By Maddax Winston-Evans

Recently declared the world’s richest person, technological innovator Elon Musk is again attempting the impossible, creating a brain chip that could help millions. He and his team have created a brain implant called the Neuralink that could potentially help paraplegic and tetraplegic people.

This is not the first time Musk has created and brought something new to the general population. He has already created Tesla, the largest manufacturer of electric cars in the world. He has also created one of the largest solar panel companies in America, and through his Space X company, he has commercialized space travel by making reusable rockets at a significantly lower cost than all other space companies. Next on his list of achievements is creating a brain chip that can help people who are paralyzed and those who have suffered severe spinal damage. The goal in the future is to be able to implant a second chip into the lower spine to help paralyzed people regain their ability to walk.

Musk says that “our goal is to solve important spine and brain problems with a seamlessly implanted device.” The chip is implanted into the skull and electrodes connect into the brain right where the chip is. One thing that Musk’s team strives to do is clear up any stigma or concerns around the thought of a chip in people’s brains. The team has made immense strides in the past year to make the brain chip unnoticeable. The chip went from having multiple long wires that connected behind the ear to a much smaller size, making it the size of a large coin. The width of the skull is ten millimeters thick, and the chip is eight millimeters thick, making it a perfect fit. 

Elon Musk. Photo credit: Steve Jurvetson.

The surgery to place the chip is completely automated; implanting the chip takes less than an hour, and general anesthesia is unneeded. The machine that conducts the surgery is so precise that there is no bleeding when the electrodes are put into place in the brain. The chip has a full day’s worth of charge, and it can be charged while the user sleeps via wireless charging.

Does this chip work? As seen in Musk’s “Three Little Piggies” demonstration, the chips are fully operational. Musk and his Neuralink team experimented with many pigs, and as a result of their research they believe that Neuralink is safe and functional. In one pig, there is just one Neuralink that picks up brain and snout activity. There is a second pig that used to have an operational Neuralink, but it has been removed, and the pig is healthy and safe. There is then a third pig that has had two Neuralinks implanted and is healthy and functioning at optimum capacity. While this experiment is just on pigs, it shows that the Neuralink works on living organisms. The chip analyzes the neurons in the pigs’ brains using two-photon microscopy, a fluorescence imaging method that can show brain activity in living species.

Many people are wondering how the chip will help with paralysis and spine injuries. One experiment that was done on the pigs was to precisely calculate where the pigs joints would be while they walked on a treadmill, and Musk’s team was able to do so with great accuracy. Musk has stated that he is very confident that in the future, he and his team will be able to also implant a chip at the base of the human spine which will give people with paralysis and spine injuries their ability to walk back.

The cost of the Nearalink and the procedure is projected to be around 3,000 dollars for each person. Musk predicts that as time goes on, the price will drop. Musk’s team received the FDA Breakthrough Device Designation in July 2020, meaning they have permission to start human trials. and they have been working very closely with the FDA ever since. Musk has said that his team will not just meet the minimum requirements for the FDA, but they will exceed them.