"Unlocking the Mind: A Deep Dive into Neuralink's Brain-Chip Technology"

"Unlocking the Mind: A Deep Dive into Neuralink's Brain-Chip Technology"

“Everything you need to know about Neuralink, Elon Musk's company that wants to put microchips in people's brains”

Heyyy readers,

Are you tired 🥱of losing your keys? Forgetting your anniversary? Or just generally feeling like your brain could use an upgrade? Well, fear not, because Elon Musk has a solution for you! Introducing Neuralink, the brainchild of the Tesla billionaire himself, aiming to put microchips in people's brains. Yes, you read that right, MICROCHIPS IN BRAINS!😲

Now, before you start picturing yourself as a cyborg from a sci-fi movie, let's dive into what Neuralink is all about, in less dramatic terms (but still pretty cool).

So, what's the deal with Neuralink? Well, it's like the ultimate brain-computer interface. Imagine having a chip embedded in your skull, chilling behind your ear like a tiny, tech-savvy buddy. This chip isn't just for show; it's packing some serious firepower😩. With over a thousand electrodes thinner than a human hair, it's like having a neural SWAT team inside your head, ready to monitor brain activity and maybe even give it a little electric boost when needed.

But wait, there's more! Neuralink isn't just about turning you into a walking Wi-Fi hotspot; it's also got some serious medical potential. Think Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, maybe even controlling robotic prostheses with your mind. It's like having a superpower, but with a touch of medical marvel.

Neuralink is developing two bits of equipment. The first is a chip that would be implanted in a person's skull, with electrodes fanning out into their brain.

The chip Neuralink is developing is about the size of a coin 🪙, and would be embedded in a patients' skull. From the chip an array of tiny wires, each roughly 20 times thinner than a human hair, fan out into the patient's brain.

The wires are equipped with 1,024 electrodes which are able to both monitor brain activity and, theoretically, electrically stimulate the brain. This data is all transmitted wirelessly via the chip to computers where it can be studied by researchers.

The way the robot would work is it would use a stiff needle punch the flexible wires emanating from a Neuralink chip into a person's brain🧠, a bit like a sewing machine.

Musk has claimed the machine could make implanting Neuralink's electrodes as easy as LASIK eye surgery. While this is a bold claim, neuroscientists previously told Insider in 2019 that the machine has some very promising features.

Professor Andrew Hires highlighted a feature which would automatically adjust the needle to compensate for the movement of a patient's brain, as the brain moves during surgery along with a person's breathing and heartbeat.

The robot 🤖 as it currently stands is eight feet tall, and while Neuralink is developing its underlying technology its design was crafted by Woke Studios.

The demonstration was proof of concept, and showed how the chip was able to accurately predict the positioning of Gertrude's limbs when she was walking on a treadmill, as well as recording neural activity when the pig snuffled about for food. Musk said the pig 🐖 had been living with the chip embedded in her skull for two months.

Elon Musk excitedly announced in Neuralink's 2019 presentation that the company had successfully implanted its chip into a monkey. "A monkey 🐒 has been able to control a computer with its brain, just FYI," he said, which appeared to take Neuralink president Max Hodak by surprise. "I didn't realize we were running that result today, but there it goes," said Hodak.

Dr. Rylie Green of Imperial College London told Insider in 2019 that the notion of performing brain surgery on a healthy person is deeply troubling.

"To get any of these devices into your brain 🧠 is very, very high-risk surgery," she said. "People do it because they have severe limitations and there is a potential there to improve their life. Doing it for fun is not a great idea," she added.

So, what's next for Neuralink? Human testing, apparently. Elon's been talking about it for a while now, but hey, if all goes well, maybe we'll be seeing brain-chip upgrades sooner than we think.

But let's not get ahead of ourselves. As cool as Neuralink sounds, there are some ethical questions to consider. I mean, do we really want to be messing with our brains just for fun? Food for thought, or should I say, brain chips for thought?

In conclusion, Neuralink: the brain chip adventure of the century. It's like the ultimate tech upgrade, with a touch of Black Mirror-esque flair. So, who's ready to join team profbuzz?