On May 20, 48-year-old Lee Marten, a sergeant with the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) currently on leave, became the third Canadian, and the first Canadian ALS patient, to receive a Neuralink brain implant as part of a clinical trial at University Health Network's (UHN) Toronto Western Hospital. He is the 26th person in the world to undergo the procedure, which is being tested on people unable to move because of ALS or spinal injuries. Marten, whose symptoms began in April 2022 with a left foot drop while on bike patrol, was diagnosed with ALS three years later after a benign brain tumour was removed in March 2024. ALS is progressive and has no cure; Marten is no longer able to walk and will eventually be unable to move, speak, or breathe on his own. Using the chip, he can control a computer cursor by thought, typing letters on a digital keyboard as fast as, or faster than, human fingers. Neuralink is owned by Elon Musk.