According to The Wall Street Journal, only about 15 percent of the electrode-bearing threads implanted in Neuralink’s initial human brain-chip patient are functioning correctly. The rest, comprising 85 percent, have become displaced, and many threads that receive minimal or no signals have been deactivated. Neuralink revealed in a May 8 blog post that several of the device’s 64 ultra-fine threads had retracted. These threads, each carrying multiple electrodes for a total of 1,024, are surgically inserted near targeted neurons to capture signals that can be translated into intended actions.
Neuralink made headlines when it implanted its N1 brain chip in 29-year-old Noland Arbaugh, who lost all movement and sensation in his arms and legs after a diving accident in 2016. The N1 device, a small, coin-sized implant, is designed to be fully integrated with the skull and connected to the motor cortex through 64 ultrathin threads equipped with electrodes to capture neural signals.
Initially, Arbaugh could control a computer cursor to communicate and play games using his thoughts alone. However, weeks following the surgery in late January, it was reported that 85% of the threads had retracted due to brain movement.
In response to the setback, Neuralink updated its decoding algorithms, becoming more sensitive to the neural signals still being detected. These adjustments led to significant improvements, with Arbaugh reporting that the device’s performance was now better than ever. The remarkable recovery and resurgence in functionality are a testament to both Neuralink’s commitment to innovation and Arbaugh’s perseverance and optimism. As Arbaugh poignantly expressed in his interview with The Wall Street Journal, “I thought that I had just gotten to, you know, scratch the surface of this amazing technology, and then it was all going to be taken away, but it only took me a few days to really recover from that and realize that everything I’ve done up to that point was going to benefit everyone who came after me.” He also said that “it seems like we’ve learned a lot and it seems like things are going in the right direction.”
Neuralink’s commitment is clear as they now plan to implement a second trial, with FDA approval, aiming for 10 implants within the year. The next recipient of the Neuralink chip can anticipate a crucial change: the threads will be implanted 8 millimeters deep into the brain tissue, significantly deeper than the 3 to 5 millimeters depth in Arbaugh’s case. This adaptation seeks to address the issue of thread retraction and is a strategic move to enhance the stability of the electrodes within the brain.
In 2006, a tetraplegic patient was reported to control a “neural cursor” with a brain chip, the Utah Array.
Relevant articles:
– Neuralink to implant 2nd human with brain chip as 85% of threads retract in 1st, Ars Technica
– Neuralink will embed wires deeper in the brain to fix problems after its first patient: WSJ, Yahoo News Canada
– First human brain implant malfunctioned, Neuralink says, WDHN
– Implant by Elon Musk’s Neuralink suffers setback after threads retract from patient’s brain, NBC News