The Neuralink brain-computer interface, known as BCI, was implanted in the brain of 29-year-old Nolan Arbaugh back in January. The chip is designed to help paraplegic patients control external technology using only their minds, 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 safety of the device. Just last month, Neuralink live-streamed a nine-minute video from Arbaugh showing how BCI technology works, The New York Post reports. He was playing video games and explained that he simply imagined the cursor moving where he wanted it to go. As a result, this is what happens in reality.
The Neuralink chip contains 1,024 electrodes on 64 “threads” that are thinner than a human hair. They are programmed to collect data about the brain’s neural activity and movement intention and send that data to the company’s computer to decipher and translate thoughts into action. However, in the weeks following the stunning video, “several threads broke away from Arbaugh’s brain, resulting in a “reduction in the number of effective electrodes,” Neuralink said in a blog post. As a result, Neuralink was unable to measure the efficiency of its system of electrodes and threads. It is unclear how many threads there are. Broke down.
The problem does not pose a direct threat to Arbaugh’s security, sources at the startup explained to the Wall Street Journal. However, according to them, the possibility of removing the Arbaugh implant, the so-called “explantation,” was discussed.
