All posts tagged: Neuralink

Neuralink Patient Using Brain Chip to Carry Out Important Life Task: Playing World of Warcraft

Neuralink Patient Using Brain Chip to Carry Out Important Life Task: Playing World of Warcraft

Published by José Betancourt

Sign up to see the future, today Can’t-miss innovations from the bleeding edge of science and tech A paralyzed man who received a Neuralink implant is now able to enjoy the ultimate time killer: World of Warcraft. Jon L. Noble, a British Army veteran, shared an update on his journey since receiving a brain implant from the Elon Musk-owned company, describing how he rapidly learned to use the tech to control a Macbook and, eventually, game. He uploaded footage to prove it, showing his character valiantly battling a hulking enemy in Blizzard’s longstanding fantasy MMORPG. “It’s hard to believe it’s already been 100 days since I received my Neuralink N1 implant,” Noble wrote in a tweet, posted Sunday. “The whole journey feels like science fiction that somehow became my everyday reality.” Noble was paralyzed from the shoulders down after a horrific car accident in 2004. In September of last year, he applied to participate in Neuralink’s UK trial for patients with spinal cord injuries.  In mid-December, Noble went under the knife: a Neuralink team using …

China Approves the First Brain Chips for Sale—and Has a Plan to Dominate the Industry

China Approves the First Brain Chips for Sale—and Has a Plan to Dominate the Industry

Published by skeptic

China has made history by becoming the first nation to approve a commercially available brain chip to treat a disability. NEO, the implant developed by Neuracle Medical Technology, translates the thoughts of a person with paralysis into movements of an assistive robotic hand. After 18 months of testing that proved its safety, China’s National Medical Products Administration authorized the implant for people aged 19 to 60 with paralysis caused by neck or spinal cord injuries that prevent them from moving their limbs. According to Nature, the implant embedded in the skull is about the size of a coin. Eight electrodes protrude from the chip and are placed on the brain, in the area that processes body movement. When the user imagines moving their hand, the chip sends a signal to a computer, which then translates it into actions performed by a prosthesis. In practice, Neo allows thought to activate a mechanical glove capable of performing basic tasks: picking up objects, manipulating utensils, or moving hygiene items. Sources consulted by the magazine indicate that 32 people …

Chinese brain interface startup Gestala raises M just two months after launch

Chinese brain interface startup Gestala raises $21M just two months after launch

Published by skeptic

Elon Musk’s Neuralink and OpenAI-backed Merge Labs are pushing forward with brain–computer interface (BCI) technology in the U.S. Meanwhile, Chinese serial entrepreneur Phoenix Peng is building rival efforts through two startups: NeuroXess, which develops implantable BCI systems, and a second company, Gestala, developing non-invasive ultrasound-based BCIs. Gestala has raised $21.6 million (CN¥150 million) just two months after launching, at a valuation of $100 million to $200 million, founder and CEO Phoenix Peng told TechCrunch. The round, co-led by Guosheng Capital and Dalton Venture with participation from Tsing Song Capital, Gobi Ventures, Fourier Intelligence, Liepin and Seas Capital, was heavily oversubscribed, with investor commitments totaling more than $58 million, Peng added. This is the largest early-stage funding in China’s BCI industry. Peng will use the money towards R&D, expanding the team from 15 to about 35 employees by year-end, and building a manufacturing facility in China. The three-month-old startup aims to complete its first-generation prototype by the end of the year. The global BCI industry is currently experiencing an investment surge in ultrasound technology. Gestala is …

What It’s Like to Have a Brain Implant for 5 Years

What It’s Like to Have a Brain Implant for 5 Years

Published by skeptic

Initially, Gorham used his brain-computer interface for single clicks, Oxley says. Then he moved on to multi-clicks and eventually sliding control, which is akin to turning up a volume knob. Now he can move a computer cursor, an example of 2D control—horizontal and vertical movements within a two-dimensional plane. Over the years, Gorham has gotten to try out different devices using his implant. Zafar Faraz, a field clinical engineer for Synchron, says Gorham directly contributed to the development of Switch Control, a new accessibility feature Apple announced last year that allows brain-computer interface users the ability to control iPhones, iPads, and the Vision Pro with their thoughts. In a video demonstration shown at an Nvidia conference last year in San Jose, California, Gorham demonstrates using his implant to play music from a smart speaker, turn on a fan, adjust his lights, activate an automatic pet feeder, and run a robotic vacuum in his home in Melbourne, Australia. “Rodney has been pushing the boundaries of what is possible,” Faraz says. As a field clinical engineer, Faraz …

China’s brain-computer interface industry is racing ahead

China’s brain-computer interface industry is racing ahead

Published by skeptic

While Elon Musk’s Neuralink likes to say it’s “pioneering” brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), China’s BCI industry is already quietly moving from research to scale. A new wave of startups is racing to commercialize both implantable and noninvasive BCIs, backed by stronger policy support, expanding clinical trials, and growing investor interest. So says Phoenix Peng, who has founded not one, but two BCI startups. He’s a co-founder of NeuroXess, maker of BCI implants, as well as founder and CEO of noninvasive ultrasound BCI startup Gestala. His belief in the potential of this market is founded on concrete action: Provinces such as Sichuan, Hubei, and Zhejiang have already set medical service pricing for BCI, speeding its inclusion in the national medical insurance system. Over time, he foresees the technology extending beyond medicine “treating disease” to “human augmentation,” he said. “I have always maintained that neuroscience and AI are two sides of the same coin. They are destined for deep integration, realizing direct high-bandwidth connections between the human brain and AI. BCI will serve as the ultimate bridge between …

Man given Musk’s Neuralink brain chip in UK trial says it ‘feels magical’ and gives new hope | Science, Climate & Tech News

Man given Musk’s Neuralink brain chip in UK trial says it ‘feels magical’ and gives new hope | Science, Climate & Tech News

Published by Sam Flores

One of the first people in the UK to use Elon Musk’s brain chip says it “feels magical” and believes it could transform the lives of those with severe paralysis. “It is a massive change in your life where you can suddenly no longer move any of your limbs,” said Sebastian Gomez-Pena, a volunteer in the first UK trial of the device developed by Mr Musk‘s company Neuralink. “This kind of technology kind of gives you a new piece of hope.” Seb had just completed his first term at medical school when an accident left him paralysed from the neck down. He’s one of seven people fitted with the chip in the UK trial, designed to assess the safety and reliability of the device. The Neuralink chip, which is linked to 1,024 electrodes implanted in his brain, was fitted in a five-hour operation at University College London Hospital (UCLH). While British surgeons and engineers from Neuralink were involved, the device itself was implanted by Neuralink’s R1 robot – developed to insert the microscopic electrodes into …