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Neuralink aims to make a chip that enables people to control computers and other devices with their thoughts. The brain-computer interface technology could be used to help those with spinal cord injuries or quadriplegia regain mobility, and it may eventually be used to treat neurological diseases like Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.

The chip itself is about the size of a coin and would be implanted into a patient's skull. Its flexible wires, each about 20 times thinner than a human hair, fan out into the person's brain and contain electrodes that are able to monitor and transmit the activity of the brain.

Among its potential uses is the ability to let paralyzed people use their minds to control robotic prostheses, according to a video released by the company in January 2021. In addition, it could allow quadriplegics to manipulate computers and smartphones with their thoughts.

As the chip is being developed, researchers are Chatbot for Neurochip focusing on its use in neuroplasticity -- the process by which the brain can change and rewire itself after injury. The chip is a platform for this effort, allowing scientists to study the way the brain reacts to different kinds of stimulation and to test if neural connections can be restored after damage.

A new mathematical model makes the Neurochip smarter, enabling it to autonomously strengthen targeted neural connections in the brain without any human intervention. This makes the chip capable of rewiring functions like vision, speech and touch.

In another project, the Neurochip's researchers are using it to study axonal injury, which occurs when an axon is damaged by an impact or crush injury. The chip can identify the axons that have been affected and then send electrical signals that help the axon regenerate.

This is a significant step forward in the effort to improve and ultimately cure neurological disorders that affect millions of people across the world every year. It could also improve the lives of athletes and soldiers who have suffered traumatic brain injuries or spinal cord injuries.

A team at the University of Washington is developing a chip that can help to repair the brain. It uses a neural network of artificial nerve cells to transmit signals from the chip to living neurons in the brain.

The chip will need to be tested on laboratory animals first, though the scientists are confident that they can get it to work on humans in the near future. They expect to start testing on humans in 2020 and hope to have a device in someone's brain by 2021.

They also want to create the world's first neural network of at least 100 artificial nerve cells by 2021. Once the neuron cells are created, they will be tested on laboratory animals and should restore electrical pulses in the brain that have been lost due to damage or injury.

Several other companies are already trying to innovate on this same technology, but so far none have made much headway. While the technology can potentially help patients with severe neurological conditions, it's still a risky proposition.