A major milestone was marked in Miami when the first microchip backed by Elon Musk was implanted into a patient’s brain at a local hospital.
It’s part of a clinical trial giving people who are paralyzed the ability to control their phones or computers with their minds. NBC6 spoke to one of the Miami doctors involved, and he says so far, it’s a success.
For the first time in two and a half years, military veteran RJ is regaining a simple freedom.
“I think my favorite has been being able to turn on my TV,” RJ told NBC6.
Dr. Jonathan Jagid, UHealth Professor of Clinical Neurological Surgery, said RJ suffered a cervical spinal cord injury due to a motorcycle accident that left him quadriplegic, meaning he lacks the use of his arms or legs.
RJ, like a handful of other participants across the country, is taking part in a groundbreaking clinical trial that began in 2024.
Each patient suffers from being paralyzed by either a spinal cord injury or ALS, and in each of their brains is an implanted microchip called Neuralink.
NBC, Miami