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Elon Musk's startup Neuralink announced Wednesday that part of its brain implant malfunctioned after it used the system on a human patient for the first time.
Neuralink has developed a brain-computer interface (BCI) that could ultimately help patients with paralysis control external technology using just their minds. According to its website, the company's system, called Link, records neural signals using 1,024 electrodes across 64 “threads” thinner than a human hair.
In January, Neuralink implanted the device in a 29-year-old patient named Noland Arbaugh as part of a study to test its safety. The company streamed live video with Arbaugh using the BCI in March, and Neuralink said in a blog post in April that the surgery went “extremely well.”
But in the weeks since, a number of threads have retreated from Arbaugh's brain, Neuralink said in a blog post Wednesday. This meant there were fewer effective electrodes, affecting the company's ability to measure the speed and accuracy of the link.
Neuralink did not disclose how many sutures were withdrawn from the tissue. The company did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment.
To get around this problem, Neuralink said it changed the recording algorithm, improved the user interface and worked to improve techniques for translating signals into cursor movements, the blog post said. Neuralink reportedly considered removing the implant, but the problem did not pose an immediate risk to Arbaugh's safety, according to The Wall Street Journal, which previously reported on the issue. According to the report, Neuralink shared its blog post after the Journal asked the company about the issue.
Although some stitches were withdrawn from Arbaugh's brain tissue, Neuralink said he uses the company's BCI system for about eight hours a day during the week and often up to 10 hours a day on weekends.
Arbaugh said the link was like a “luxury overload” and that it helped him “reconnect with the world,” the blog post said.
Neuralink is not the only company developing a BCI system, and the technology has been researched in academic settings for decades.
Neuralink still has a long road of safety and effectiveness testing before it can be approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to commercialize the technology.
