Source:BBC
Elon Musk, the tech magnate and founder of Neuralink, has announced that his business has implanted a wireless brain chip into a human.
The patient was "recovering well" and he reported "promising" brain activity following the treatment in a post on X (previously Twitter).
In order to better treat complicated neurological disorders, the company is working toward the aim of connecting human brains to computers.
Quite a few competing companies have already implanted gadgets that are very comparable.
"The first test in humans is a significant milestone for any company producing medical devices," Professor Anne Vanhoestenberghe of King's College London stated.
"For the brain chip implant community, we must place this news in the context that whilst there are many companies working on exciting products, there are only a few other companies who have implanted their devices in humans, so Neuralink has joined a rather small group."
She did, however, add a word of warning, saying that "true success" could only be measured over the long haul.
"We know Elon Musk is very adept at generating publicity for his company," according to her.
A paralyzed man can now walk simply by thinking about it, thanks to research out of Switzerland's École Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne (EPFL), one of several such businesses to make similar breakthroughs in the sector.
He was able to accomplish this by having electronic implants placed on his spinal cord and brain, which allowed him to wirelessly transfer his thoughts to his limbs.
May 2023 saw the publication of the breakthrough's details in the peer-reviewed magazine Nature.
Neither Mr. Musk's assertions nor Neuralink's description of the operation he claims to have performed have been independently verified.
BBC News has reached out to the FDA and Neuralink for comment. The FDA is the US's medical authority.
Neurolink evaluation
There have been previous complaints leveled against Neuralink. In December 2022, Reuters reported that the corporation conducted tests that killed some 1,500 animals, including pigs, monkeys, and sheep.
There were no infractions of animal research regulations at the company, according to the chairman of the US Department of Agriculture (which examines animal welfare problems) in July 2023.
Nevertheless, the agency is still conducting its own inquiry.
In May of 2023, the FDA authorized Mr. Musk's business to conduct human chip testing.
In a six-year trial, 64 threads finer than a human hair are surgically implanted onto a region of the brain that regulates "movement intention" (as described by Neuralink). The procedure was approved after that.
The business claims that their experimental implant, which is able to be charged wirelessly, can record and send brain impulses to an app that can decipher the user's intended movement patterns thanks to these threads.
“It has great potential to help people with neurological disorders in future and is an excellent example of how fundamental neuroscience research is being harnessed for medical advances,” said Professor Tara Spires-Jones, president of the British Neuroscience Association.
"However, most of these interfaces require invasive neurosurgery and are still in experimental stages thus it will likely be many years before they are commonly available."
Remote Sensing
According to Mr. Musk's previous post on X, the name of Neuralink's initial product will be Telepathy.
"Control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking" would be possible with telepathy, he claims.
"Initial users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs," said the doctor.
Imagine if Stephen Hawking, the late British scientist who suffered from motor neuron disease, could speak faster than a speed typist or auctioneer," he continued, referring to Hawking. Well, that's the point.
Although Mr. Musk's participation brings more attention to Neuralink, some of his competitors have been around for twenty years. In 2004, the first of several brain-computer interfaces were implanted by Blackrock Neurotech, a company based in Utah.
Another organization with a focus on paralysis treatment is Precision Neuroscience, founded by a co-founder of Neuralink. Furthermore, it claims a considerably less invasive procedure—an implantation that looks like a tiny piece of tape—that may be performed through a "cranial micro-slit" on the surface of the brain.
Even devices that already exist have produced outcomes. Two recent scientific investigations conducted in the United States used implants to record brain activity as participants attempted to talk; this data might later be deciphered to aid with communication.
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