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Musk said on Wednesday that his brain technology startup neural connections It hopes to implant its system into a second human patient within “the next week or so.” Executives also said the company is making changes to address Hardware problem It meets its first participant.
Neuralink is building brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) designed to help patients by using breakthrough paralysis control technology. The company’s first system, called Telepathy, involves 64 “threads” inserted directly into the brain. According to Neuralink, the wires are thinner than a human hair and record neural signals through 1,024 electrodes website.
Academics have studied BCI for decades, and several other companies include Synchronize, Parallel universe and precision neuroscience Currently developing its own system. No BCI company has yet received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to commercialize its device.
in a live Musk said during a meeting with Neuralink executives on Wednesday that the company hopes to implant its device into “high single digits” of patients this year. It is unclear when and where these procedures will take place.
A Neuralink spokesman could not immediately be reached for comment.
In January, Neuralink embedded BCI into its first human patientNoland Arbaugh, 29, conducted the study as part of an FDA-approved clinical study at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix.
Neuralink said in an article April blog post The surgery went “very smoothly”. However, in the weeks after surgery, Neuralink said some lines appeared in the implant withdraw From Abo’s brain. The company reportedly considered removing the implant, but the issue did not pose an immediate risk to patient health and safety wall street journal.
Musk and Neuralink executives said during the live broadcast that only about 15% of the channels in the Arbaugh implant are functioning. Even so, he still uses BCI to watch movies, read, play chess and other video games – sometimes up to 70 hours a week.
For upcoming implants, the company says it’s working to mitigate recoil and take measurements more carefully. Neuralink President DJ Seo said one of the ways it plans to do this is to sculpt the surface of the skull to minimize gaps beneath the implant.
Neuralink also plans to insert some wires deeper into brain tissue and track how much movement occurs, according to the company’s livestream. Dr. Matthew MacDougall, chief of neurosurgery at Neuralink, said it will insert wires “at different depths” now that it knows retraction is possible.
“The FDA will continue to monitor the safety of those participating in studies of the Neuralink implantable device through required periodic reporting,” an FDA spokesperson told CNBC in a statement.
