Neuralink has successfully implanted its brain chip into a second patient. The revelation was made by Elon Musk, the company’s co-founder. The device is intended to help people who have suffered spinal cord injuries gain some level of autonomy.
The first patient received the Neuralink implant in early 2024. Since then, Noland Arbaugh, a man who has quadriplegia, has been able to perform small actions, such as playing chess on a laptop, with the help of the implant.
The second patient’s implant is now working
Musk said on a recent edition of Lex Fridman’s podcast that Neuralink has implanted the brain chip in a second patient. The entrepreneur did not reveal who that person is, nor did he say when the procedure was performed.
However, Elon Musk explained that around 400 electrodes from the second patient’s implant are working. “There’s a lot of signal, a lot of electrodes. It’s working very well,” he added. On its website, Neuralink explains that the device has 1,024 electrodes.
The businessman also said that the second patient has a spinal cord injury similar to that of Noland Arbaugh, who also participated in the podcast.
Some setbacks
Arbaugh expressed satisfaction with the implant. He said he can now think of an action that is detected by the device, which then executes the corresponding action on his computer screen. With this, Arbaugh has been able to reduce his dependence on caregivers somewhat.
But not everything is positive in the study conducted by Noland Arbaugh. Two months ago, Neuralink reported that some wires in the patient’s implant had come loose. The company had to calibrate the sensitivity of the algorithm to get the device working as expected again.
Eight more patients by the end of the year
Neuralink was created in 2017 and, in 2020, officially announced the brain implant with the promise of making the device useful for people who have some type of neurological problem that affects body movements.
Initially, the company tested the implant on animals. Neuralink was accused of abusing these tests. However, for the project to evolve, the device needs to be tested on humans, a process that is still in its early stages.
In addition to Noland Arbaugh and the second patient, Neuralink hopes to implant eight more people by the end of the year. According to the company, more than 1,000 people have already applied to take part in the trials.
