Musk Reveals Neuralink’s First Human Patient Controls Computer Mouse With Mind
In an X Spaces event, Elon Musk revealed the first human patient implanted with a brain chip from Neuralink has made a “full recovery” and “can control the mouse around the screen just by thinking.”
“Progress is good, and the patient seems to have made a full recovery, with no ill effects that we are aware of. The patient is able to move a mouse around the screen by just thinking,” Musk told X users in Spaces on Monday night.
I asked Elon Musk about the progress of Neuralink's first human patient and the answer was pretty incredible.
— ⭕ Brock Pierson (@brockpierson) February 20, 2024
Listen here: pic.twitter.com/uPHNyOn0rk
Musk said Neuralink is currently focusing on maximising the number of mouse clicks by the patient.
Neuralink implanted the first brain chip into a human in January, following approval for human trials in September. The potentially life-transforming technology could help patients with quadriplegia caused by a cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
Neuralink has called the trial its “PRIME Study,” short for “Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface,” which aims to study the safety of its chip and surgical robot and test the device’s functionality.
The brain chip “grants people the ability to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone,” the company wrote in September.
