Elon Musk’s neurotech startup Neuralink has successfully conducted its first in-human clinical trial.
Neuralink has implanted its device in a human for the first time.
According to Musk’s post on X, the procedure was done on Sunday, and the patient is “recovering well.”
“The first human received an implant from @Neuralink yesterday and is recovering well. Initial results show promising neuron spike detection,” the post read.
Neuralink is developing a brain implant that aims to help patients with severe paralysis control external technologies using only neural signals.
This means that patients with severe degenerative diseases will be able to communicate or access social media by moving cursors and typing with their minds.
The company received approval from the United States FDA in May to conduct the study and began recruitment for the trial in September2023.
Describing Neuralink’s goal in his X post, Musk said “Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer, That is the goal.”
He also revealed in the post that Neuralink’s first product is called Telepathy.
Neuralink is a kind of BCI; Brain-Computer Interface. A BCI is a system that deciphers brain signals and translates them into commands for external technologies.
Is this new?
While Neuralink is perhaps the best-known BCI company, benefitting from Musk’s fame, some companies have explored this area of tech before now.
Synchron, Precision Neuroscience, Paradromics and Blackrock Neurotech are such examples.
Paradromics is aiming to launch its first trial with human patients in the first half of this year.
Precision Neuroscience already carried out its first in-human clinical study last year.
Synchron has the record of being the first to have a patient tweet using a BCI device.
Philip O’Keefe, an ALS patient was implanted with Synchron’s BCI during its clinical trials. 20 months later, in December 2021, O’Keefe tweeted “Hello, world! Short tweet. Monumental progress,” on Synchron’s CEO ‘s page, using the BCI.
Philip O’Keefe was the first person in the world to tweet using a BCI device.
