Neuralink's BCI First Human Patient's Experience and Challenges

According to TapTechNews on June 21, the first human patient of Neuralink to receive a brain-computer interface (BCI) was interviewed by Joe Rogan, and he explained the entire process of receiving the brain chip and the experience of use so far.

Nolan Arbaugh, who is 29 years old and has been unable to control parts below the neck due to a diving accident, can control digital devices with'mind power' after becoming the first BCI patient of Neuralink.

Arbaugh has demonstrated controlling the computer cursor, playing games such as Mario Kart, however, the BCI program is not without problems.

TapTechNews reported in May this year that in a blog post, Neuralink wrote that the device implanted for the first human patient had a mechanical failure, which was a setback for the company.

The company said that within weeks after the operation on patient Arbaugh in January, some of the electrode wires located in the brain tissue began to retract from the brain tissue, causing the device to not work properly.

In the interview with Joe Rogan, Arbaugh said that there were 64 'wires' thinner than a human hair implanted in his brain, and each 'wire' had 16 electrodes (a total of 1024 electrodes), and many of the 'wires' retracted after one month.

This led to a reduction in the signal detected by Neuralink and a decrease in overall performance (a reduction in mental control over digital devices).

Arbaugh then explained that the brain movement exceeded the expectations of Neuralink, explaining that the human brain actually beats with the heart.

Neuralink thought the brain moved at a'speed of 1 millimeter', but Arbaugh's brain moved at a speed of 3 millimeters. Neuralink came up with a workaround, that is, modifying the algorithm of BCI, thus solving this problem.