The first Neuralink human patient is able to move a computer mouse only by thoughts

As we reported in late January, the first human patient finally got implanted with a brain chip from Elon Musk’s neurotechnology company Neuralink.

Three weeks later, Elon Musk provided an update on the patient’s condition during last night’s X (Twitter) Spaces talk, as spotted by entrepreneur and Tesla investor Sawyer Merritt.

According to Musk, the patient has now made a full recovery and is able to control the computer cursor using only their thoughts.

“Progress is good, and the patient seems to have made a full recovery, with no ill effects that we are aware of. Patient is able to move a mouse around the screen by just thinking,” Musk said as cited by Reuters.

The neurotechnology company received approval to launch the first human clinical study from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May of last year.

Neuralink’s N1 chip is implanted in the skull of the patient and is connected to the brain via tiny threads thinner than human hair. The threads contain 1,024 electrodes able to simultaneously pick up signals and stimulate millions of brain neurons. The signals are being transferred wirelessly for processing and interpretation.

The technology is called a brain-computer interface (BCI). In theory, such interfaces can bring huge benefits to patients whose lives were severely affected by diseases or injuries. We are not talking just about paralyzed patients being able to walk, but also recovering the ability to see, or even improving the overall capabilities of humans, like controlling electronic devices by thinking.

N1 isn’t the only product of Neuralink. The company has also developed its own surgical robot, R1, for precise, fast, and safe implantation of brain chips.

While Neuralink offers hope for many patients – given the company is able to succeed in its efforts to test and develop the technology toward a consumer solution – Musk has much higher ambitions, as usual. His ultimate goal is to put mankind on par with artificial intelligence.