Elon Musk’s Neuralink has shared a progress update on the first person to receive a brain chip that allows him to operate a computer and play video games with his mind.
The company announced that it has been more than 100 days since Noland Arbaugh had the device implanted in his brain, and the 29-year-old is still having it implanted.
Arbaugh suffered a life-changing car accident while working as a camp counselor in 2016, which left him with “absolutely no feeling” from the shoulders down.
Her life changed again on January 27 when she underwent a 30-minute procedure in which a “sewing machine-like” robot was used to remove a small piece of her skull and sew the chip into her brain.
However, Neuralink revealed that some of the threads connected to the chip had retracted weeks after surgery, resulting in a decrease in the number of effective nodes, but modified the algorithm to increase signal translations.
The company announced that it has been more than 100 days since Noland Arbaugh had the device implanted in his brain, and the 29-year-old is still doing well.
Elon Musk’s Neuralink has shared a progress update on the first person to receive a chip that allows him to operate a computer with his mind.
“Our goal is to provide a high-performance interface that improves control of digital devices for people with quadriplegia, unlocking their personal and professional potential,” Nuerlink shares in a blog.
“The first step toward this goal was achieved just over 100 days ago at Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, where Noland Arbaugh, the first PRIME study participant, received his Neuralink implant (Link).”
Before getting Link, Arbaugh could only use a stylus held in her mouth to operate a tablet, and her caregiver had to put it in her mouth.
While this was her only form of communication, Arbaugh suffered discomfort, muscle fatigue, and pressure sores from holding the pencil.
‘The most important thing about comfort is that I can lie in my bed and use [the Link],’ Arbaugh shared in a message she wrote on a computer with her mind.
‘Any other assistive technology had to have someone else help me or make me sit down.
Arbaugh can move a cursor around the screen using the remote brain chip in his head. He likes to play Mario Kart (pictured) with friends.
‘Sitting causes mental and physical stress, which causes sores or spasms.
“It allows me to live on my own time, without needing someone to adjust me, etc. all day long.”
Just a few weeks after surgery, Arbaugh was able to control her laptop using Link, which she did to play computer games with friends, browse the Internet, live stream, and use other applications on her MacBook.
‘[The Link] “It has helped me reconnect with the world, my friends and my family,” he said.
“It has given me the ability to do things on my own again without needing my family at all hours of the day and night.”
Arbaugh spends up to eight hours a day contributing to research, but spends more than 10 hours a day on weekends on personal activities.
Neuralink said it recently used the device for a total of 69 hours in a single week: 35 hours of structured sessions and an additional 34 hours of personal use.
The company mentioned that some of the wires connected to the chip had retracted from the brain, but the Neuarlink team modified the recording algorithm to make it more sensitive to signals from the neural population.
This resulted in “better techniques for translating these signals into cursor movements and an improved user interface.”
Nueralink said it is now focusing on increasing cursor control performance to the same level as that of healthy people.
“In the future we intend to expand Link’s functionality into the physical world to enable control of robotic arms, wheelchairs and other technologies that can help increase the independence of people living with quadriplegia,” the company said.
While the update on Arbaugh’s progress is hopeful for those who are also paralyzed, the feat has not been free.
DailyMail.com revealed in February that gruesome animal tests were being carried out to bring Musk’s brain chip project to life.
A week after the billionaire announced that the first patient trial was underway, documents revealed that the company used ‘Bioglue’ to plug holes in the monkeys’ heads after operations.
Documents released by the University of Davis, California, which partnered with Neuralink in testing for three years from 2017 to 2020, show that the monkeys underwent skull operations up to 10 times each before being euthanized.
Surgeons drilled holes in their heads and placed implants in their brains, but they didn’t fit properly, meaning they stuck out, the file reveals.
Death reports reveal that the monkeys had parts of their limbs amputated and were euthanized after repeatedly vomiting and having bouts of diarrhea.
In total, Neuralink has killed at least 1,500 animals, including sheep and pigs, during its search for a chip that allows people to control electronic devices with their minds.
The documents were obtained by the Doctors’ Committee for Responsible Medicine, a campaign group, which said the monkeys endured “extreme suffering” during a “systematic disregard” for their lives.
