Neuralink is planning to extend the trial to 10 people this year, allowing them to interact with a computer using their thoughts
The US health regulator has granted permission to Elon Musk’s Neuralink to implant a brain chip in a second patient despite some initial issues with the first test subject, the Wall Street Journal reported on Monday.
The brain-chip startup received approval from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to conduct a trial with a second patient using a modified procedure after the company proposed to fix a problem that occurred with its first test subject, the outlet said.
The chip, which is named Telepathy, was successfully implanted for the first time last February. It allowed 30-year-old quadriplegic Noland Arbaugh to control a computer mouse using his thoughts with “no ill effects,” according to the neurotechnology company.
The surgery involved a specially designed robot placing the computer chip – which is about the size of a coin with ultra-thin flexible threads – in the region of the brain that controls the intention to move, Neuralink explained. The chip was then used to record and transmit brain signals wirelessly to an app that decodes movement intention.
Earlier this month, Neuralink said tiny wires implanted in the brain of its first patient had been pulled out of position. Last week, Reuters reported that the company had known from animal testing that the wires, which are thinner than a strand of human hair, could retract, along with the electrodes used to read brain signals.
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