According to startup owner Elon Musk, Neuralink has successfully implanted a second patient with its device designed to give paralyzed patients the ability to use digital devices independently.
Neuralink is in the process of testing its device, which is designed to help people with spinal cord injuries. The device allowed the first patient to play video games, surf the web, post on social media and move the cursor on his laptop.
In his comments, made during a late-night podcast that ran for more than eight hours, Musk gave few details about the second test subject, other than saying the person had spinal cord damage similar to the first patient who was paralyzed in a diving accident. Musk said 400 of the implant's electrodes in the second patient's brain were working. Neuralink states on its website that its implant uses 1,024 electrodes.
Musk did not reveal when Neuralink performed the surgery on the second patient. He said he expects Neuralink to place the implants in 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 provided details on how the implant and robot-guided surgery work.
Before Arbo received the implant in January, he used a computer by holding a stick in his mouth to touch a tablet screen. Arbo said that with the implant, he can now just think about what he wants to happen on the computer screen, and the device does it. He said the device gave him some independence and reduced his dependence on caregivers. | BGNES
