Elon Musk announced that a patient equipped with Neuralink’s brain technology is now capable of controlling a computer mouse purely through thought. During a social media session on X, Musk detailed, “The patient appears to have recovered completely without any adverse effects we’re aware of, managing to navigate the mouse across the screen simply by thinking.”
Neuralink, a venture led by Musk, claims to have created a brain implant that enables individuals to harness their neural signals to operate external devices. The company’s goal is to restore functions that have been lost, such as sight, movement, and speech.
There was no immediate response from Neuralink for comments.
The first human implantation of Neuralink’s device took place in January, conducted with precision by a robotic system.
Musk, who also serves as Tesla’s CEO, mentioned that Neuralink’s objective is to achieve “as many button presses as possible through thought,” enabling actions like moving the mouse vertically to manipulate screen elements.
After obtaining the green light from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in May, Neuralink started enlisting participants for its inaugural human clinical trial last autumn, as shared in a company blog post.
This initial human trial represents an early phase in Neuralink’s journey towards bringing its product to market. Before gaining final FDA approval, medical device firms must undertake extensive data safety monitoring and testing.
