Elon Musk-owned startup Neuralink completed the first human brain implant on a human patient, the billionaire announced in a social media post.
Taking to social media platform X, he said the procedure was carried out on Monday, adding that the patient is “recovering well”.
Initial results showed promising neuron spike detection, the musk claimed while explaining that it “enables control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking”.
“Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs. Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.”
Enables control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking.
Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs.
Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) January 30, 2024
The first Neuralink product is called “Telepathy,” he wrote in the post.
In May last year, the startup got approval from the top US body to conduct its first-in-human clinical trial to implant a microchip in human brain.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had granted approval for the first-in-human clinical trial to the startup, which had been facing probe over alleged killing of animals in brain implant experiments.
In September 2023, the company opened recruitment for its clinical trial.
The PRIME Study (short for Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface) – a groundbreaking investigational medical device trial for our fully-implantable, wireless brain-computer interface (BCI) – aims to evaluate the safety of our implant (N1) and surgical robot (R1) and assess the initial functionality of our BCI for enabling people with paralysis to control external devices with their thoughts.
“During the study, the R1 Robot will be used to surgically place the N1 Implant’s ultra-fine and flexible threads in a region of the brain that controls movement intention. Once in place, the N1 Implant is cosmetically invisible and is intended to record and transmit brain signals wirelessly to an app that decodes movement intention. The initial goal of our BCI is to grant people the ability to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone,” it had said.
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