Elon Musk’s company Neuralink has announced the start of the first clinical trials of brain implants in Europe. A pilot study has already begun in the UK with the participation of patients with serious nervous system injuries.
Elon Musk’s company Neuralink has announced the start of the first clinical trials of brain implants in Europe. A pilot study has already begun in the UK with the participation of patients with serious nervous system injuries.
According to Neuralink’s official post on social media X (formerly Twitter), the research is being conducted in collaboration with University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and Newcastle upon Tyne Hospitals. The program involves seven British people who have paralysis due to spinal cord injuries or diseases, including amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS).
The aim of the trials will be to implant the N1 chip into patients and teach them to control digital devices with the power of their thoughts. The device, which has 128 microthreads, each thinner than a human hair, and allows up to 1,000 electrodes to be connected to the brain, will be implanted in the brain. According to the developers, this will allow people with complete paralysis to interact with smartphones and tablets without physical contact.
This is not the first test of Neuralink chips: five patients in the US have already received implants. One of them, Alex, worked as a car mechanic before his injury, and now, thanks to the implant, he was able to restore interaction with technology, including playing computer games.
Neuralink was founded in 2016. To date, the company has attracted $1.3 billion in investments, and its capitalization is estimated at almost $9 billion. In addition to the UK, the company plans to launch similar research in Canada and the United Arab Emirates in the near future.
We also reported on how Audrey Crews, the first woman to receive a brain chip from Elon Musk’s Neuralink company, successfully controls a computer with her mind despite paralysis. She was able to write her own name and now draws pictures at the request of social media users.
