Elon Musk revealed during a Wednesday livestream that Neuralink plans to conduct its second human brain implant procedure within “the next week or so.” This announcement comes as the neurotechnology company works to resolve hardware issues encountered with its first patient.
Mixed Results From Pioneering First Implant
The company’s maiden human trial involved 29-year-old Noland Arbaugh, who received the brain-computer interface (BCI) at Phoenix’s Barrow Neurological Institute in January. While Neuralink initially reported the surgery proceeded “extremely well,” subsequent complications emerged when implant threads retracted from brain tissue.
Currently, only about 15% of the implant’s 1,024 electrode channels remain functional. Despite this limitation, Arbaugh has demonstrated the device’s potential by using it extensively for activities including video viewing, reading, and playing chess – sometimes logging 70 hours of weekly use.
Technical Adjustments for Future Procedures
Neuralink executives outlined several modifications for upcoming implants:
- Skull surface sculpting to reduce implant gap
- Deeper thread insertion into brain tissue
- Enhanced movement tracking during implantation
- Variable depth placement of recording threads
“We’ll insert threads at a variety of depths now that we know retraction is possible,” explained Dr. Matthew MacDougall, Neuralink’s head of neurosurgery.
Regulatory Landscape and Competitive Field
The FDA continues monitoring Neuralink’s trial through mandatory safety reports. No BCI developer, including competitors Synchron, Paradromics and Precision Neuroscience, has yet received FDA approval for commercial device deployment.
Neuralink aims to implant devices in several additional patients this year, though specific timelines and locations remain undisclosed. Company representatives declined immediate requests for further comment.
The Wednesday presentation emphasized Neuralink’s core mission to develop paralysis-control technology through its Telepathy system, which features 64 ultra-thin threads containing 1,024 electrodes.
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