Neuralink, Elon Musk’s company, is testing its brain chip implant aimed at enabling paralyzed patients to use digital devices solely through thought. The implant, featuring tiny wires, has shown stability in the first trial participant, according to a company executive.
The initial participant, Noland Arbaugh, paralyzed from the shoulders down due to a 2016 diving accident, received the implant as part of the trial. Despite initial concerns that some of the tiny wires inside Arbaugh’s brain had shifted, the implant has now become “more or less very stable,” said Dongjin “D.J.” Seo, a Neuralink executive, on Wednesday.
“Once you perform the brain surgery, it takes some time for the tissues to anchor the threads in place, and once that occurs, everything has been stable,” Seo explained.
Currently, Arbaugh, based in Arizona, is the sole recipient of the implant. However, Musk expressed hopes to increase the number of participants to the high single digits by the end of this year.
To mitigate risks, Neuralink is implementing measures such as sculpting the skull’s surface and normalizing carbon dioxide levels in patients’ blood, as discussed during a livestream on social media platform X. Matthew MacDougall, Neuralink’s head of neurosurgery, stated, “In upcoming implants, our plan is to sculpt the surface of the skull very intentionally to minimize the gap under the implant… this will place it closer to the brain and reduce tension on the threads.”
The implant works by capturing brain signals with tiny wires thinner than a human hair and translating those signals into actions, like moving a mouse cursor on a computer screen. Musk emphasized that the device does not harm the brain. Although the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) initially had safety concerns, the agency ultimately granted approval for human trials last year.
So far, Arbaugh has been able to play video games, browse the internet, and move a cursor on his laptop by thought alone, as demonstrated in Neuralink’s blog posts and videos.
Neuralink is also developing a new device expected to require half the number of electrodes, making it more efficient and powerful, the company executives revealed.
