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Elon Musk: The Tesla boss tweeted about Neuralink's brain chip test
Photo: Mandel Ngan / AFP
Tesla boss Elon Musk's start-up company Neuralink has used a wireless brain computer chip on a patient for the first time. The first person received the implant on Sunday and is recovering well, Musk said on the social media platform X. Initial results showed promising detection of neuron spikes. Neuralink's first product will be called Telepathy, Musk wrote in a separate post on X.
The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave the company the green light last year to carry out an initial study with the implant on humans. The start-up initially left a request from Reuters for further details unanswered.
Competitor Synchron attached a brain chip to a person in 2022
The aim of the study is to evaluate the functionality of the device, which will enable people with paralysis of all four limbs to control devices with their thoughts, according to the company's website. Neuralink advertised the study for test subjects last September. It is not known how many patients the FDA ultimately approved.
The neurotechnology company has been developing brain implants since 2016. Musk wants to use the interfaces to cure neurological diseases such as Alzheimer's, dementia and spinal cord injuries. The implants are about the size of five coins stacked on top of each other.
Neuralink isn't the only company working on brain-computer interfaces. In July 2022, Australian-based competitor Synchron announced that it was the first company to have attached a corresponding chip to the brain of a US patient.
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