FILE PHOTO: Neuralink logo and Elon Musk photo are seen in this illustration taken, December 19, 2022. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo
| Photo Credit: Dado Ruvic

Neuralink has successfully implanted, in a second patient, its device designed to give paralysed patients the ability to use digital devices by thinking alone, according to the startup’s owner Elon Musk.

Neuralink is in the process of testing its device, which is intended to help people with spinal cord injuries. The device has allowed the first patient to play video games, browse the internet, post on social media and move a cursor on his laptop.

Mr. Musk, in comments made during a podcast released late on Friday, August 2 that ran more than eight hours, gave few details about the second participant beyond saying the person had a spinal cord injury similar to the first patient, who was paralysed in a diving accident. He said 400 of the implant’s electrodes on the second patient’s brain are working. Neuralink on its website states that its implant uses 1,024 electrodes.

“I don’t want to jinx it but it seems to have gone extremely well with the second implant,” Mr. Musk told podcast host Lex Fridman. “There’s a lot of signal, a lot of electrodes. It’s working very well.”

Mr. Musk did not disclose when Neuralink performed the second patient’s surgery. He said he expects Neuralink to provide the implants to eight more patients this year as part of its clinical trials.

The first patient, Noland Arbaugh, was also interviewed on the podcast, along with three Neuralink executives, who gave details about how the implant and the robot-led surgery work.

Before Mr. Arbaugh received his implant in January, he used a computer by employing a stick in his mouth to tap the screen of a tablet device. Mr. Arbaugh said with the implant he now can merely think about what he wants to happen on the computer screen, and the device makes it happen. He said the device has given him a modicum of independence and reduced his reliance on caregivers. Mr. Arbaugh initially faced issues after his surgery when the tiny wires of his implant retracted, resulting in a sharp reduction in the electrodes that could measure brain signals. Reuters has reported that Neuralink was aware of this issue from its animal trials.

Neuralink has said it restored the implant’s ability to monitor Mr. Arbaugh’s brain signals by making changes that included modifying its algorithm to be more sensitive. Mr. Arbaugh has improved on his previous world record for the speed at which he can control a cursor with thoughts alone “with only roughly 10, 15% of the electrodes working,” Mr. Musk said on the podcast.

Mr. Musk also said he has spoken with Republican candidate Donald Trump, who he has endorsed in the U.S. presidential race, about forming a commission aimed at improving “government efficiency” through reduced business regulation, and would be willing to participate. Mr. Musk said that in his view U.S. regulations hamper innovation.

Musk has grand ambitions for Neuralink, saying it would facilitate speedy surgical insertions of its chip devices. (File)
| Photo Credit: REUTERS

Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk’s brain-chip startup Neuralink said on Tuesday it has received approval from an independent review board to begin recruitment for the first human trial of its brain implant for paralysis patients.

Those with paralysis due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis may qualify for the study, it said, but did not reveal how many participants would be enrolled in the trial, which will take about six years to complete.

The study will use a robot to surgically place a brain-computer interface (BCI) implant in a region of the brain that controls the intention to move, Neuralink said, adding that its initial goal is to enable people to control a computer cursor or keyboard using their thoughts alone.

The company, which had earlier hoped to receive approval to implant its device in 10 patients, was negotiating a lower number of patients with the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) after the agency raised safety concerns, according to current and former employees. It is not known how many patients the FDA ultimately approved.

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Musk has grand ambitions for Neuralink, saying it would facilitate speedy surgical insertions of its chip devices to treat conditions like obesity, autism, depression and schizophrenia.

In May, the company said it had received clearance from the FDA for its first-in-human clinical trial, when it was already under federal scrutiny for its handling of animal testing.

Even if the BCI device proves to be safe for human use, it would still potentially take more than a decade for the startup to secure commercial use clearance for it, according to experts