SURJIT SINGH FLORA
The proprietors of America’s cutting-edge technology firms and the esteemed billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s company ‘Neuralink’ have achieved the remarkable feat of implanting a ‘computer chip’ into the human brain. There has been much speculation surrounding the development of this computer chip for quite some time. This chip, named ‘Telepathy’, will operate without the need for any physical connections.
Since no corporation has ever done this, the company made history. As a ‘Neuralink’ computer’, this chip automatically implements thoughts without moving the hands or feet.
Things can be done without moving hands just by thinking, like a man who has a chip implanted in his brain who can operate his mobile, computer and laptop without moving his hands just by thinking. There is a possibility of this invention being used in many areas of our life in the future. This discovery is being described by scientists as an important milestone for the treatment of human diseases.
Neuralink experts said that on January 28, 2024, a patient underwent an operation to implant a chip in his skull and after that, according to the expectations of the team of doctors, the patient is mentally healthy and reacts correctly.
Also, the scientists associated with this new-age invention have said that the operation of the patient is done by a robot and the chip implanted in the brain of the patient records the thoughts of the brain and runs the computer in front of it through an app. Subject experts say that the developed chip will be especially beneficial for patients whose legs and arms have been disabled due to some disease.
The doctors of mental diseases are placing great hopes on this research. They believe that with the new invention, they will cure epilepsy, Parkinson’s disease (in which the patient’s muscles will become weak and stiff, difficulty in writing, less blinking of the eyes, difficulty in swallowing food, hunchback, body parts Symptoms like tremors, etc. are seen), dystonia disease (in which the neck is crooked on one side, frequent blinking of the eyes, dullness of voice, problem in swallowing food, etc.) and OCD disease ( In which diseases such as getting angry, worrying and repeating a single action over and over again) will be able to be treated properly.
Two months after implanting the chip in the patient’s brain, Elon Musk showed the chipped patient playing chess through a live broadcast, in which the patient did not move his hands and moved the chess pieces by thinking only with his mind. It is also worth mentioning that scientists all over the world were curious to know the identity of the patient. The patient has been identified as Norland Arbaugh, a 29-year-old man from Arizona, USA, who suffered a spinal cord injury in a swimming accident that left him unable to walk. was Interestingly, the patient himself had shared information about his recovery on social media platform ‘X’.
Surprisingly, he shared this post just by thinking and without moving his hand. It is important to know that Noland suffered a swimming injury in 2016, which left his body parts below the shoulders non-functional. Elon Musk, the owner of the ‘Neuralink’ company, has mentioned his future plans and said that the company is trying to treat patients with broken vertebrae of the spinal cord, which will enable paralyzed patients to walk. If the efforts made by the company are successful, blind people will also be able to see with the help of a special type of camera.
When referring to the company’s device, it resembles a tiny, thin membrane with sensors attached to it. This device is fitted inside the skull behind the ear. The company claims that this chip works much faster than computers found in the market today. The ‘Neuralink’ company predicts that if the work continues as per the plan, then a big revolution can be seen in the medical field. Similar to how a “fitness watch” on the market provides information about a person’s heart rate, blood sugar level, and energy intake, brain chips provide information about the work that various organs of a person are performing.
‘Neuralink’ is a private company of America’s billionaire Elon Musk, whose main task is to connect the computer with the patient’s brain and find solutions to the diseases of the patient’s physical organs, which are controlled by the brain. The head office of this company is located in the city of Fremont, California, USA.
The devices developed by the company are tested in monkeys and pigs before being implanted in humans. After the company’s brain chip, this company is now preparing to make a chip called ‘Blindsight’ for blind people, which will facilitate their daily work by installing the chip. According to the information, the ‘blindsight’ chip has been prepared and its testing process in monkeys is going on. After this trial is completed, it will soon be able to be used in humans.
(The writer is a veteran journalist and freelance writer based in Brampton).