Quadriplegic patient had brain chip implanted by Neuralink to play online chess

On March 21, Elon Musk's startup Neuralink streamed on X the scene of the first patient implanted with a brain chip using his mind to play online chess.

Noland Arbaugh , a 29-year-old patient who became quadriplegic after a scuba diving accident, played chess on his laptop and moved the cursor with a Neuralink device. Neuralink's brain chip implant helps patients control a computer mouse or keyboard cursor with their thoughts.

In February, Elon Musk (Neuralink CEO) said that Noland Arbaugh could control a computer mouse with his thoughts.

'The surgery was extremely easy ,' Noland Arbaugh said in a video streamed on Elon Musk's X social network, referring to the brain chip implant procedure.

'I was actually discharged from hospital a day later. I have no cognitive impairment. I basically gave up playing that game. All of you (Neuralink) gave me the ability to do it again and play continuously for 8 hours' , Noland Arbaugh added, referring to the game Civilization VI.

Explaining more about his experience with the new technology, Noland Arbaugh said that it "wasn't perfect" and that Neuralink "had some problems."

'I don't want people to think that this is the last stage, there is still a lot of work to do but it has changed my life' , he added.

Kip Ludwig, former director of the neural engineering program at the US National Institutes of Health, said what Neuralink demonstrated was not a 'breakthrough'.

He added: 'It's still early days post-implantation and there's a lot to learn on both the Neuralink and patient side to maximize the amount of control information that can be achieved.'

Still, Kip Ludwig said it's a positive development for patients to be able to communicate with computers in a way that wasn't possible before brain chip implants. 'It's certainly a good starting point ,' he said.

Neuralink successfully implanted a brain chip into Noland Arbaugh in January 2024 , after receiving approval for human trial recruitment in September 2023.

According to Neuralink, the research uses a robot to surgically implant a brain-computer interface (BCI) into the area of ​​the brain that controls movement intention. Neuralink said the initial goal is to allow patients to control a mouse cursor or computer keyboard with their thoughts.

Elon Musk set great ambitions with Neuralink, claiming this company will help speed up the process of implanting brain chip devices to treat diseases such as obesity, autism, depression and schizophrenia.

The world's third-richest billionaire said that Neuralink wants to solve autism and schizophrenia, and help patients use devices such as phones or computers just by thinking about them. Autism and schizophrenia are considered disorders, not diseases.

Many experts believe that it may take some time to know whether Neuralink's brain chip really works well or not.

Ms. Anne Vanhoestenberghe, professor of medical implantology at King's College London (UK), said: ' I know Elon Musk is very adept at building reputation for the company, so we can expect good results. test results in the near future. In my opinion, real success needs to be measured over the long term with a controlled level of stability over time and how it benefits the participants'.

Neuralink launched a recruitment research pilot in September 2023.

At that time, Neuralink said it had passed the test from an independent review board of leading experts and doctors in the US, to be allowed to test implanting chips on paralyzed people.

In November 2023, Ashlee Vance, who wrote Elon Musk's first biography in 2015, revealed that thousands of people had signed up to participate in Neuralink's testing.

Previously, Ashlee Vance described that when attaching a brain chip, it took the doctor several hours to perform the skull cutting surgery, then it took 25 minutes for the robot to insert the device along with the ultra-thin chip part consisting of about 64 fibers. different. The fibers are so thin that they are only 1/14 the width of a human hair.

Valued at about $5 billion last year, Neuralink has repeatedly faced calls for scrutiny of its safety protocols.

In February, Reuters reported that US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspectors discovered problems with record keeping and quality control with animal experiments at Neuralink. The company did not respond to questions about the FDA inspection.

In early January 2024, Reuters reported that this company was fined for violating US Department of Transportation (DOT) regulations related to the transportation of hazardous materials.

In November 2023, four US lawmakers asked the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to investigate whether Elon Musk committed securities fraud by misleading investors about the safety of Whether brain implants are being developed by Neuralink or not.

In a letter to the SEC, a group of four lawmakers including Mr. Earl Blumenauer, Jim McGovern, Tony Cardenas and Ms. Barbara Lee requested a thorough review of Neuralink's operations as the company prepares to test a chip implanted in the human brain for the first time. at that moment.

The letter cited veterinary records obtained from Neuralink experiments on monkeys showing that they suffered health effects and debilitation due to chip implants, including symptoms of paralysis, seizures and brain swelling. According to the letter, about 12 healthy monkeys died due to reactions to Neuralink's implants.

However, Elon Musk denied any connection between the monkey's death and Neuralink's chip implantation, asserting that the research team that selected the test subjects were all close to death. Neuralink's animal testing is conducted to confirm scientific hypotheses and the company is committed to the utmost care of the animals tested.

Meanwhile, the four lawmakers above said that the deaths of animals in experiments at Neuralink were directly related to the company's safety. Therefore, the statement from Elon Musk may have violated SEC rules.

Investors need to know the truth about Neuralink's ability to market its products. In 2022, Neuralink employees revealed to the media that the company rushed to perform unsuccessful surgeries on monkeys, pigs and sheep, causing the animals to die more than necessary.

In 2021, Neuralink once let a chip-implanted monkey demonstrate the ability to control a computer mouse cursor and play games using brain signals. However, the company has been accused of animal abuse and of risking humans contracting infectious diseases through contaminated hardware.

According to a November 2023 SEC filing, Neuralink has raised more than $280 million from outside investors. The company has developed a Bluetooth-enabled chip implanted in the human brain with the aim of activating telepathic abilities and restoring motor function to injured people. The chip has a USB-C port, connecting via Bluebooth to a small device worn on the ear and connected to a smartphone.

Elon Musk co-founded Neuralink in 2016 with 7 other members, but most have left. The company's goal is to successfully develop a brain-computer interface to allow humans to merge with AI in the future.

Neuralink now faces major competition from startups like Synchron and Onward. So, Ashlee Vance said: "Elon Musk warns Neuralink to speed up the same way the world deals with the apocalypse . "