First human patient receives Neuralink brain implant, Elon Musk says

Elon Musk has claimed the first human trial of his futuristic brain implant "Neuralink" has been successfully completed.

Musk, the world's richest person, said "the first human received an implant from @Neuralink yesterday and is recovering well."

Musk said that "initial results show promising neuron spike detection".

Neuralink is one of Elon Musk's companies currently developing "Brain-computer interfaces".

In their experimental studies, small, cosmetically invisible implants are placed in a part of the brain that plans movements. 

The devices "interpret a person's neural activity", according to Neuralink.

This means users can operate a smartphone or computer just by "thinking" about how they would move the mouse or tap the screen.

No wires or physical movement are required to make it work.

Clinical trials for Neuralink are underway into how quadriplegic patients can better use their computers.

They are still currently recruiting participants for studies in the US.

Previous studies had used live monkeys to manipulate computers with their minds.

Now the company has widened their trials to patients with spinal cord injuries or even amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS.

Today's announcement marks the first time that Musk's company have operated human trials.

Musk claimed on X, that their initial results at detecting "neuron spikes" were promising.

The technology has been in development for decades, with the first studies into electrical activity in the brain taking place as early as 1929.

CNN has reported that Musk forecasted human trials at the startup at least four times since 2019, yet the company didn't seek FDA approval until 2022.

At that time, the agency rejected the bid citing safety concerns about parts of the implant migrating to other parts of the brain and possible brain tissue damage when the devices are removed.

Musk said at a December recruiting event that Neuralink has submitted "most" of its paperwork to the US Food and Drug Administration and could begin testing on humans within six months.

But employees told Reuters in December that the company is rushing to market, resulting in careless animal deaths and a federal investigation.

At the time, Neuralink did not respond to CNN's request for comment.

Is Neuralink available in Australia?

It will be a long time before Neuralink is available in Australia.

Before the device is available for consumers, even in the US, it will need to get approval from the relevant US federal agencies.

The FDA put out a paper in 2021 mapping out the agency's initial thoughts on brain-computer interface devices, noting the field is "progressing rapidly".