A fifth paralyzed patient has been implanted with a Neuralink chip backed by Elon Musk.
Military veteran RJ, also known as “P5,” suffered a spinal cord injury after a motorcycle accident that left him without the use of his arms or legs.
Since his operation in April, when a team of specialists at the University of Miami placed a chip the size of a small coin into his brain, RJ has been able to navigate his smartphone and computer using only his thoughts.
“I think my favorite thing has been being able to turn on my TV,” RJ, the initial patient to receive the chip at the Miami facility, shared with NBC’s South Florida station.
Neuralink, the brain-computer interface company founded by Musk, collaborated with the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis on this procedure – and it has been deemed successful, according to the surgeon who led the operation.
“In its early stages, it’s been very successful at allowing them to accomplish goals they could not otherwise accomplish,” Dr. Jonathan Jagid said.
RJ was discharged from the hospital the day after the procedure.
“They’re giving me my spark back…my drive back. They’ve given me my purpose back. Now, I’m able to turn around and build that fire for the next guys that come through,” RJ said.
Neuralink did not immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.
RJ and the other implant patients, all of whom are paralyzed from a spinal cord injury or ALS, are taking part in a clinical trial that Neuralink launched last year known as PRIME, or Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface.
These BCIs read the electrode signals produced by neurons in the brain and transmit them into computer commands. The closer to the brain, the more accurate the transcription – hence the implantation process.
Neuralink has discussed plans to eventually help patients regain their eyesight or speech.
“We’re hoping later this year to do our first device implant for a human, enabling someone who is completely blind to see,” Musk said during an event in Wisconsin in March.
“It will start off low-res, but over time, I think eventually the implant will enable vision that is superhuman, so that will be really cool.”
Several agencies have reportedly raised concerns about the safety of Neuralink’s implant surgeries.
The FDA questioned the safety of the device’s lithium battery, the potential for the implant’s tiny wires to migrate in the brain and whether the device could be removed without damaging brain tissue, according to a Reuters report in 2023.
It approved Neuralink’s first human clinical trial a few months later.
