Elon Musk
confirmed that his company
Neuralink
implanted the first brain chip in a person.
The product, called Telepathy, is aimed at patients who have lost the use of their limbs.
"He is recovering well," said the billionaire.
Such an ambitious – but already tangible – announcement is followed by an equally broad question: What is the scope of such an advance in
the link between technology and human biology
?
The news of the first Neuralink implant in humans comes nine months after the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA, in English, like our ANMAT) gave its approval for the company to begin conducting
studies in people
.
As they explain,
the implant will be able to "read" brain activity
to send orders that restore brain functions damaged by a heart attack or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, which lead to serious consequences in communication capacity.
"It allows you to control your phone or computer, and through them almost any device, just by thinking," described the tycoon in X (formerly Twitter), a social network that he bought years ago.
He added: "Imagine
if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster
than a speedy typist or an auctioneer. That's the goal."
Musk's foray into brain chips is a
paradigm shift
.
Because Neuralink also aspires to be able to transfer information
to
the brain, not from the brain to the outside, as happens today with implants that connect to computers that interpret signals coming from the head.
On the other hand, Neuralink is planning
two types of implants
in parallel , one to restore vision "even in those who never had it" and another to restore basic bodily functions in people with paralysis due to damage to the spinal cord, and to improve quality of life of people with neurological conditions such as Alzheimer's.
The reaching
"This brain chip seeks to create a
brain/machine interface
, which allows direct communication of the brain with electronic devices. In one sense, and in the other. The way the brain has to transmit signals, impulses, is something
very
biological, completely different from a device. So, you require
something in the middle
that translates the two languages of operation,"
Alejandro Andersson, a neurosurgeon specializing in Alzheimer's, explains to
Clarín .
This "translator," he says, "are small flexible electrodes (thread-like, thinner than hair, causing minimal injury upon entry) that are implanted in the brain, which could eventually also, in a moment, improve memory or, as is spoken, to achieve direct communication between two brains".
Everything says
about the future
.
These threads detect and record the activity of neurons, allowing the reading of these signals with high precision.
"At first they used this information to understand and decode brain signals. To understand how the brain works and from there to control external devices or, conversely, to influence neurological processes," continues the expert.
Andersson notes that
"we see some of this today in cochlear implants
," a device that allows giving a sensation of sound (through electrical stimuli) even to a profoundly deaf person.
One part of the implant is
in
the head and another part is outside.
"The important thing is that for the first time Neuralink implanted, with a surgical robot,
a special chip for quadriplegic people
. The objective is for them to control devices with thought, without the need for physical interaction. In this experience they will evaluate the safety and effectiveness of that brain/computer interface. After that, the scope of the ad will be seen," he points out.
Neurosurgeon Matías Baldoncini also mentions to
Clarín
other brain implants that are already used.
"They are not known as
chips
. They are
brain stimulation devices
to combat, for example, epilepsy, Parkinson's or other neurological diseases that cause movement disorders," he details. "These devices are connected to a generator (or stimulator). ".
Through microneurosurgery techniques, he explains, small cables (electrodes) are placed in certain superficial or deep structures of the brain, to receive or emit information.
"In neurosurgery, the union between science and technology has existed for several years. There is neuromodulation
(
the connection and regulation from a computer of the devices mentioned above)," he concludes, and thus gives more support to the future promised by Musk.
ACE