Article originally published in English
“The first human received a Neuralink implant yesterday and is recovering well”, wrote Musk on his X platform (formerly Twitter).
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Elon Musk revealed that his company Neuralink has successfully implanted one of its chips in a human brain.
In a post on the social network X this Monday, the multimillionaire said that the patient is recovering well after Sunday’s surgery and that the initial results show a promising detection of neuron spikes.
Neuralink’s goal is to connect human brains to computers and help combat neurological diseases and “unlock tomorrow’s human potential,” it says on the company’s website.
This milestone begins the company’s journey towards eventual commercial use.
The Food and Drug Administration, the US medical sector regulator, approved Neuralink’s first trial in May last year.
The procedure involves inserting 64 flexible wires into a part of the brain that controls intention to move, so thin that they have to be implanted by a robot.
The wires then allow the implant to record and transmit brain signals to an application, which decodes the way the person decides to move. The implant is powered by a battery that can be charged wirelessly.
Musk added on X that Neuralink’s first product would be called Telepathy.
According to Musk, Telepathy allows you to “control your cell phone or computer and, through them, almost all devices, just with your thoughts” and that “the first users will be those who have lost the use of their limbs”.
“Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a typist or an auctioneer. That’s the goal,” he added.
Neuralink is not the first company to implant brain chips. Another US technology company, Blackrock Neurotech, began deploying brain-computer interfaces in 2004.