first human The patient received an implant from brain chip startup Neuralink on Sunday and is recovering well, the company's billionaire founder Elon Musk said.
“Early results show promise in detecting neuron spikes,” Musk said in a post on social media platform X on Monday.
Spikes are activity by neurons, which the National Institutes of Health describes as cells that use electrical and chemical signals to send information around the brain and into the body.
Last year, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration gave the company permission to conduct its first clinical trial testing the implant in humans, a start-up that claims to help patients overcome paralysis and a host of neurological conditions. An important milestone in our ambitions.
Neuralink announced in September that it had received approval to enroll in human trials.
The study will use robots to surgically place brain-computer interface (BCI) implants in areas of the brain that control locomotion intentions, Neuralink previously said, and its initial goal is to help people connect to computers. Added that it is to be able to control the cursor and keyboard of the user using only their own ideas.
Neuralink says the implant's “extra-fine” threads help transmit signals within the participants' brains.
telepathy
Neuralink's first product will be called Telepathy, Musk said in a separate post about X.
The startup's Prime Study is a test of a wireless brain-computer interface to assess the safety of implants and surgical robots.
Neuralink did not immediately respond to a request for further details.
The company has faced calls for scrutiny over its safety protocols. Earlier this month, the company was fined for violating U.S. Department of Transportation regulations regarding the movement of hazardous materials.
Read: Neuralink Recognized for Human Brain Implant Research
The company was valued at about $5 billion in June last year, but in late November, four members of Congress announced that Mr. It asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether it misled investors about the safety of the technology. Paralysis, seizures, swelling of the brain.
Read: Musk's Neuralink faces backlash over animal testing
“No monkey has died from Neuralink implants,” Musk wrote in a social media post on September 10. He added that the company selected “terminal” monkeys to minimize the risk to healthy monkeys. — Akash Sriram and Kanjik Ghosh, (c) 2024 Reuters
