Elon Musk, the founder of Neuralink, announced that the first human patient implanted with the company’s brain chip has not only fully recovered but can now move a computer mouse with their thoughts, according to Reuters.
Musk announced this great breakthrough at a Spaces event on the social media platform X, expressing happiness with the accomplishment and saying, “accomplishment is good, and the patient appears to have made a full recovery, with no negative effects that we are aware of. The patient can move a mouse around the screen simply by thinking.
Following approval for human trial recruitment in September, Neuralink successfully implanted the device in its first human patient last month. The procedure entails a robot surgically implanting a brain-computer interface implant in a brain area.
Musk has larger applications for the technology, which was originally developed to allow people to control a computer mouse or keyboard with their thoughts. He hopes to use it to treat obesity, autism, melancholy, and schizophrenia.
While the hopeful discoveries represent a big step forward, Neuralink has faced scrutiny over safety measures, with the company recently penalized for breaking US Department of Transportation regulations governing the movement of hazardous goods.
Despite the challenges, Neuralink’s success in enabling thought-controlled mouse movements hints at the technology’s transformational potential in redefining the future of medical interventions.
