Towards the end of January this year, Elon Musk’s Neuralink shared that it had successfully implanted its brain chip in a human being for the first time. The person to receive this brain chip is a 29-year-old man who was left paralysed from below his shoulders after an accident. Named Noland Arbaugh, the man received the brain chip on January 28 and was reported to be recovering well after two days of his surgery. As Arbaugh’s surgery completed 100 days recently, the company shared a detailed report about his progress. Elon Musk also shared the update on his X handle, saying that they had a successful time with the first Neuralink implant.
Re-sharing a post by Neuralink’s official handle, Musk wrote, “Successful 100 days with first human implant of @Neuralink.”
A blog post by Neuralink says that Arbaugh underwent surgery to receive the Neuralink implant 100 days back, marking a significant milestone in the quest to enhance control over digital devices for individuals with quadriplegia.
“Our goal is to provide a high-performance interface that will enhance the control of digital devices for people with quadriplegia, unlocking their personal and professional potential. 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 participant of the PRIME Study*, received his Neuralink implant (Link). As noted in our last blog post, the surgery went extremely well, and he was able to go home the following day,” the blog post read.
It then added that the PRIME Study endeavours to showcase the safety and efficacy of the Neuralink implant in everyday life. Through remote monitoring, researchers assess the technical performance of the implant and its impact on participants’ quality of life.
The blog post then talked about how before the Link implant, Arbaugh relied on a mouth-held tablet stylus, a cumbersome device that limited his mobility and impeded his ability to engage with digital platforms. With the Neuralink implant, Arbaugh experienced a newfound sense of freedom and could control his laptop and other devices effortlessly from various positions, including while lying down.
The blog post also talked about how Arbaugh could now contribute more to research sessions and can use the brain chip for extended hours.
“On weekdays, Noland contributes to research sessions for up to 8 hours per day. On weekends, personal use and recreation can exceed 10 hours per day. Recently, he 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 post mentioned.
However, there was also a challenge encountered where some threads began retracting from his brain, after a few weeks of surgery. Researchers then adapted their techniques to enhance the implant’s performance, resulting in sustained improvement in cursor control. The company doesn’t mention just how many threads had retracted.
“In the weeks following the surgery, a number of threads retracted from the brain, resulting in a net decrease in the number of effective electrodes. This led to a reduction in BPS. In response to this change, we modified the recording algorithm to be more sensitive to neural population signals, improved the techniques to translate these signals into cursor movements, and enhanced the user interface. These refinements produced a rapid and sustained improvement in BPS, that has now superseded Noland’s initial performance,” the blog post mentioned.
Source Agencies
