Billionaire Tech innovator Elon Musk’s Neuralink has implanted one of its wireless brain chips in the first human.
He announced it on a social media platform – X, formerly Twitter. In his post, he said “Promising” brain activity had been detected after the procedure, and the patient was recovering well.
The company aims to connect human brains to computers to help tackle complex neurological conditions.
The chip, which is named “Telepathy,” was unveiled in Musk’s social media post.
The PRIME Study assesses the safety and functionality of Neuralink’s wireless brain-computer interface for quadriplegia empowerment. Safety concerns arise with fines for DOT rules violations and ongoing scrutiny faces Neuralink, which is yet to respond.
Meanwhile, several reports cited, including BBC, that several firms have already implanted similar devices in humans. “For any company producing medical devices, the first test in humans is a significant milestone,” said Professor Anne Vanhoestenberghe of King’s College London.
“For the brain-computer interface 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”, Professor Anne further added.
However, she also suggested there needed to be a note of caution as “true success” could only be evaluated in the long term. “We know Elon Musk is very adept at generating publicity for his company,” she added.
Besides Neuralink, other companies to make similar advances in the field is the École Polytechnique Fédérale in Lausanne (EPFL), in Switzerland, which has successfully enabled a paralysed male patient to walk just by thinking.
That was achieved by putting electronic implants on his brain and spine, which wirelessly communicate thoughts to his legs and feet. The details of this breakthrough were published in Nature in May 2023.
However, several media reports suggested there has been no official independent verification of Musk’s claims, nor has Neuralink provided any information about the procedure.
It was, in fact, granted permission by the FDA to test the chip on humans in May 2023. That gave the green signal for the start of the six-year study during which a robot is being used to surgically implant 64 flexible threads, thinner than a hair strand, onto a part of the brain that controls “movement intention”, according to Neuralink.
The company says that these threads allow its experimental implant – powered by a battery that can be charged wirelessly – to record and transmit brain signals wirelessly to an app that decodes how the person intends to move.
“ [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.”
