Neuralink implanted a second patient with a brain chip, Musk says

Neuralink has successfully implanted in a second patient its device designed to give paralyzed patients the ability to use digital devices by thinking alone, according to the startup’s owner, Elon Musk.

Neuralink is in the process of testing its device, which aims to help people with spinal cord injuries.

The device allowed the first patient to play video games, surf the Internet, post on social networks and move the cursor on his laptop.

Musk, in comments made during a podcast released late Friday that lasted more than eight hours, provided few details about the second participant other than to say the person had a spinal cord injury similar to the first patient, who was paralyzed in a diving accident. Musk said 400 of the implant’s electrodes in the second patient’s brain are working. Neuralink says on its website that its implant uses 1,024 electrodes.

“I don’t want to mislead him, but it seems to have gone extremely well with the second implant,” Musk told podcast host Lex Fridman. “There is a lot of signal, a lot of electrodes. It’s working very well.”

Musk did not say when Neuralink performed the second patient’s surgery. Musk said he expects Neuralink to provide the implants to eight more patients this year as part of its clinical trials.

The first patient, Noland Arbaugh, was also interviewed on the podcast, along with three Neuralink executives, who provided details on how the implant works and the robot-guided surgery.

Before Arbaugh received his implant in January, he operated a computer using a stick in his mouth to touch the screen of a tablet device. Arbaugh said that with the implant he can now simply think of what he wants to happen on the computer screen and the device makes it happen.

He said the device has given him a small amount of independence and reduced his reliance on carers.

Arbaugh initially faced problems after his surgery when the tiny wires in his implant were pulled, resulting in a sharp reduction in the electrodes that could measure brain signals. Reuters has reported that Neuralink was aware of this issue from its animal trials.

Neuralink said it restored the implant’s ability to monitor Arbaugh’s brain signals by making changes that included modifying its algorithm to be more sensitive. Arbaugh has bettered his previous world record for the speed at which he can control a cursor with just thoughts “with only roughly 10, 15% of the electrodes working,” Musk said on the podcast.

Musk also said he has spoken with Republican candidate Donald Trump, whom he has backed in the US presidential race, about forming a commission aimed at improving “government efficiency” through reduced business regulation and would be willing to participate.

Musk said that in his opinion, US regulations hinder innovation.