On October 12, Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company Neuralink announced another important development in its technology today. It has been revealed that Nick Wray, a patient suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, commonly known as "ALS"), has successfully received an implant in his brain.Use only your thoughts to control a complex robotic arm to complete multiple daily life tasks.
Patients use this brain-computer interface system toIt drives the robotic arm to accurately grab the cup and bring it to your mouth for drinking. It can also open the refrigerator, use the microwave to heat food, and put on a hat autonomously.. These seemingly simple actions are a crucial step in regaining autonomy in life for patients with severely limited mobility.
The core of this technology is that a chip implanted in the patient's brain can interpret its neural signals in real time and wirelessly convert them into Bluetooth commands, thereby achieving seamless control of external devices. In addition to life tasks, the patient also achieved record-breaking results on a dexterity test used for stroke patients,39 cylinders moved in five minutes. What is more worth mentioning is that heFor the first time, he successfully used this interface to control his own wheelchair., and also completed a challenge that he himself called an "incredible fancy shot."
This demonstration is part of Neuralink’s U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA)-approved “CONVOY” research project. It is reported that the patient is the eighth participant to receive the experimental brain implant. Neuralink's first human trials start in the U.S. in 2024, after the company addressed major safety concerns raised by the FDA in 2022. The first implanter, Noland Arbaugh, had previously demonstrated the ability to control a computer cursor and play video games with his thoughts, and Ray's success further expanded the application scenarios from the digital world to the physical world.