Tech billionaire Elon Musk has claimed his Neuralink company has successfully implanted one of its wireless brain chips in a human.
In a post on X, he said “promising” brain activity had been detected after the procedure and the patient was “recovering well”, adding that the company’s goal is to connect human brains to computers to help tackle complex neurological conditions.
Some rival firms have already implanted similar devices including the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne, which has successfully enabled a paralyzed man to walk just by thinking.
This was achieved by putting electronic implants on his brain and spine which wirelessly communicate thoughts to his legs and feet.
“For any company producing medical devices, the first test in humans is a significant milestone,” said Professor Anne Vanhoestenberghe of King’s College London.”
“For the brain-computer interface community, we must place this news in the context that whilst many companies are working on exciting products, there are only a few other companies who have implanted their devices in humans, so Neuralink has joined a rather small group.”
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