What exactly can Neuralink do? Advantages of the brain chip tech explored as Elon Musk's company inches towards human trials

Elon Musk’s brain chip startup, Neuralink, is preparing to go for clinical trials in humans. Elon has promised that the technology will help paralyzed patients use smartphones with their minds faster than anyone using their thumbs.

The company has successfully inserted artificial intelligence microchips into the brain of a macaque monkey named Pager and a pig named Gertrude. The company is now hiring a clinical trial director to test the technology in humans.

The advertisement for the role in Fremont, California, says that as clinical trial director, the selected individual will work with some of the best doctors and top engineers alongside the chip’s first clinical trial participants. It also said,

“You will lead and help build the team responsible for enabling Neuralink’s clinical research activities and developing the regulatory interactions that come with a fast-paced and ever-evolving environment.”

Neuralink has also released a video of Pager playing the video game Pong using only his mind. The company is also hiring a clinical trial coordinator to build a team of people to run the trial and liaise with regulators.

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Neuralink and its uses

Neuralink logo displayed on a smartphone (Image via Rafael Henrique/Getty Images)

To understand the chip's working, it is necessary to understand the science behind the human brain.

The human brain has neurons that send signals to body cells, including muscle, nerve, gland, and other neurons. Neurons are made up of three parts – dendrite, soma, axon, and each has its function.

The dendrite receives the signals, soma processes them, and the axon transmits them to the other cells. The neurons are connected through synapses that release neurotransmitters.

These chemical substances then go to another neuron cell’s dendrite, causing the current flow among neurons. The electrodes, a part of Neuralink, will read the electrical signals produced by neurons in the brain, and they are outputted in the form of an action or movement.

The implant’s website says that the device is directly inserted into the brain since placing it outside the head will not detect the signals produced by the brain.

It can be used to operate encephalopathy and connect the human brain and technology. This means that paralysis patients can easily use their phones and computers directly with the brain.

The device's primary purpose is to help communicate through text and voice messages. It can also draw pictures, click photographs, and do other activities.

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Elon Musk's thoughts on the brain chip

Last month, the billionaire entrepreneur said that he was confident that the implants would allow tetraplegic people to walk. While speaking to the Wall Street Journal’s CEO Council Summit, he said they hope to have it first on humans who have spinal cord injuries. He continued by saying,

“I think we have a chance with Neuralink to restore full-body functionality to someone who has a spinal cord injury. Neuralink’s working well in monkeys, and we’re actually doing just a lot of testing and just confirming that it’s very safe and reliable and the Neuralink device can be removed safely.”

Elon Musk previously predicted in 2019 that the device could be used in a human skull by 2020. He said that the device would be inserted flush with the skull, and it charges wirelessly so that an individual looks and feels normal.

The 50-year-old mentioned that people should consider the technology similar to replacing faulty or missing neurons with circuits. He said more progress would be once the devices are inserted inside humans.