Elon Musk assured this Monday that the first human had received a brain implant thanks to his company Neuralink. This is considered a potential milestone in the development of brain-computer interface technology that may one day help those suffering from ailments such as paralysis to interact with their environment.
This was released in messages on his X network, where, without further specifications, he assured that the patient had received the implant the day before and that he was recovering well. In this way he indicated that the operation had been carried out successfully, without any relevant technical problems being recorded. But he did not release personal details about the patient.
Neuralink announced last September that it was opening a period to recruit patients to participate in its trials. In their communication they indicated that they were looking for people who suffered from quadriplegia.
In his messages, Musk added that initial results showed promising detections of neuronal spikes, which would mean that the device was detecting signals from individual neurons within the brain. This could allow higher quality brain signals to be decoded, the specialists stressed. But Musk did not specify the number of neurons that the device detected, nor did the company offer any specification of data on the safety and effectiveness that are necessary to gauge the success of the implant, the experts responded.
The Neuralink implant includes a coin-sized chip that is placed in the skull. Attached to the chip are dozens of small threadlike electrodes that are implanted in the brain itself and transmit electrical signals from the neuron. It remains to be resolved how an implanted brain will respond over time to the inserted threads. Tissues can grow around it, the researchers explain, and degrade the electrical signals it captures.
If one thing is clear, it is that Neuralink has stepped on the accelerator. The federal Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave authorization last year to the company to carry out its first trials for the implantation of a chip in the human brain, which was already a success and a promise to help patients to overcome paralysis and neurological problems.
In September it received permission to recruit patients to begin developing these human trials. The study uses robots to surgically place a brain-computer interface implant that is inserted into a region of the brain that controls the intention to move, Neuralink previously reported. The company clarified in a statement that its initial goal was to allow people to control the cursor or keyboard of a computer using only their thoughts.
In another message on X, Musk also commented that Neuralink's first product will be called Telepathy. His company has been in the spotlight for not specifying the security protocols they apply. Last year, Musk responded that “no monkeys have died as a result of the implants.” For these experiments, he clarified that they only used “terminal” monkeys to minimize the risk with those that were in good health.
