Musk’s Neuralink Implants Chip In Human Brain

Speaking on X formerly known as Twitter which is one of Musk’s social media platform he owns, Musk tweeted,

“Initial results show promising neuron spike detection,”

TechnoMag recently reached out to Mr Luxwell Jokonya, one of the world’s youngest neurosurgeons , and he told this publication he mentioned its possibility.”

Elon’s Neuralink has been working towards using implants to connect the human brain to a computer for half a decade, but his company faced scrutiny after a monkey died in 2022 during an attempt to get the animal to play Pong, one of the first video games. End of year 2022, employees told journalists that the company was rushing to market, resulting in careless animal deaths and a federal investigation.

Neuralink however received FDA clearance for human clinical trials, in May last year and a few months later, the startup began recruiting patients with quadriplegia caused by cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).

Neuralink called part of this trial its “PRIME Study,” short for “Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface,” which aims to study the safety of its implant and surgical robot, and to test the functionality of its device, according to the company’s September blog post about recruiting trial participants.

A chip will be surgically placed in the part of the brain that controls the intention to move on trial patients. The chip, installed by a robot, will then record and send brain signals to an app, with the initial goal being “to grant people the ability to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone,” the company wrote in September.

As per International Standard Operating Procedures (Sop’s), before Neuralink’s brain implants hit the broader market, they’ll need regulatory approval. The FDA put out a paper in 2021 mapping out the agency’s initial thoughts on brain-computer interface devices, noting the field is “progressing rapidly.”

It must be noted nevertheless that other companies have also been working in this space, including a company called Synchron, the first company to gain FDA clearance to test a device in humans in 2021 though Musk and his Neuralink received significant attention for their attempts at this brain-computer interface. Synchon has since been enrolling and implanting patients in a trial.

Tara Spires-Jones, president of the British Neuroscience Association, told the UK-based Science Media Center  that,

“The idea of brain-nervous system interfaces has great potential to help people with neurological disorders in future,”

“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.”

Neuralink CEO Musk spoke of his intentions during an event at the Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition centre in Paris mid last year adding that the first product from Neuralink would be called Telepathy.

Musk’s controversial startup Neuralink has since so far as explained in this article successfully implanted a chip in a human brain for the first time, according to the billionaire in a post on his X platform.

Musk cited this operation took place and the patient was recovering well.

Elon’s announcement could mark an important milestone for Neuralink’s efforts to usher potentially life-transforming technology out of the lab and into the real world. But he offered few details, and it’s unclear from Musk’s post how significant of a scientific advancement the implantation represents.

The world’s richest man’s company had received approval to study the safety and functionality of its chip implant and surgical tools.

Telepathy, his first product according to Musk will see its initial users who will preferably be people who have lost the use of their limbs.

Musk was onstage during the mentioned conference at Vivatech technology startups and innovation fair at the Porte de Versailles exhibition center in Paris, on June 16, 2023 where he added that Neuralink, his brain implant startup, is set to begin human trials

“Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal,” Musk added.