Elon Musk’s Neuralink implants brain chip in human

The first human patient received an implant from Elon Musk's brain-chip startup Neuralink.

"Initial results show promising neuron spike detection," Musk said in a post on Twitter/X.

Spikes are activity by neurons, which are cells that use electrical and chemical signals to send information around the brain and to the body.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) gave Neuralink clearance last year to conduct its first trial to test its implant on humans, a critical milestone in the company's ambitions to help patients overcome paralysis and a host of neurological conditions.

Then, in September, Neuralink said it received approval for recruitment for the human trial.

The so-called PRIME Study uses a robot to surgically place a brain-computer interface (BCI) implant in a region of the brain that controls the intention to move — and the initial goal is to enable people to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone. Also, it aims to evaluate the safety of the implant and surgical robot.

The first product from Neuralink would be called Telepathy, Musk said in a separate post on X.

The company was valued at about $5 billion last June, but four lawmakers in late November asked the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission to investigate whether Musk had misled investors about the safety of its technology after veterinary records showed problems with the implants on monkeys included paralysis, seizures and brain swelling.

Musk previously wrote in a social media post that "no monkey has died as a result of a Neuralink implant." He added that the company chose "terminal" monkeys to minimize risk to healthy ones.