Neuralink, the brainchip company co-founded by Elon Musk, is using an implant that allows paralyzed people to control themselves remotely with their heads, with the hope that the device could one day help restore motor function. There is.
This innovative technology relies on a coin-sized implant known as a “link” that records and decodes nerve signals and sends the information back to the brain using electrical stimulation.
The “Link” is implanted under the skull and receives data from nerve threads connected to various parts of the subject’s brain, especially the parts that control motor skills.
This week, the brain chip encountered an unexpected problem several months after it was inserted into the first test subject, 29-year-old Noland Arbaugh. Noland Arbaugh is paralyzed from the neck down after a diving accident eight years ago.
Although some of the microthreads came loose, the company announced that it was able to increase the sensitivity of the implant and improve its performance.
According to Neuralink’s website, each sled is equipped with a sensor that can record and emit an electrical current that is “so thin and flexible that it cannot be inserted by the human hand.”
The company uses surgical robots for delicate surgeries.
Neuralink said implants could also help improve memory and cognitive abilities, restore sensory, visual and motor functions, and treat neurological disorders.
patient zero
In January, the company implanted a link into Arbaugh’s brain. Last month, he was shown to be able to telepathically control a mouse and play video games during his 9-minute live stream hosted by Neuralink.
In the video, Arbaugh explained that all you have to do is imagine the cursor moving where you want it to go, and it will actually do that.
“Now I can literally lie in bed and play to my heart’s content,” he added during a livestream in March.
setback
On Wednesday, Neuralink wrote a blog post on its website indicating that there was a problem with Arbaugh’s brain implant.
“In the weeks following surgery, numerous threads retracted from the brain, resulting in a net reduction in the number of active electrodes,” the report said. blog post.
“In response to this change, we modified our recording algorithms to increase their sensitivity to neuronal population signals, improved the technology that converts these signals into cursor movement, and enhanced our user interface,” Neuralink said. He added that the improvements would improve accuracy. Arbaugh’s ability to control cursor bits per second (BPS).
According to the company, BPS is a “standard measure of speed and accuracy.”
The company did not say how many threads were detached.
“Let me tell you this: This is not going to happen,” said Matt Angle, CEO of Austin-based Paradromics, which is developing its own device to compete with Neuralink. he said. he told WIRED.
Riki Banerjee, chief technology officer at New York-based Synchron, which is also testing brain-computer interfaces to help paralyzed patients, said such setbacks are to be expected. Ta.
“Neuralink has designed a very novel neural interface,” Banerjee told WIRED.
“They’re learning and it’s part of the process.”
more patients
Before Neuralink can make its links accessible to more people, it must first complete its first human clinical trial, called PRIME. This clinical trial is expected to last him six years.
According to reports, Neuralink is recruiting more patients to be eligible for the link, who must be at least 18 years old, reside in the U.S. or Canada, and have a significant physical disability.
The company said selected participants will be compensated for costs associated with participating in the trial, including travel to and from the study site, as well as the actual cost of the technology platform implant. EM360 The reported price is around $10,500.
But once Link hits the market, insurers are expected to raise its price up to about $50,000.
telepathy
Neuralink announced earlier this year that it had launched its “first product”, Telepathy. This “allows you to control your phone or computer, and almost any device through them, just by thinking.”
“The first users will be people who have lost limbs.” Mr. Musk wrote about X. “Imagine if Stephen Hawking could communicate faster than a speed typist or an auctioneer. That’s the goal.”
The mask was also teased Another possible feature of the brain chip, called Blindsight, could help restore vision in response to a video posted by another user on X.
