[Neuralink has successfully implanted in a
second patient its device designed to give
paralyzed patients the ability to use
digital devices by thinking alone,
according to the startup’s owner Elon Musk.
Neuralink is in the process of testing
its device, which is intended to help
people with spinal cord injuries.
The device has allowed the first patient
to play video games, browse the internet,
post on social media and
move a cursor on his laptop.
Musk, in comments made during
a podcast released late on Friday
that ran more than eight hours,
gave few details about
the second participant
beyond saying the person had
a spinal cord injury similar
to the first patient,
who was paralyzed in a diving accident.
Musk said 400 of the implant’s
electrodes on the second patient’s brain
are working.
Neuralink on its website states that
its implant uses 1,024 electrodes.]
[“I don’t want to jinx it, but it seems
to have gone extremely well with
the second implant,”
Musk told podcast host Lex Fridman.
“There’s a lot of signal,
a lot of electrodes.
It’s working very well.”
Musk did not disclose when Neuralink
performed the second patient’s surgery.
Musk said he expects Neuralink
to provide the implants to eight more
patients this year as part of
its clinical trials.
The first patient, Noland Arbaugh,
was also interviewed on the podcast,
along with three Neuralink executives,
who gave details about how the implant
and the robot-led surgery work.]
https://www.theguardian.com/technolo...ent-brain-chip