephen Hawking had, who was diagnosed with motor neurone disease, adding: “Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist.”
While Elon Musk’s involvement in Neuralink raises its profile, it faces competition from other companies that have been in the field for two decades, such as Blackrock Neurotech, which implanted its first brain device in 2004.
Precision Neuroscience, co-founded by a Neuralink co-founder, has also developed a brain implant that resembles a thin tape and can be implanted using a “cranial micro-harness”, which the company claims, is a much simpler procedure.
Recent studies using existing devices have successfully monitored the brain’s activity during speech attempts, deciphering signals to help people communicate, according to the BBC.
Also read: Research: Playing a musical instrument is good for brain health in old age
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