Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain computing startup has yet to receive approval from the Federal Drug Administration to implant its technology in humans. However, Neuralink’s competitor, Synchron, has implanted its first device into the brain of a U.S. patient — in this case one with ALS, a neurodegenerative disease that’s affected the patient’s ability to move and speak, as reported by Bloomberg.
The hope is that the patient will be able to browse the web and communicate through email and text just by thinking. The device would translate the patient’s thoughts into action through commands sent to a computer.
Synchron had already implanted its devices in four patients in Australia. These patients are reported by Bloomberg to have no side effects, and the device has allowed them to send messages through WhatsApp and make online purchases. Source: Fortune