Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ELA), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that mainly affects motor neurons, nerve cells of the brain and spinal cord responsible for controlling voluntary muscle movement. The ELA affects 5 out of 100,000 people. And Neuralink, the implant developed by Elon Musk’s company, could be a solution.
Now, Brad Smith, third patient with Neuralink implant and first with ELA, made history by publishing a video on YouTube edited and narrated only with brain signals. In the clip, Smith shows how he controls the cursor of his Macbook pro thinking movements with the tongue and jaw (with 92% precision, according to Neuralink).
The implant, placed in its motor cortex, It has approximately five coins one over another and contains more than 1000 electrodes. Smith explained that Neuralink does not read a constant flow of his thoughts, but interprets the brain signals that indicate how and where he wants to move the cursor.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cjn0wrkwg34
Although initially tried to imagine moving the hand to control the cursor, in the end It was more effective to think about moving the tongue and tightening the jaw to control the cursor and click virtually with the mouse.
Technology too He used AI and Smith recordings prior to lost speech to create a synthetic version of his voicewhich allowed him to effectively narrate the video with his own voice.
“I am excited to have this in mind and stop using the look,” Smith explained through his computer. Smith also commented that he had been using the technology of the look to communicate, but that it was limited to rooms. The Neuralink implant, commented, It allows you to communicate outdoors and with different lighting levels. Thanks to this implant, Smith was able to play video games, such as Mario Kart, with his children.
“It had been here for years, and I still crumble and cry -adds Smith in an interview -it is really good to have a bigger purpose than me. I am very excited to serve others in the future with this work.” Neuralink, which was previously tested on monkeys, implemented his device in a human for the first time in January 2024: Noland Arbaugh, a tetraplectic that became the first human patient of the company.
But how does this technology work? Basically, Smith thinks of moving a part of his body, Electrodes detect specific neuronal activation patterns. An AI algorithm translates them into digital commands.
Even so, there are risks … cybersecurity experts, such as Eva Galperin, warn that “A hacking could manipulate not only the cursor, but the perception of user’s reality”. Neuralink uses AES-256 encryption, but no system is 100% safe.
It is also possible that a signal degradation occurs. In monkeys, 15% of the electrodes failed by chip micro-boots And Smith himself admitted that sometimes the cursor “goes crazy” by interferences.