Neuralink, the first implant partially detached from the patient’s brain: this is what happened

Record achievements but also problems for the Neuralink brain implant, the neuroscience startup founded by Elon Musk. When in January this year the company, which deals with brain-computer interfaces, announced to the world that it had performed the first implant in patient zero, Noland Arbaugh, the world spotlight has also turned on the technology that has made it possible for the 29-year-old, enrolled in the Prime study, to do feats such as moving a cursor, sending emails, playing chess and Mario Kart-style car racing video games in his mind. The identikit of the plant was particularly striking: 1,024 electrodes spread across 64 highly flexible, ultra-thin wires to record neural activity. A hi-tech system which in the first 100 days inside Noland’s brain achieved record-breaking results, but also forced engineers and researchers to resolve kinks. Accidents along the way, later resolved.

The problem occurred “in the weeks following the surgery – the Neuralink experts said in their report – Some “chip” wires have retreated from the brain, resulting in a sharp decrease in the number of effective electrodes. This led to a reduction in the bits per second (Bps) values”, the unit of measurement with which the system’s performance was evaluated. “In response to this change – the experts further explained – we modified the recording algorithm to make it more sensitive to signals from the neural populationimproved techniques for translating these signals into cursor movements, and improved the user interface.” These changes “produced a rapid and sustained improvement in Bps, which has now surpassed Noland’s initial performance.”

On weekdays, Noland is engaged in research sessions for up to 8 hours a day. On weekends, personal and recreational use of the facility may exceed 10 hours per day. Patient zero recently used the device for a total of 69 hours in just one week: 35 of structured sessions and a further 34 of personal use. The sessions allow you to evaluate the performance of the device. The higher the Bps values, the better the cursor control. During the first session, experts reported, Noland also set “a new world record for cursor control” with a brain-computer interface, “of 4.6 Bps. He later achieved 8 Bps and is currently trying to beat Neuralink engineers’ scores using a mouse.”