Elon Musk spoke about the condition of a patient with a chip implanted in his brain

Neuralink intends to move on

According to Neuralink founder Elon Musk, the first patient with a chip implanted in the brain has fully recovered and is able to control a computer mouse with the power of thought. The company now seeks from the experiment participant as many mouse clicks as possible.

Photo: Global Look Press

The first human patient implanted with a brain chip from Neuralink appears to have made a full recovery and is able to control a computer mouse using his thoughts, startup founder Elon Musk said late Monday.

“Progress is good, and the patient, seems to have fully recovered and we are aware of the nervous effects. The patient can move the mouse around the screen just by thinking,” Musk noted at the Spaces event.

Elon Musk said that Neuralink is now trying to get the patient to click as many mouse buttons as possible.

The firm successfully implanted the chip in its first human patient last month, after receiving approval to enroll people in the trial in September.

The study uses a robot to surgically place the brain-computer interface implant to the area of ​​the human brain that controls movement. The initial goal is to enable people to control a computer cursor or keyboard using only their thoughts.

Musk has big ambitions for Neuralink. He says it will facilitate rapid surgical installation of chip devices to treat diseases such as obesity, autism, depression and schizophrenia.

Neuralink, which was valued at about $5 billion last year, has faced repeated challenges with calls for a review of its safety protocols. Last month, Reuters reported that the firm was fined for violating U.S. Department of Transportation regulations regarding the transport of hazardous materials.