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Elon Musk's Neuralink company had a problem with its brain chip after all

Elon Musk's Neuralink company had a problem with its brain chip after all

After Neuralink inserted one of the brain implants into its first human patient in late January 2024, company chief Musk said the person had made a full recovery. However, there are no known negative effects of the transplant, Musk says.

Neuralink barely discloses any data

Because of sparse information, the research community was still concerned about the patient. Neuralink did not initially provide any detailed information about the operation or health condition. The company has also remained tight-lipped about the safety and performance of the implant.

As is now known, Neuralink appears to have had a problem, contrary to its own assertions. Like startup after the corresponding one a report From The Wall Street Journal Via your own blog article He admitted that some of the more than 1,000 electrodes had become detached from the patient's brain shortly after the transplant.

Accuracy and speed decreased

As a result, there was a loss of data In Gizmodo. According to Neuralink, the accuracy and speed of patient index operation initially decreased due to the separate electrodes.

However, the company was able to restore functionality by tweaking the algorithm. The algorithm has become more sensitive. Ultimately, the accuracy values ​​after the adjustment were higher than before, Neuralink says.

The reason for the separation of the electrodes is not clear

However, the company has remained tight-lipped about the reasons for replacing the electrodes. According to the Wall Street Journal, one possible explanation for Neuralink is that air may have remained in the skull after the procedure. To what extent this can be prevented in future operations – there is no information from Neuralink about this either.

Robots in action: Eight exciting technical assistants in action

After scientists were not impressed by the first symptom after the transplant – controlling the index with your mind – the patient may have made greater progress since then. The man with quadriplegia — a hemiplegia that also affects the arms and legs — was able to surf the Internet and play chess and video games.

Control the robot arm with your mind

According to Neuralink, the goal is for a man to be able to operate a robot arm, wheelchair and other tech devices using only the power of his thoughts. In addition to Neuralink, several other companies are working on brain chips. However, only a few have tested their technologies on humans so far.

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