(3 Minutes Read)
Neuralink is one of many groups working on linking the nervous system to computers to treat brain disorders and overcome brain injuries and other applications.
Elon Musk, the maverick techie, claimed that the first human received an implant from his computer-brain interface company Neuralink over the weekend. However, he did not reveal details of the developments, keeping it under wraps. He further revealed that the patient is recovering well.
Musk co-founded Neuralink, and the company announced in September last that it would begin recruiting people with quadriplegia, a disorder due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Neuralink is one of many groups working on linking the nervous system to computers to treat brain disorders and overcome brain injuries and other applications. There are more than 40 brain-computer interface trials underway, according to some reports. The U.S. The Food and Drug Administration had approved its investigational device exemption.
Neuralink’s device is about the size of a large coin and is designed to be implanted in the skull. Its ultra-thin wires go directly into the brain. The wires would be surgically placed in a region of the brain that controls movement intention. It can be operated through human thought alone.
Read Also:
The Neuralink product is called “Telepathy”, which will enable users to control their phones or computers just by thinking. Its initial users would be those who have lost use of their limbs. The scientific community is still not clear how the device would work. They feel that it would take more time to universally use the device since its impact on humans has to be closely monitored and pass rigorous tests. There are a few who dub Musk’s claim as a publicity stunt, for which he is known for.