Jonathan Raá | Nurfoto | fake images
Elon Musk's Neuralink startup said Wednesday that part of its brain implant malfunctioned after implanting the system in a human patient for the first time.
Neuralink has created a brain-computer interface, or BCI, that could eventually help paralysis patients control external technology using only their minds. The company's system, called Link, records neural signals using 1,024 electrodes on 64 “wires” that are thinner than a human hair, according to its website.
In January, Neuralink implanted the device in a 29-year-old patient named Noland Arbaugh as part of a study to test its safety. The company streamed a live video with Arbaugh while wearing the BCI in March, and Neuralink said in an April blog post that the surgery went “extremely well.”
But in the weeks after the procedure, several threads were removed from Arbaugh's brain, Neuralink said in a blog post Wednesday. This meant there were fewer effective electrodes, inhibiting the company's ability to measure the speed and accuracy of the Link.
Neuralink did not disclose how many threads retracted from the fabric. The company did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
As a workaround, Neuralink said it modified the recording algorithm, improved the user interface and worked to improve techniques for translating signals into cursor movements, according to the blog post. Neuralink reportedly considered removing the implant, but the issue has not posed a direct risk to Arbaugh's safety, according to The Wall Street Journal, which previously reported on the issue. Neuralink shared the blog post after the Journal asked the company about the issue, according to the report.
Although some threads retracted from Arbaugh's brain tissue, Neuralink said he uses the company's BCI system about 8 hours a day during the week and often more than 10 hours a day on weekends.
Arbaugh said Link is like “luxury overload” and has helped him “reconnect with the world,” according to the blog post.
Neuralink is not the only company building a BCI system and the technology has been explored in academic settings for decades. Neuralink still has a long road of safety and efficacy testing ahead before receiving approval from the US Food and Drug Administration to commercialize the technology.
