DIGIVESTASI - Noland Arbaugh became the first person to receive a “Link” brain implant from Neuralink, Elon Musk's neurotechnology company. He underwent the transplant in January this year, after a swimming accident in 2016 left him paralyzed. Thanks to the implant, Arbaugh can fully control his computer with just his mind. He says his new mind control has changed his life for the better.

The Link implant is about the size of a dime and has 1,024 electrodes spread across 64 wires, or “cables”, that connect to different parts of the brain that control motor functions.

These wires are about 4 micrometers thick and about 20 mm long, smaller than a human hair. Due to its complexity, care must be taken when installing the implant. 

Neuralink has developed a specialized proprietary robot called R1 to perform the micro-procedures. The needle tip used by R1 to implant the wire is slightly larger than a red blood cell, helping to minimize damage to brain tissue when implanting the Deus Ex-like hardware. 

Arbaugh's procedure went well. Arbaugh was discharged from the hospital the next day with no side effects. Within a month, he learned how to control the mouse pointer on his computer via Bluetooth with his mind.  The implant itself was placed just under his scalp, making it relatively invisible. The implant uses an inductive charging method and the battery is said to last about eight hours before needing to be recharged.  

Arbaugh played games such as Chess, Mario Kart, and Civilization VI, the latter of which he played all night until the battery ran out.

Implant threads start to break 

But lately, some of the implant wires have started to break because they have become detached from the brain tissue. The problem reduced the bits per second (BPS), which means how fast Arbaugh could control his computer with his mind. 

Neuralink did not disclose exactly how many threads were extracted, but they were able to mitigate the problem of data loss due to the reduced number of available threads and even upgraded Link's implant beyond its original specifications by repeating the algorithm. 

“A few weeks after surgery, some leads were removed from the brain, leading to a decrease in the number of effective electrodes,” Neuralink said in a blog post quoted by Newatlas, Monday (May 20// 2024). “This leads to a decrease in BPS. To accommodate these changes, we modified the recording algorithm to be more sensitive to signals from the neuron population, improved techniques to convert these signals into cursor movements, and improved user interface communication.

“These improvements have led to rapid and sustained improvements in BPS, which have now surpassed Noland's initial performance,” the statement continued. They believe that the wires may have been pulled back due to a condition called pulmonary encephalopathy, where air remains trapped inside the skull after surgery, causing some wires to break. Neuralink considered removing the implant completely before changing the sensitivity of the electrodes and achieving better BPS. 

Upon learning that his implant might be removed, Arbaugh emotionally said “it was really, really hard to let go of all the amazing things I was able to do.” I think I cried after that.” 

“[The Link] helped me reconnect with the world, my friends and family. It gave me the ability to do things on my own again without my family around the clock, day and night,” she said. 

He did well and was grateful after the algorithm update gave him superpowers. There were no health or life safety concerns although some power lines were still “damaged”. Musk is currently looking for a second patient for clinical trials. They are looking for potential patients suffering from quadriplegia or ALS. Potential patients can apply on the Neuralink website.

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