The Blubber

Elon Musk said that the first human patient has received a brain implant from his startup Neuralink.


In a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, Musk reported that the patient is recovering well, and the initial results of the Neuralink brain implant procedure are promising.

Neuralink's brain implant is designed to assist individuals with traumatic injuries in operating computers using their thoughts. In May, the company announced FDA approval for its first human trials. Last year, Neuralink began recruiting patients with quadriplegia due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) for the trial.

On X, Musk revealed that Neuralink's initial product would be called Telepathy. It aims to enable "control of your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking." Musk emphasized that the initial users of the product would be individuals who have lost the use of their limbs. He envisioned a scenario where individuals like Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer.

Musk mentioned that Neuralink has achieved positive results for neuron spike detection, indicating successful recordings from the patient's brain, according to Kip Ludwig, co-director of the Wisconsin Institute for Translational Neuroengineering at the University of Wisconsin. However, Neuralink needs to demonstrate its capabilities beyond other leading companies in the field, such as Blackrock Neurotech and Synchron.

Despite extensive animal testing, including experiments with monkeys playing computer games using their brains alone, Neuralink faces a challenging road ahead. The startup's chips aim to penetrate less than 2 millimeters into the brain, which is deeper than many other systems, like the one developed by Precision Neuroscience, which sits on top of the brain tissue.