Neuralink's brain chip has been implanted in a second patient as part of first-in-human trials, according to Elon Musk he told podcast host Lex Fridman on Saturday. The company has not disclosed when the surgery was performed or the name of the recipient, according to technology/neuralink-implanted-second-trial-patient-with-brain-chip-musk-says-2024-08-04/” rel=”nofollow noopener” target=”_blank” data-ylk=”slk:Reuters;cpos:2;pos:1;elm:context_link;itc:0;sec:content-canvas” class=”link “>Reuters.
Musk said 400 of the electrodes implanted in the second patient's brain are working, out of the 1,024 he had. “I don't want to jinx it, but it seems to have gone very well,” he said. “There's a lot of signal, a lot of electrodes. It's working very well.”
The device allows spinal cord injury patients to play video games, use the Internet and control electronic devices using only their thoughts. In May, the company announced it was “accepting applications for the second participant” in the trials following FDA approval.
The original Neuralink implant patient, Nolan Arbaugh, described the surgery as “super easy.” In a demonstration, the company showed how Arbaugh could move a cursor around a laptop screen, pause an on-screen music player and play chess. Civilization VI.
Arbaugh himself participated in the marathon podcast with Musk and Fridman. He said the device allows him to make anything happen on a computer screen just by thinking about it, helping to reduce his dependence on caregivers.
However, problems arose shortly after the operation when some of the electrodes retracted from the brain. The problem was later partly fixed by modifying the algorithm to make the implants more sensitive. Neuralink told the FDA that in a second procedure, it would place the implant wires deeper into the patient's brain to prevent them from moving as much as they did in Arbaugh's case.
Neuralink previously tested its implant on animals, including chimpanzees, and some of those testing practices have been the subject of federal investigations.
Despite those issues, the company said it had more than 1,000 volunteers for its second surgical trial. Musk said he expects Neuralink to implant its chips in up to eight more patients by the end of 2024.
