‘Second brain device implant went well’
Neuralink Corp., Elon Musk’s brain-computer company, said surgery for its second implant in a human “went well” and the patient is now able to design 3D objects and play video games like Counter-Strike 2.
The procedure also appears to have successfully averted an issue that dogged the experience of the first patient, Noland Arbaugh, who had the unexpected complication of electrode threads retracting from his brain.
“To reduce the probability of thread retraction in our second participant, we implemented a number of mitigations, including reducing brain motion during the surgery and reducing the gap between the implant and the surface of the brain,” the company said in a blog post.
In the case of Arbaugh, Neuralink made post-surgical software tweaks that also mitigated the issue.
The company said it was working on new capabilities for its brain interface device, dubbed Link, which for now allows patients to control on-screen cursors and digital devices, click by click. In the future, it said, Link would be able to decode multiple simultaneous movement intents and recognise handwriting intent to help patients write faster.
“These capabilities would not only help restore digital autonomy for those who are unable to use their limbs, but also restore the ability to communicate for those who are unable to speak, such as people with neurological conditions,” Neuralink wrote.
The blog post gave the patient’s first name, Alex, and identified him as a former automotive technician that suffered a spinal-cord injury. He left the hospital, the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, one day after undergoing the surgery.