Elon Musk’s Neuralink successfully implants brain chip in first human subject

Elon Musk’s neurotech startup, Neuralink, successfully implanted its device in a human for the first time on Sunday. Musk confirmed in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, on Monday that the patient is “recovering well.”

Neuralink, Elon Musk’s company, is developing a brain implant with the goal of enabling patients with severe paralysis to control external technology exclusively through neural signals. The company started recruiting patients for its inaugural in-human clinical trial in the fall, following approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May, as per a blog post.

On Monday, Musk stated in a post on X, that the first product from Neuralink is named “Telepathy.” Should the technology function as intended, patients suffering from severe degenerative diseases, such as ALS, could potentially use the implant to communicate and browse social media via mind-controlled cursor movements and typing.

Envisaging the potential of this technology, Musk wrote, “Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or auctioneer. That is the goal.”

The initiation of the in-human clinical trial signifies a progressive step in Neuralink’s journey towards commercialization. However, medical device companies must undergo rigorous rounds of data safety collection and testing before they can obtain final approval from the FDA.

Neuralink has not revealed the number of human patients participating in its initial in-human trial and hasn’t responded to requests for more information on the recent procedure.

Neuralink is a prominent entity in the budding brain-computer interface (BCI) industry, largely due to Musk’s high profile, who is also the CEO of Tesla and SpaceX. BCIs are systems that interpret brain signals into commands for external technologies. Several other companies, including Synchron, Precision Neuroscience, Paradromics, and Blackrock Neurotech, have also developed systems with these capabilities.

Paradromics is planning to initiate its first trial involving human patients in the first half of this year. In contrast, Precision Neuroscience conducted its first in-human clinical study last year. In 2021, a patient who received Synchron’s BCI used it to post on CEO Tom Oxley’s Twitter account.

At this stage, it remains uncertain which company will be the first to enter the market.