During a live broadcast on July 10, Elon Musk has communicated that his company specializing in neurotechnology, Neuralink, plans to resume implanting chips in human brains. This comes after overcoming a technical setback that had affected the device’s functionality in a previous patient, limiting his ability to operate a computer cursor by thought alone.
Inserting new chips into human brains
On the other hand, Musk, who co-founded Neuralink in 2016, explained that the goal of these implants is to establish a means of direct communication between the human brain and computers. Initially, this technology will seek to offer greater autonomy to people with severe physical disabilities, such as quadriplegia and other related diseases.
[post_relacionado]Neuralink’s technology consists of a small device, the size of five stacked coins, which is installed in the brain through invasive surgery. This device allows the user to control electronic devices directly with the mind. “We will now proceed with our second patient and, if all goes according to plan, we hope to expand to more than five patients before the end of the year,” Musk said in a conference broadcast on X, his own social network.
The architecture and advancement of chip technology. Source: Neuralink
During his speech, Musk also emphasized the importance of ensuring progress between each implant facility to optimize the results of this futuristic technology.
The history of Neuralink’s technology
January, Neuralink performed its first brain implantation in a human, Noland Arbaugh, a Noland Arbaugh, who became a quadriplegic after an accident. Although there were initially problems with some electrodes retracting, affecting Noland’s ability to control the cursor on its display, the company reported in May that this problem had been resolved. problem had been resolved the device’s algorithm.
The company has also improved the depth of implantation of the wires in the brain to enhance patients’ abilities. Elon Musk has reiterated his vision that eventually this technology could even restore mobility to paralyzed people through a second spinal cord implant, promising that it could grant “superpowers” to humans.
According to the entrepreneur, increasing the data transmission capacity between the brain and computers for symbiosis with artificial intelligence, enabling better communication at speeds at which AI can process information. In May 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration(FDA) approved clinical trials for this implant.
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Source: DW
Photo: Neuralink