Recently, Elon Musk announced that Neuralink had successfully implanted a brain chip in its first human volunteer. These chips are designed to allow humans to connect wirelessly with electronic devices and could be a real breakthrough for people with paralysis or other medical conditions that negatively impact their ability to control their bodies. What does this announcement really mean, and what new developments are on the horizon?
Neuralink's mission is to create a neural interface to help restore autonomy to people with motor difficulties and other medical needs, as well as enhance human potential in the future. While interesting, this concept is hardly a new one. For as long as people have experienced strokes, paralysis, or degenerative neurological conditions, researchers have been trying to find new ways to help them communicate and move through the world. Experts differ in how they choose to address this challenge—is it better to attempt to translate the brain's attempt at writing by hand, decode impulses from the brain's language center, or even teach people new forms of language? Neuralink takes a different approach and may offer a new solution.
The Neuralink implant is a brain-computer interface that's designed to be placed in the human brain, with 64 miniscule wire “threads” inserted into the cerebral cortex. This implant is designed to interpret the signals created by this part of the brain and translate them into input on an electronic device. All of this is powered by a small rechargeable battery that uses an external inductive charging device.
After receiving the implant, users are to be put through a short orientation and calibration process. This is designed to help them work with the implant, by doing things like imagining moving a cursor or clicking on an area of a screen. The Neuralink implant turns these thoughts into actual cursor movements. For people who aren't able to use conventional touchscreens or computer mice, this implant may provide a way for them to communicate, operate mobility aids, and more.
The implant itself is only part of the significant developments associated with the Neuralink project. Because of its very nature, it also required the development of a unique surgical robot.
The Neuralink implant has over one thousand electrodes distributed over 64 wires smaller in diameter than a human blood cell. This has its advantages and drawbacks. On one hand, the wires' microscopic diameter means that they can be plated in the brain with minimal trauma to the surrounding tissue. On the other, it also means that human hands lack the dexterity and sensitivity to place the wires.
Enter Neuralink's new surgical robot. This robot uses needles with tips between 10-12 microns in diameter, or slightly larger than a human red blood cell. These tiny needles accurately place the implant's wires in a way that causes as little damage as possible. Even if the implant itself doesn't live up to its potential, this surgical robot could open up new methods for minimally invasive surgical or diagnostic procedures.
Musk recently announced on X (formerly known as Twitter) that the first Neuralink recipient is “recovering well” and that the initial results showed “promising neuron spike detection.” While the latter sounds impressive at first blush, it can be misleading—in layman's terms, it means that nerve cells are creating electrical impulses, and the implanted probes are picking them up. While this is certainly better than the alternative, anyone following Neuralink's development should be cautiously optimistic until the data from this trial is made available.
It's also important to note that helping people with mobility and communication difficulties is only part of Neuralink's mission. Ultimately, part of Neuralink's stated goal is to “redefine the boundaries of human capability.” Should this controversial implant prove to be successful long-term, the company may move on to Musk's idea of merging artificial intelligence with the brains of healthy subjects.
The combination of Musk's goals and Neuralink's research methods has garnered a considerable amount of criticism, from overstating the implant's usefulness and marketability, to accusations of unethical treatment of research animals. While it's good that the patient is recovering well from the implant surgery, Neuralink still has a way to go to prove itself.
