Elon Musk said that a third party received an implant From his brain-computer interface company Neuralink, one of many groups. It works to connect the nervous system to machines.
“We have… three people with Neuralink, and they're all working fine,” he said in a wide-ranging interview at a Las Vegas event broadcast on social media platform X. .
Since his first brain transplant about a year ago, Musk said: company has upgraded the device with more electrodes, higher bandwidth, and longer battery life. Musk also said Neuralink hopes to implant the experimental device in 20 to 30 more people this year.
Musk did not provide details about the latest patient, but there is an update on previous patients.
The second recipient, who suffered from a spinal cord injury and received the implant last summer, learned how to play video games and create 3D objects using computer-aided design software with the help of the device. I was reading. The first patient was also paralyzed due to a spinal cord injury and explained how it helped him play video games and chess.
But while such developments at Neuralink often garner attention, many other companies and research groups are also working on similar projects. Two studies published last year in the New England Journal of Medicine described how brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) helped ALS patients improve communication.
Who is working on brain-computer interface technology?
more 45 exams on brain computer interfaces Research is ongoing, according to a U.S. research database. This effort aims to help treat brain diseases, overcome brain damage, and other applications.
Rajesh Rao, co-director of the University of Washington's Center for Neurotechnology, said a number of research institutions have already shown that humans can use BCIs to precisely control computer cursors.
Rao said Neuralink could be unique in two ways. The surgery to implant the device marks the first time a robot has been used to implant flexible electrode threads into the human brain to record neural activity and control the device. And those threads are likely to record from more neurons than other interfaces.
Still, he said the benefits of Neuralink's approach have yet to be shown, and some competitors are outpacing the company in other ways. For example, companies such as Synchron, BlackRock Neurotech, and Onward Medical are targeting people “using minimally invasive methods or more versatile approaches” that combine neural recording and stimulation. Rao said that BCI tests have already been conducted.
What are the benefits of BCI?
Marco Baptista, chief scientific officer of the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, called BCI technology “very exciting” because of its potential benefits for people with paralysis.
Through clinical trials, he says, “we'll know what the best approach is.” “It's a little early to know that.”
Baptista said his foundation typically seeks to financially support research teams with expert support, but it has not provided any funding to Neuralink.
“We really need to support high-risk, high-reward initiatives. This is obviously high-risk, high-reward. We don't know how safe it will be. We don't know how achievable it will be. No,” he said.
How are BCIs tested and regulated?
Neuralink announced in 2023 that it had received permission from U.S. regulators to begin testing the device on humans.
Most medical devices are put on the market without clinical studies, but high-risk medical devices that receive premarket approval require a so-called “investigational device exemption” from the Food and Drug Administration, according to a study by the American University. said cardiologist Dr. Rita Redberg. San Francisco, California researching high-risk devices.
Neuralink says it has this exemption, but the FDA said it cannot confirm or disclose information about specific studies.
Redberg said the FDA tends to be involved in every step, from patient recruitment to device testing to data analysis. He said the regulatory process prioritizes safety.
She also pointed to another layer of protection. All research involving humans requires an Institutional Review Board (IRB). Also known as an ethics review committee or independent ethics committee. The membership must include at least one non-scientist and a person not affiliated with the institution or organization that constitutes the board.
The role of such a committee is to “assume that there are reasonable risks and reasonable potential benefits, and that patients are informed about them before they enroll,” Redberg said. Ta.
