Elon Musk's Neuralink Completed Second Brain Device Implant Successfully

Elon Musk's brain-computer interface company, Neuralink, announced on Wednesday that the surgery to implant a brain-computer chip in its second patient had proceeded smoothly. The patient is now able to design 3D objects and play some video games.

The second experimental participant, named Alex, was an automotive technician who repaired various types of vehicles and large machinery but later suffered a spinal cord injury. The day after the surgery, Alex left the Barrow Neurological Institute.

Alex's recovery post-surgery has been smooth. It took less than five minutes from the moment Alex connected his brain interface device, Link, to the computer so he could control the cursor with his mind.

It appears that the surgical process has also successfully avoided a problem that troubled the first brain-computer experimenter, Noland Arbaugh. In May, Arbaugh, Neuralink's first experimental subject, encountered an unexpected event where the electrode wires unexpectedly contracted in the brain, causing some data loss.

In describing the surgery for the second patient, Neuralink said: To reduce the probability of thread retraction in our second participant, we implemented a number of mitigations, including reducing brain motion during the surgery and reducing the gap between the implant and the surface of the brain.

At present, Neuralink's Link brain interface device is designed for patients with quadriplegia and other severe motor restrictions. According to Musk, the Neuralink implant could eventually help enhance the abilities of healthy individuals, such as aiding memory recall.

The company also wrote in the blog that it is developing new features for the Link device. Currently, the device allows patients to control the cursor and digital devices on the screen by clicking buttons. The company envisions that in the future, Link may be able to decode multiple simultaneous motion intentions and recognize handwriting intentions to help patients write faster.

These capabilities would not only help restore digital autonomy for those who are unable to use their limbs but also restore the ability to communicate for those who are unable to speak, such as people with neurological conditions, Neuralink wrote.

Musk has expressed his hope that by the end of this year, more patients will be able to use this device. Participants will become part of the Neuralink Prime study, which is an investigational medical device trial.