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In its first-ever human implant, Elon Musk's brain-chip startup Neuralink encountered an unforeseen issue as the gadget started to separate from the patient's skull, decreasing the quantity of data it could record, the company disclosed on Wednesday.
In January, 29-year-old patient Noland Arbaugh had a brain-computer interface, or BCI, implanted in his brain by Neuralink.
As part of Neuralink's six-year experiment to assess the device's safety, Arbaugh, who is paralyzed from the shoulders down from a diving accident eight years ago, is helping patients with paralysis manage external technologies with just their minds.
According to Neuralink, an unforeseen setback occurred with their brain-computer interface, or BCI. A BCI employs electrodes and threads to collect data on the neural activity and movement of the brain.
Neuralink's brainchip, which contains 1,024 electrodes across 64 threads thinner than a strand of hair, is designed to gather data about the brain's neural activity and movement intention. The chip is programmed to send this data to a computer for decoding to transform thoughts into action. However, a few threads retracted from Noah Arbaugh's brain, resulting in a decrease in the number of effective electrodes.
As a result, Neuralink was unable to measure the effectiveness of its system of electrodes and threads. Arbaugh became the first human test subject for Neuralink's brainchip when a robot surgeon plugged the implant into his brain in January. In response, Neuralink modified the recording algorithm to be more sensitive to neural population signals, improved the techniques to translate these signals into cursor movements, and enhanced the user interface. The refinement is expected to enhance Arbaugh's ability to control the cursor's bits per second (BPS).
Neuronalink, a company owned by Elon Musk, has developed a brain-computer interface (BCI) for former NBA player Arbaugh. The company claims that the BPS, or brain-computer interface, has significantly improved since its inception. Arbaugh, who became paralyzed after a diving accident eight years ago, was the first human test subject for the chip. The company has considered removing the implant, but it has not posed a direct risk to his safety. Despite this, the possibility of removing Arbaugh's implant, a so-called "explantation," has been floated.
Neuralink has since confirmed that the chip's function has been restored, and Arbaugh's performance with BPS is better than before the snafu. The company has kept information about its technology and human trials under wraps, prompting calls for greater transparency. The US Food and Drug Administration greenlit human trials of the brain chip last year after the company conducted hundreds of animal tests and faced backlash from animal rights groups. Arbaugh has said he signed on to try the implant because he "wanted to be a part of something that I feel like it's going to change the world."
