Elon Musk’s Neuralink device is implanted in a second patient

(Bloomberg) — Elon Musk’s brain computer company Neuralink Corp. has successfully implanted its device in a second patient, Musk said in a podcast hosted by computer scientist Lex Fridman.

Bloomberg’s Most Read

“I don’t want to jinx it, but it looks like it went very well with the second implant,” said Musk. “There’s a lot of signal, a lot of electrodes.”

Musk provided few details about the surgery, which had to be postponed after the patient originally scheduled for the second procedure had to withdraw in June due to an unspecified medical condition.

The first patient, quadriplegic Noland Arbaugh, had the Neuralink device implanted earlier this year. He has often spoken about the improvements it has brought to his life, for example giving him the ability to play video games.

Neuralink expects to operate on a total of 10 patients this year, Musk said on the podcast.

Additionally, the company said during the podcast that it has advanced efforts to restore limb function in people with paralysis. This addresses a different capability than what your device currently does, which is allowing a patient to move a cursor with them in mind.

“We’ve actually made great progress sewing electrodes into the spinal cord as a potential solution to a spinal cord injury,” Matthew MacDougall, the company’s chief surgeon, said on the podcast.

A brain implant would interact with a spine implant to create muscle contractions in previously paralyzed arms and legs, and Neuralink has already demonstrated this “in a crude way” in anesthetized animals, he said.

During the procedure, these animals “move their legs in a sort of walking pattern,” MacDougall said, noting that this is preliminary work.

Bloomberg Businessweek Most Read

©2024 Bloomberg LP