Musk said the technology could be tested in a human patient with brain or spinal cord injuries as early as this year, CNET

Tech billionaire Elon Musk has promised an “awesome’ update to the brain-computer interface technology being built by his side start-up Neuralink.

To help paralysed people control devices and empower people with brain disorders, Neuralink last year unveiled tiny brain “threads” in a chip, which is long-lasting, usable at home and has the potential to replace cumbersome devices currently used as brain-machine interfaces.

On a Twitter thread from noted tech investor Cathie Wood, Musk said on Sunday the technology could be tested in a human patient with brain or spinal cord injuries as early as this year, CNET reported on Tuesday.

“The profound impact of high bandwidth, high precision neural interfaces is under-appreciated. Neuralink may have this in a human as soon as this year,” Musk tweeted.

“Wait until you see the next version vs what was presented last year. It’s awesome,” he added.

The technology has a module that sits outside the head, behind the ear, and receives information from “threads” embedded in the brain.

Controlled by an iPhone app, the chip called ‘N1 sensor’ with just a USB port coming out can have as many as 3,072 electrodes per array distributed across 96 “threads” — each “thread” smaller that the tiniest human hair.

The chip, which will be wireless in the future, can read, transmit high-volume data and amplify signals from the brain.

“This has the potential to solve several brain-related diseases. The idea is to understand and treat brain disorders, preserve and enhance your own brain and create a well-aligned future,” Musk told the audience at the launch event last year.