Jonathan
Raa
|
Nurphoto
|
Getty
Images
Elon
Musk‘s
neurotech
startup
Neuralink
implanted
its
device
in
a
human
for
the
first
time
on
Sunday,
and
the
patient
is
“recovering
well,”
the
billionaire
said
in
a
post
on
X,
formerly
known
as
Twitter,
on
Monday.
The
company
is
developing
a
brain
implant
that
aims
to
help
patients
with
severe
paralysis
control
external
technologies
using
only
neural
signals.
Neuralink
began
recruiting
patients
for
its
first
in-human
clinical
trial
in
the
fall
after
it
received
approval
from
the
U.S.
Food
and
Drug
Administration
to
conduct
the
study
back
in
May,
according
to
a
blog
post.
Musk
said
Monday
that
Neuralink’s
first
product
is
called
Telepathy,
according
to
an
X
post.
If
the
technology
functions
properly,
patients
with
severe
degenerative
diseases
like
ALS
could
someday
use
the
implant
to
communicate
or
access
social
media
by
moving
cursors
and
typing
with
their
minds.
“Imagine
if
Stephen
Hawking
could
communicate
faster
than
a
speed
typist
or
auctioneer,”
Musk
wrote.
“That
is
the
goal.”
The
in-human
clinical
trial
marks
just
one
step
on
Neuralink’s
path
toward
commercialization.
Medical
device
companies
must
go
through
several
rounds
of
intense
data
safety
collection
and
testing
before
securing
final
approval
from
the
FDA.
watch
now
Neuralink
did
not
disclose
how
many
human
patients
will
participate
in
its
initial
in-human
trial.
The
company
did
not
immediately
respond
to
CNBC’s
request
for
comment
about
the
recent
procedure.
As
part
of
the
emerging brain-computer
interface,
or
BCI,
industry,
Neuralink
is
perhaps
the
best-known
company
in
the
space
thanks
to
the
high
profile
of Musk,
who
is
also
the
CEO
of Tesla
and
SpaceX.
A
BCI
is
a
system
that deciphers
brain
signals and
translates
them
into
commands
for
external
technologies,
and
several
companies
like Synchron,
Precision
Neuroscience, Paradromics and
Blackrock
Neurotech
have
also
created
systems
with
these
capabilities.
Paradromics
is
aiming
to
launch
its
first
trial
with
human
patients
in
the
first
half
of
this
year.
Precision
Neuroscience
carried
out
its
first
in-human
clinical
study
last
year.
A
patient
who
received
Synchron’s
BCI
used
it
to
post
from
CEO
Tom
Oxley’s
Twitter
account
back
in
2021.
It
is
not
clear
which
company
will
be
the
first
to
reach
the
market.
watch
now
