Elon Musk’s Neuralink patient demonstrates how the brain chip works

(NewsNation) – Noland Arbaugh, by Elon Musk first Neuralink patient, says there are no words “to describe how incredible” the technology is.

Arbaugh, 29, demonstrated how his brain chip implant works in an interview with NewsNation host Chris Cuomo — his first live TV interview.

The chip allows Arbaugh, who is paralyzed from the shoulders down, to move a computer mouse pointer on the screen just by imagining and thinking about it moving.

Although there were some reported problems with his transplant, Arbaugh was able to communicate with friends, family and loved ones and even read books and play games.

“It really doesn’t take much effort,” Arbaugh said Tuesday in “CUOMO.”

One viewer praised Musk and his Neuralink technology in a call with Arbaugh, saying, “He is a gift from God.”

Neuralink obtains FDA approval to implant chip in second patient

Elon Musk’s human technology startup Neuralink received the green light from the US Food and Drug Administration implanting a brain chip in a second patient after proposing to solve a problem that occurred with Arbaugh.

Earlier this month, Neuralink reported that the first chip implanted in a human brain broked after several threads recording neural activity retracted from the brain. The wires retracted weeks after surgery in late January that placed Neuralink hardware in Arbaugh’s brain, the company said.

Neuralink plans to solve the problem by implanting some of the device’s ultra-thin wires deeper into the patient’s brain, the Wall Street Journal reportedciting a person familiar with the company and a document she viewed.

The company plans to implant its device in the second patient in June and a total of 10 people this year, the report said, adding that more than 1,000 quadriplegics have signed up to its patient registry.

Who is the ideal candidate for the Neuralink brain chip?

Dr. Tom Pitts, a board-certified neurologist, said Tuesday in “NewsNation live” that the best candidates are those who are “cognitively sound” as they need to perform their tasks correctly.

He advises against considering quadriplegics with Alzheimer’s or brain cancer for this procedure.

“Someone with Alzheimer’s who is paralyzed may not be able to learn, the brain may be atrophied. You don’t want to give it to someone who has a co-occurring brain disease that could confound your study,” Pitts said.

He added: “If I have, say, brain cancer, and you do this, am I not performing well or is the electrode failing because of the cancer?”

NewsNation’s Kelsey Kernstine and Reuters contributed to this story.

This story originally appeared on thehill.com read the full story