Elon Musk’s Neuralink chip malfunctions in first in-human brain implant
NY Post
Elon Musk’s brain-chip startup said Wednesday that its first-ever implant has malfunctioned.
Neuralink’s brain-computer interface, known as a BCI, was implanted into 29-year-old patient Nolan Arbaugh’s brain back in January.
The chip is designed to help patients with paralysis control external technology using only their mind, and Arbaugh — who is paralyzed from the shoulders down due to a diving accident eight years ago — is participating in Neuralink’s six-year trial to test the device’s safety.
Just last month, Neuralink livestreamed a nine-minute video of Arbaugh showing how the BCI technology works.
He was seen playing video games, and explained that he simply imagines the cursor moving where he wants it to go and it does.
Neuralink’s chip contains 1,024 electrodes across 64 “threads” — which are thinner than a strand of human hair — that are programmed to gather data about the brain’s neural activity and movement intention and send that data to the company’s computer for decoding to transform the thoughts into action.
