Neuralink implemented its first brain chip in a human last January. The test has been a success in several aspects, although it has not gone as expected in others. However, the company is learning from the difficulties encountered and the team responsible has spoken this week of the changes you have prepared for the second implant you are going to perform.
The volunteer who currently carries the chip in his brain N1 is Noland Arbaugha quadriplegic who before the implant could only operate a computer using a stylus held in his mouth. After the surgery to implant N1, Arbaugh said he The implant had changed his life by allowing him to control a computer with his thoughts alone for 8 to 10 hours a day.
But, after a few months, Elon Musk’s company found that 85% of the electrodes on the chip inserted into Arbaugh’s brain had completely retractedThis led to a loss of efficiency, making it difficult to transmit orders from Arbaugh’s brain to the computer. Engineers were able to modify the software used by N1 to compensate so that Arbaugh would not lose operability.but the company wants to avoid this problem in future surgeries.
According to the company’s post on X, formerly Twitter, the operation to implant the second brain chip in a human will take place next weekAn unidentified patient will undergo a procedure like Arbaugh’s, with a customized surgical robot. inserting the 64 ‘threads’ that connect the chip to the brain and that contain a total of 1,024 electrodes that can read and transmit the electrical activity of the brain.
A key difference is that Neuralink The depth at which each thread is inserted will vary. Some will penetrate the brain tissue up to 7.2 mmensuring that more electrodes remain active even if the thread begins to retract. This will also allow the team to collect more data on the retraction.
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Neuralink has identified the presence of an air pocket in Arbaugh’s skull as a likely cause of the implant slippageIt is common for a small air pocket to form after brain surgery, according to Neuralink’s lead surgeon, Matthew MacDougallAlthough the air pocket would start near the forehead, it would migrate to the top of the skull when the patient was upright again, and that is precisely where the N1 implant is located. The air bubble could have pushed the brain away from the implant, which in turn would have released the wires..
To combat this, the team plans carefully monitor the patient’s carbon dioxide levels during surgerywhich will prevent the brain from expanding or contracting. They are also intended to ‘sculpt’ the surface of the skull to placing the implant closer to the brain, thus closing the space and leaving less for air to accumulate.
Neuralink is not the only company working on a brain-computer interface, or BCI. A company called Synchron is also conducting human trials. Its brain chip is less invasive and can be implanted by endovascular surgery through the jugular veinHowever, Neuralink argues that its design is an advantage. Individual wires can be implanted at different depths, which is useful for solving the retraction problem and for accessing high-value neurons deeper in the brain.