Elon Musk says the first person to receive a brain implant can now control a computer mouse with their thoughts. (Image Credit: IJRO/pixabay)
It’s strange how there is zero surfacing pictures or videos of the Neuralink implant patient. I suppose they might not want to be a spectacle of some sort. But, it would be interesting to see the implant being used. I thought by now something would surface. That said...
In January, Elon Musk's Neuralink implanted a brain-computer interface (BCI) into a patient for the first time. The startup achieved this after getting approved for human trial recruitment last September. Now, its patient can control a PC mouse via the implant, according to Musk.
"Progress is good, and the patient seems to have made a full recovery, with no ill effects that we are aware of. Patient is able to move a mouse around the screen by just thinking," Musk posted during an X Spaces event.
Neuralink is attempting to get the patient to click the mouse buttons more often. "We’re trying to get as many button presses as possible from thinking. So that’s what we’re currently working on is: can you get left mouse, right mouse, mouse down, mouse up,” he said. “We want to have more than just two buttons. So we’re trying to make progress on that front. But overall, it’s looking very good.”
During surgery, a robot puts the BCI in the motor cortex, an area of the brain responsible for controlling movement. Neuralink’s main goal involves having a patient control a keyboard or computer through their mind. Musk says he wants the startup to perform quick brain chip surgeries to treat depression, autism, schizophrenia, and obesity.
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