Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company Neuralink has said that the recent surgery where the firm’s device was implanted was a success, getting its second human test subject. The patient whose case has been followed in this report has been named Alex and can now design 3D objects and play video games like Counter-strike 2.
This latest procedure is meant to help overcome the problems that were experienced in the first live trial, where a device was implanted in the brain of a stroke patient named Noland Arbaugh; the electrode threads were pulled back to the brain after surgery. To address this problem, the company adopted the following measures: less brain shift during the procedure and ensuring that there is a small distance between the implant and the surface of the brain.
Neuralink is committed to refining a brain-computer interface called Link. The link enables people to manipulate on-screen pointers and other screens with pinpoint accuracy. In the future, the company wants the device to interpret multiple movement intentions as opposed instead mine and also integrate handwriting so that groups of limited mobility can communicate and interact faster on the device.
The system under discussion is aimed at patients with quadriplegia and other severe motor function limitations. Still, Musk is already considering other uses for the technology Neuralink plans to develop, including for normal people, to improve brain memory or other cognitive processes.
During an operation at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Alex, a former automotive technician paralyzed by the spinal cord, went home the following day. He is now using CAD to design a special stand for the Neuralink charging dock.
To date, Musk mentioned that Neuralink would involve more participants in its ongoing trial, the Prime study for the investigational medical device, by the end of the year.
