Welcome to our new post! In this article, I'll introduce you to some curiosities about Elon Musk's brain chip. During the video the following topics will be addressed: what is a chip?, the Neuralink chip, the Synchron chip, laboratory studies, examples of other brain-computer devices. Get ready to learn amazing things about this device and surprise your friends with these interesting facts.

Introduction to the Neuralink project

The main objective of the brain chip produced by Neuralink is to connect the human brain to the computer. Among the advantages of this implantation is the aid to the communication of people with paralysis, visual deficiency and injuries. After implantation of the device, the patient will be able to control a computer with his mind. To do this they need to understand brain impulses and convert them into digital results.

Elon Musk stated that he intends to implement more functions to the device, such as: driving a Tesla car with his mind, saving and reproducing memories, playing video games and restoring locomotion to people who have had spinal cord damage.

The American agency Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) approved the clinical trials of the project. This represents a great achievement, since in order to execute a clinical test, several stages must be approved, such as: preclinical tests, durability tests, and biocompatibility tests.

Although the approval for clinical trials has been a great advance for this technology, it is important to highlight that it is still estimated that it will take 5 to 10 years for the commercialization of the device.

For the implantation of the device a perforation of the skull is required. The device is made up of intertwined wires and electrodes. Musk said that multiple chips can be implanted for different functions.

What is a chip?

Chips are devices that contain millions of transistors capable of transmitting information. The plates of these devices are made of semiconductor material (silicon) that incorporates an electronic circuit.

Examples of devices with brain-computer interface

These devices translate neural stimulation into computer language to enable communication between the brain and electronic devices.

Although the issue of implanting technological devices to potentiate or restore human capacities sounds like science fiction, there are already several people who use them. Did you know that approximately 200,000 people around the world already use such a device?

The most common example is cochlear implants that allow deaf people to hear. There are devices that detect potential epileptic seizures and alert the patient to take preventive medication or avoid certain activities.

You are probably wondering: but if a chip can do several functions and is activated by neural activity, how will it know what to do?

Scientists normally analyze through electrodes which are the most relevant neural activities when one executes these tasks. These characteristics are passed as vectors to the algorithms that will be in charge of interpreting the neural activities and selecting the desired action.

Synchron is a company created in 2016 that, like Neuralink, is creating a brain chip to improve the quality of life of people with disabilities. Synchron has already been able to do its first implant in a living New York patient suffering from multiple sclerosis, a degenerative disease. The patient's jugular was used to insert the chip and the procedure lasted about 2 hours. 48 hours after the procedure, the patient was already discharged.

Synchron's chip is called a Stentrode and, unlike Neuralink's, it is implanted intravenously, thus the company avoids surgical procedures that directly affect the brain. On the other hand, Stentrode is larger than the Link chip.

After approval for clinical trials, 4 more chips have already been implanted in Australian patients, so far no side effects have been reported. According to Synchron reports, two of the patients have managed to control a computer with their minds and perform some tasks.

The chip

The previous prototype was connected to a device that went behind the ear and would be connected wirelessly to the chip. The previous chip also had very thin wires. Now the second device is no longer necessary, only the chip.

The dimensions of the chip are currently 23 millimeters by 8 millimeters. Thanks to its small dimensions, it manages to go unnoticed, as it is covered by hair. Chip implantation does not require general anesthesia and can be done by a surgical robot. The patient can put it on and take it off.

The idea is that the battery of the device is recharged at night. The communication between the chip and the computer or telephone is given via bluetooth.

Laboratory studies of Neuralink

Elon Musk showed 3 pigs: one with the chip implanted, another that received the chip and it was removed, and another virgin that never had the chip. The objective was to show that all pigs were healthy regardless of surgery or receipt of the device.

In the demonstration, Gertrudes' brain activity could be observed while she walked and sniffed. Musk claimed that Gertrudes' device was plugged into her snout and when she touched something with her snout, 1,000 electrodes were activated by her neural activities.

He also did tests with rats and monkeys, in the latter case he got the monkey to control a computer with her mind. Pager the monkey started playing Ping Pong with a controller to understand how the game works and to map the neural activities stimulated during the game. After the implantation of the chip, she continued playing Ping Pong, but now without a controller, only with her mind.

Clinical studies Neuralink

Noland Arbaugh was the first patient to receive the Neuralink implant. Noland managed to control a cursor in a chess game with his mind. The patient has become paralyzed from the shoulders down after an accident.

A curious fact is that after tweeting with his mind, platform X banned him as a robot.

Twitter banned me because they thought I was a bot, @X and @elonmusk reinstated me because I am.
— Noland Arbaugh (@ModdedQuad) March 22, 2024

Possible negative effects

It is thought that some people who use these implants could become highly dependent on these devices or have their sense of self altered. Although no negative effect has yet been reported in patients who have received the Synchron chip. The Neuralink chip has not yet been implanted in humans, so we do not know if it has any risk.

Conclusion

The chip-type brain-computer interfaces are new technologies that still need more studies to assess their effects on humans, but that will present a before and after in the history of humanity, once they will allow the rehabilitation of people with disabilities and their better integration into society.

This technology will also be revolutionary for people without disabilities, as it will increase efficiency and provide improvements in different areas.

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