This ALS patient has a brain implant that translates his thoughts to computer commands

Staring at a computer screen, Mark focuses deeply, his arms resting by his side. His right index finger trembles ever so slightly on top of a pillow, and then an alert rings out from the screen in front of him, a message to a caregiver that he needs assistance.

Staring at a computer screen, Mark focuses deeply, his arms resting by his side. His right index finger trembles ever so slightly on top of a pillow, and then an alert rings out from the screen in front of him, a message to a caregiver that he needs assistance. Without ever clicking a mouse or touching a screen, Mark selected this command on his computer simply using signals from his brain. Mark, whom CNN agreed to identify using only his first name for privacy reasons, has an implant inside his brain that is translating his neural activity to commands on a computer. Mark is only the 10th person in the world implanted with this particular type of brain-computer interface, or BCI. He’s participating in a human trial with a company called Synchron and underwent the procedure in August, after being diagnosed with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis – sometimes called ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease – in 2021. The hope is that the technology in Mark’s brain could assist him and others like him who are losing their motor function. “It’s an opportunity for a piece of technology to help someone that will not be able to help themselves otherwise,” Mark told CNN. Excitement around the potential for BCI technology has mounted over the past year, propelled in part by high-profile support from billionaire Elon Musk via his company Neuralink, as well as the recent publication of several promising studies from other players in the growing field. But the technology is far from mainstream, and efforts to commercialize it remain fraught with regulatory hurdles, ethics and privacy concerns. And the emerging technology itself faces numerous limitations. In other words, these procedures won’t be coming to your local doctor’s office anytime soon.