Neuralink isn’t the only company working on brain devices that connect to computers.
Elon Musk’s Neuralink Corp. on Wednesday live-streamed an update on its first brain implant, showing a quadriplegic man able to use his mind to play video games and online chess.
Neuralink is a brain technology startup founded by Musk. Its implants allow patients to control computers with their thoughts. Musk said the company will first work with patients with severe physical disabilities such as cervical spinal cord injuries or quadriplegia.
In a video played on Musk’s social platform X on Wednesday, patient Noland Arbaugh was able to use his computer to play chess and the game Civilization VI. “I’ve given up playing that game,” he said.
“It has changed my life,” Abo said. “The surgery was super easy.”
live streaming @Neuralink Demonstrating ‘telepathy’ – controlling a computer and playing video games just by thinking https://t.co/0kHJdayfYy
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) March 20, 2024
Abo, 29, said he suffered a spinal cord injury in a “freak diving accident” eight years ago. He also said that he was discharged from the hospital the day after his Neuralink surgery in January and that the surgery went well. He added that “there is still work to be done” in perfecting the technology.
Neuralink isn’t the only company working on brain devices that connect to computers. Modern demonstrations of cursor control by thought have been carried out in other humans using various types of implants, such as those deployed by the BrainGate consortium of research institutions and hospitals.
However, the Neuralink device contains more electrodes than other devices, suggesting it may have more potential applications in the future. Neuralink technology works without a wired connection to an external device.
On Wednesday, Musk hinted in a post on X that the device might have the ability to restore vision. “Blindsight is the next thing after telepathy,” he wrote, referring to the name of the implant for paralyzed patients.
“I’m happy for this guy because he’s able to interact with the computer in a way that he couldn’t before the implant,” said Kip Allan Ludwig, co-director of the Wisconsin Institute for Translational Neuroengineering. .” “It’s not a breakthrough compared to what others have shown before, but it’s certainly a good starting point.”
According to Arbaugh’s Facebook page, which has not been publicly updated since 2017, his accident occurred in June 2016 at a children’s camp. In 2017, he successfully raised $10,000 through a GoFundMe campaign to purchase an accessible custom van.
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