Musk says Neuralink brain implant patient 'able to move mouse just by thinking'
Elon Musk has said that the first patient to be installed with brain implant Neuralink is recovering well and can now move a mouse just by thinking.
Speaking on X (formerly Twitter) Spaces, he announced: "Progress is good. Patient seems to have made a full recovery with no ill effects that we're aware off. And is able to move the mouse around the screen just by thinking."
He continued: "We're trying to get as many button presses as possible from thinking. So that's what we're currently working on."
The update on Musk's controversial Neuralink project came during a conversation with Katherine Brodsky. When Neuralink announced in September that it would begin recruiting people, the company said it was searching for individuals with quadriplegia due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s Disease.
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The Neuralink is one of billionaire Elon Musk's many companies (Angga Budhiyanto/ZUMA Press Wire/REX/Shutterstock)Neuralink is one of many groups working on linking the nervous system to computers, efforts aimed at helping treat brain disorders, overcoming brain injuries and other applications. There are more than 40 brain computer interface trials underway, according to clinicaltrials.gov.
Neuralink’s device is about the size of a large coin and is designed to be implanted in the skull, with ultra-thin wires going directly into the brain. In its September announcement, Neuralink said the wires would be surgically placed in a region of the brain that controls movement intention. The initial goal of the so-called brain computer interface is to give people the ability to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone.
It’s unclear how well this device or similar interfaces will ultimately work, or how safe they might be. Clinical trials are designed to collect data on safety and effectiveness.
A picture of the Neuralink device (Neuralink)Laura Cabrera, who researches brain science at Pennsylvania State University, said that even though Neuralink uses an innovative procedure – robotic surgery – to get the device in the brain, no one has implanted it before in humans and much remains unknown.
Brain surgery is “not a trivial thing,” she said, pointing to significant potential risks such as brain hemorrhage or seizures. “And so I think we have to be mindful that even though they’re using a novel way to implant the device, we just don’t know if it’s truly going to be a … safer approach for human patients.”
She pointed out that Neuralink’s competitors plan to use their devices for medical applications only, but Musk has been outspoken about going beyond medicine. For example, Cabrera said, Musk has talked about implants for the masses that will allow people to record everything that happens to them and access the information when they want — which may raise red flags for some.
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