Neuralink She recently provided her first comprehensive update since her brain chip was successfully implanted in a second human. Last month, Alex, the second participant in the study prime ministerreceived her Neuralink implant. Alex was released the next day and made a smooth recovery.
revolutionary progress
with connectionAlex has improved his ability to play video games and has begun learning to use computer-aided design (CAD) software to design 3D objects. This is another step towards providing a high-performance interface that aims to improve control of digital devices for people with quadriplegia and thus restore their independence.
From the first moments, Alex was able to control the cursor with his mind in less than five minutes. Within hours, he surpassed the maximum speed and accuracy achieved by any other assistive technology in our task. WebGridJust like Noland, our first participant, Alex broke the previous world record for cursor control via a brain-computer interface (BCI) on the first day of using the link.
Integration into daily life
After the first research session, Alex continued to independently test Link's abilities, using him to play a first-person shooter. Counter Strike 2Alex loves to build things. Before his spinal cord injury, he worked as an automotive technician, repairing and modifying various types of vehicles and heavy machinery.
Since then, he wanted to learn how to design 3D objects using computer-aided design (CAD) software so he could work on projects without having to rely heavily on his support system. However, the level of control that assistive technologies provide made this difficult.
Innovations and the Future of Neuralink
On the second day of using the Link, Alex used Fusion 360 CAD for the first time and successfully designed a custom holder for his Neuralink charger, which was then 3D printed and integrated into his setup. We are working with Alex to increase his productivity using the Link by assigning intended movements to different types of mouse clicks (e.g., left, right, center), thus expanding the number of controls available to him and allowing him to quickly switch between different modes in CAD software (e.g., zoom, scroll, pan, click, and drag).
With our first participant, Noland, we noticed some degree of wiring deterioration, which temporarily reduced the performance of his brain-to-brain interface (BCI). The wiring stabilized and Noland's Link has since recovered to more than double the previous world record for BCI control.
To reduce the likelihood of wire retraction in our second participant, we implemented a number of measures, including minimizing brain movement during surgery and reducing the gap between the implant and the brain surface. These measures were discussed in detail during the live update prior to the second participant's surgery.
Fortunately, we did not observe any wire regression in the second participant.
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