Musk Neuralink implanted the first brain chip into the human body, with the long-term goal of benefiting billions of people

On January 29, local time, Elon Musk (Elon Musk) posted on X (formerly Twitter) that Neuralink, a start-up founded by him, had implanted the first brain chip into the human body and that the patient was "recovering well".

"Preliminary results suggest that neuronal spike detection is promising. Musk said.

Screenshot of the tweet posted by Elon Musk (source: X)

"The first Neuralink product was called Telepathy. Musk noted on X that "the initial users will be those who have lost limbs."

Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a typist or auctioneer. That's the goal. ”

Clearly, this breakthrough marks an important milestone in the company's goal of allowing humans to control computers with their minds.

However, as of now, Neuralink has not provided further details on this development.

Kip Ludwig, co-director of the University of Wisconsin-Wisconsin's Institute for Translational Neuroengineering, pointed out that "Musk's 'preliminary results' mean that the company is taking records from patients' brains.

Now, Neuralink needs to prove that it can outperform other leading companies in the space, such as Blackrock Neurotech, Synchron. ”

(来源:Neuralink 官网)

Brain-computer interface technology has been studied by scientists in related fields for decades. Neuralink is one of the companies that has gained a lot of attention in this space.

In recent years, the company has focused on developing a small brain implant that allows paralyzed patients to control a computer or mobile device anytime, anywhere with their brain activity.

In other words, if successful, patients with severe neurodegenerative diseases such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis could regain the ability to communicate with friends and family by moving their cursors and typing their minds.

In addition to this, scientists believe that one day in the future, brain-computer interfaces may also help treat blindness and neurological diseases.

Musk has publicly stated: "Hopefully, Neuralink can explore these future use cases, as well as potential applications for healthy people." ”

To that end, the company has conducted extensive "brain chip" testing around animals such as rats, sheep, pigs and monkeys over the past few years, and Musk has also shared videos of monkeys playing table tennis and computer games with their brains.

However, it must be noted that this behavior has also been criticized by some animal rights groups for alleged animal cruelty.

For example, in early 2022, the U.S. Council of Responsible Medical Physicians complained that the company was conducting "invasive and lethal brain experiments" on animals.

In response to this serious accusation, Neuralink has pushed back, claiming that the company has always taken the most humane and ethical approach to working with animals.

In May 2023, Neuralink announced that it had received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to begin its first human clinical study.

"This is the result of incredible work by the Neuralink team working closely with the FDA and an important first step that will one day our technology will be able to help many people," the company tweeted on X. ”

Photo丨Neuralink Announces FDA Approval (Source: X)

In September 2023, Neuralink officially began recruiting participants for the first human implantation trial.

According to Neuralink's official website, the PRIME (Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface) study is mainly aimed at quadriplegic and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis patients aged 22 years and older, and will implant a small, invisible implant in the area of the brain that controls motor intention to interpret the participants' neural activity.

It is understood that the experiment will last about six years, with the initial goal of evaluating the safety of implants and surgical robots, and testing the initial function of brain-computer interfaces in enabling quadriplegic patients to control external devices with their minds.

However, the company did not say how many participants would join the trial, but according to company employees, the company had earlier hoped that the FDA would approve the device to be implanted in 10 patients, but the two sides are discussing reducing the number of implanted patients because of safety concerns raised by the latter.

As mentioned above, the first human trials are currently underway, which may help Neuralink find ways to implant and use brain-computer interfaces more safely and effectively, potentially restoring and enhancing many functions, including computer control.

"The company's short-term goal is to build a universal brain interface and restore autonomy for those with weakened nervous systems and unmet medical needs. ”

Dongjin Seo, co-founder and vice president of engineering at Neuralink, told the media, "Actually, the long-term goal is to make it accessible to billions of people, unleashing human potential and surpassing our biological capabilities." ”

However, it has to be pointed out that even if the company can prove through human experiments that the brain-computer interface device is safe for humans, it may take more than a decade for the start-up to obtain the relevant commercial license.

Resources:

https://twitter.com/elonmusk

https://neuralink.com/patient-registry/

https://twitter.com/neuralink

https://neurosciencenews.com/neuralink-human-implant-22542/

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2024/jan/29/elon-musk-neuralink-first-human-brain-chip-implant

https://nypost.com/2024/01/29/business/elon-musks-neuralink-implants-brain-chip-in-first-human/

https://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/recovering-well-elon-musk-s-neuralink-implants-its-first-brain-chip-in-human-1.6747277

https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/world/us/elon-musk-announces-neuralinks-successful-brain-implant-procedure-in-first-human-recipient/articleshow/107244016.cms?from=mdr

https://www.livemint.com/news/world/elon-musks-neuralink-implants-brain-chip-in-first-human-patient-all-you-need-to-know-about-telepathy-11706576150063.html

https://www.cnbc.com/2023/05/25/elon-musks-neuralink-gets-fda-approval-for-in-human-study.html

https://www.teslarati.com/elon-musk-neuralink-first-human-brain-implant/

https://edition.cnn.com/2022/02/17/business/elon-musk-neuralink-animal-cruelty-intl-scli/index.html

Operation/Typesetting: He Chenlong