Elon Musk said the patient is recovering well and the initial results are "promising."

A computer chip developed by Neuralink has been implanted in its first human test subject, marking a milestone in the frontier of brain-computer interface (BCI) research, Neuralink co-founder and owner Elon Musk said.

Musk announced on Twitter Monday evening that "the first person received a Neuralink implant yesterday and is recovering well, initial results show promising neuron spike detection."

Neuralink's first foray into the BCI space was aimed at being able to decode intended movement signals from brain activity to control external devices such as computers. Since then, Musk has also laid out a vision for the company's first product: telepathy.

"It can control your phone or computer, and through them control nearly any device, just by thinking about it," he wrote on Twitter. "Initial users will be those who have lost limbs. Imagine Stephen Hawking being able to communicate faster than a typist or auctioneer. However, that's what we're aiming for."

Founded in 2016, the California-based company received approval from federal regulators at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in September to begin human trials. Neuralink is publicly soliciting volunteers for its PRIME study, an acronym that stands for "Precision Machine Implanted Brain-Computer Interface."

However, discussion about the company’s progress eased in November when a Reuters report detailed painful and sometimes bizarre results from its testing on animals.

Volunteer Pool

While no further details were provided about Sunday’s proceedings or their topics (the Neuralink company blog was last updated nearly five months ago), Neuralink’s recruiting materials outline some of the requirements for participating in its human trials.

"We are looking for people who are quadriplegic due to spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and have not improved for at least a year since their injury," the company explained in a statement. Participants must also be at least 22 years old and have a consistent and reliable caregiver, the online release said.

The time commitment includes nine visits over 18 months (some in the clinic, some at home), as well as twice-weekly, one-hour “research sessions.”

Participants' time commitment included nine visits over 18 months (some in the clinic, some at home) and two one-hour "research sessions" per week.

Even after the initial study is complete, Neuralink expects participants to stay with them for five years and another 20 visits.

Science & Technology

The research test involves several components, including the brain-computer interface implant itself (called the N1 implant), and an implant that will "surgically place the N1 chip in the area of ​​the brain that controls motor intention."

Neuralink says the N1 has 1,024 electrodes spread across 64 wires, “each thinner than a human hair,” that can record neural activity and transmit it to a mobile app, with the goal of enabling patients to control computers with their thoughts.

Neuralink says the implant is “invisible in appearance.”

Highly controversial

Many research institutions and private companies are developing BCI technologies. However, few of them involve surgical implantation.

Animal rights group the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) has long condemned Neuralink's practices.

“Implanted devices like Neuralink present numerous problems, including being difficult to repair and having a high probability of causing serious medical complications for patients,” the group claimed, alleging the company violated federal animal welfare laws but was given a “free pass” by the agencies responsible for enforcing the laws.

When images of Neuralink's animal test subjects were released in November, PCRM said the company was "mutilating and killing monkeys," citing "chronic infections, paralysis, seizures, and death." The group urged Neuralink to stop its animal testing and instead focus on improving non-invasive brain-computer interfaces.

The group said that "non-invasive [brain-computer interfaces] can monitor large-scale neuronal activity throughout the brain without risk" because they use electroencephalography (EEG), adding that in addition to helping with movement and motion, they can already "allow people to communicate directly using computers."

Last fall, scientists were able to recreate the music that subjects were thinking about using electrodes on the surface of the skin.

Neuralink’s surgical approach is not unique, however.

Last summer, a neural implant helped a paralyzed New York man move his arm and feel touch.

Houston-based Motif Neurotech, which is developing “minimally invasive” wireless therapy hardware for mental health, announced last week an $18.75 Series A round.

Motif Neurotech CEO Jacob Robinson told reporters that Neuralink's rapid progress in human testing "confirms the interest and demand for neurotechnology." #Neuralink #内容挖矿