Elon Musk’s startup Neuralink revealed that it experienced a problem with its brain implant after the device was installed in its initial participant, 29-year-old quadriplegic Noland Arbaugh.
Cofounded by Musk, Neuralink is one of several companies developing a brain-computer interface, a system that provides a direct link from the brain to an external device. Neuralink’s technology is designed to decode intended movement signals from the brain to allow paralyzed individuals to move a cursor or type on a keyboard with just their thoughts.
But Neuralink’s unique design may have contributed to the device’s mechanical issues. It holds a battery, processing chip, and other electronics needed to power the system. Attached to this puck are 64 flexible “threads” thinner than a human hair, each containing 16 electrodes. The threads are meant to extend into the brain tissue to collect signals from groups of neurons. But, according to Neuralink, some of those threads didn’t stay in place.
You really have to be desperate to let this guy put a chip in your head!
Blindman630 on
This is how the jedi died, JUST SAYIN
dethb0y on
>Neuralink’s unique design may have contributed to the device’s mechanical issues. The company’s implant consists of a coin-sized puck that sits in the skull. It holds a battery, processing chip, and other electronics needed to power the system. Attached to this puck are 64 flexible “threads” thinner than a human hair, each containing 16 electrodes. The threads are meant to extend into the brain tissue to collect signals from groups of neurons. But, according to Neuralink, some of those threads didn’t stay in place.
>“In the weeks following the surgery, a number of threads retracted from the brain, resulting in a net decrease in the number of effective electrodes,” according to a blog post published by Neuralink. This led to a decline in the rate of data transfer, measured in bits-per-second. A higher bits-per-second value indicates better cursor control.
Man that sounds like a very difficult issue to resolve, from an engineering standpoint.
read_eng_lift on
Instead of a chip they implant a sentient worm. Unfortunately, the worm dies after eating the subject’s brain. The subject becomes a bit of a wingnut as a side effect.
SoupOfThe90z on
I heard that they are going to make Neuralink bulletproof and test it out on a recipient.
6 Comments
By Emily Mullin
Elon Musk’s startup Neuralink revealed that it experienced a problem with its brain implant after the device was installed in its initial participant, 29-year-old quadriplegic Noland Arbaugh.
Cofounded by Musk, Neuralink is one of several companies developing a brain-computer interface, a system that provides a direct link from the brain to an external device. Neuralink’s technology is designed to decode intended movement signals from the brain to allow paralyzed individuals to move a cursor or type on a keyboard with just their thoughts.
But Neuralink’s unique design may have contributed to the device’s mechanical issues. It holds a battery, processing chip, and other electronics needed to power the system. Attached to this puck are 64 flexible “threads” thinner than a human hair, each containing 16 electrodes. The threads are meant to extend into the brain tissue to collect signals from groups of neurons. But, according to Neuralink, some of those threads didn’t stay in place.
Read the full story: [https://www.wired.com/story/neuralinks-brain-implant-issues/](https://www.wired.com/story/neuralinks-brain-implant-issues/)
You really have to be desperate to let this guy put a chip in your head!
This is how the jedi died, JUST SAYIN
>Neuralink’s unique design may have contributed to the device’s mechanical issues. The company’s implant consists of a coin-sized puck that sits in the skull. It holds a battery, processing chip, and other electronics needed to power the system. Attached to this puck are 64 flexible “threads” thinner than a human hair, each containing 16 electrodes. The threads are meant to extend into the brain tissue to collect signals from groups of neurons. But, according to Neuralink, some of those threads didn’t stay in place.
>“In the weeks following the surgery, a number of threads retracted from the brain, resulting in a net decrease in the number of effective electrodes,” according to a blog post published by Neuralink. This led to a decline in the rate of data transfer, measured in bits-per-second. A higher bits-per-second value indicates better cursor control.
Man that sounds like a very difficult issue to resolve, from an engineering standpoint.
Instead of a chip they implant a sentient worm. Unfortunately, the worm dies after eating the subject’s brain. The subject becomes a bit of a wingnut as a side effect.
I heard that they are going to make Neuralink bulletproof and test it out on a recipient.