Neuralink’s brain chip faces challenges but shows progress

Neuralink’s brain chip implant faces setbacks as threads retract, limiting the device’s effectiveness

Elon Musk’s brain chip implant company Neuralink has provided an update on its progress, revealing that some of the device’s threads have been pulled back from the brain of the first human patient, reducing its effectiveness.

The “Link” device, designed to allow a computer cursor to move through thought, suffered setbacks weeks after surgery when a number of threads were pulled from the patient’s brain.

The withdrawal of the threads led to a decrease in the effectiveness of the electrodes in the device.

However, Neuralink said that subsequent fine-tuning led to significant improvements in cursor control, surpassing the patient’s initial performance.

The first recipient of the implant, Noland Arbaugh, was paralyzed from the shoulders down after a diving accident in 2016.

Back in February, Musk said in an X Spaces session that “progress is good” and that the “patient appears to have fully recovered.”

Despite his setbacks, Arbaugh reported a positive experience with the device, using it for activities such as playing video games, posting on social media and playing chess.

Although Neuralink has considered removing the implant, Musk’s earlier statements indicate that the patient has made a full recovery. The company plans to implant similar devices in 10 more human patients by the end of the year.

Source: Newsroom