Elon Musk Neuralink reaches milestone as implants first brain chip in human
Neuralink successfully placed a chip into the human brain
Elon Musk's startup Neuralink has achieved a historic milestone by successfully implanting a chip into the brain of its first human test subject.
The CEO of Tesla revealed that Neuralink, his human technology startup, has successfully placed a chip into the brain of its inaugural human test participant.
He shared that the individual underwent surgical implantation of the chip on Sunday and is currently in a positive recovery state.
Musk communicated this development on his social media platform X, “Initial results show promising neuron spike detection.”
Last year, the US Food and Drug Administration approved human trials of Neuralink's brain chips, following extensive testing on pigs, sheep, and monkeys.
However, this testing process drew criticism from animal rights groups, who accused Neuralink of engaging in animal abuse during the experiments.
In November, DJ Seo, one of the co-founders of Neuralink, shared with Bloomberg News, “The last two years have been all about focus on building a human-ready product,” adding, “It’s time to help an actual
The brain implant, equipped with 1,000 electrodes, aims to enable individuals to execute computer tasks wirelessly through a "think-and-click" mechanism, merely by thinking about their desired actions.
Read also: Elon Musk's Neuralink faces flood of volunteers for brain implant experiments
In the recent announcement, Neuralink expressed its search for individuals under 40 years old with quadriplegia to partake in upcoming human trials.
The surgical process involves a section of the patient's skull being removed, followed by a 7-foot-tall robot named R1 taking charge to implant 64 threads, each lined with electrodes, into the participant's brain.
The electrodes are configured to collect information about brain functions, specifically capturing neural signals associated with intentions for movement.
Subsequently, these recorded neural signals are transmitted to Neuralink's computers for analysis.
Seo, who also serves as the vice president for engineering, conveyed to Bloomberg, “The short-term goal of the company is to build a generalized brain interface and restore autonomy to those with debilitating neurological conditions and unmet medical needs.”
It is further stated, “Then, really, the long-term goal is to have this available for billions of people and unlock human potential and go beyond our biological capabilities.”