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Summary:In addition to completing the second human transplant of a brain-computer interface device, Neural Connection has also made progress in restoring limb function in paralyzed patients.

American entrepreneur Elon Musk recently said that his company "Neuralink" has completed the second human transplant of a brain-computer interface device and plans to carry out eight more similar transplants this year.

However, Musk did not provide any details or evidence to support his statement, and the brain-computer interface device transplantation conducted by "Neuralink" is still in the human clinical trial stage.

Completed the second transplant

On August 2, local time, American scientist Lex Friedman released a podcast lasting more than eight hours in which he and other Neural Connection executives participated in the discussion.

During this time, Musk revealed that his company "Neuralink" has completed the second human transplant of a brain-computer interface device. Similar to the health condition of the first subject, the second subject also had a spinal cord injury.

"It seems to be going very well. There's a lot of signal, a lot of electrodes." Musk said 400 electrodes implanted in the second patient's brain are providing signals.

But according to Neural Connection, the brain-computer interface developed by the company is a tiny device that can be implanted in the human brain. It contains 64 extremely fine wires and 1,024 electrodes.

However, Musk said that even if only 10% to 15% of the electrodes are operating, the signal processing speed can reach one bit per second, and it may be possible to achieve 100 bits, 1,000 bits or even 1 megabit per second in the future.

Musk also revealed that Neuralink plans to perform eight more similar transplants this year, bringing the total number of transplants this year to 10. However, it is expected that these transplants will still be conducted as human clinical trials.

In addition, Musk did not disclose more information about the second human transplant of the brain-computer interface device, such as when the transplant was performed and the specific health status of the subject.

However, it was previously reported that the transplant was originally scheduled for late June, but was postponed due to "problems" with the subject's health. Musk later revealed that the transplant may be carried out in mid-July.

To understand how much scientific progress this brain-computer interface device transplant represents, we may need to wait for Musk or "Neuralink" to provide more details and evidence, just as we did after the first transplant was completed.

Control the mouse with your mind

Neural Connection was founded in 2016. It hopes to establish a communication and control channel between the human brain and external devices, namely the brain-computer interface, by implanting electrodes, chips and other devices into the human brain, so as to achieve the purpose of directly controlling external devices with brain bioelectric signals or regulating brain activity with external stimulation. If this technology is successful, it will benefit patients with visual or movement disorders or other diseases.

Since its inception, Neural Connection has been tested on monkeys and piglets, with some success.

In 2022, Neuralink applied to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration for human clinical trials, but was not approved due to concerns about the safety of brain implant device trials.

Last May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration changed its mind and approved Neuralink to conduct human clinical trials on the brain-computer interface project. In September of the same year, the company began recruiting volunteers for the clinical trials. It was reported that thousands of people were "super interested" in being volunteers.

In January this year, Neuralink completed the first human transplant of a brain-computer interface device. According to the company, the first recipient was 29-year-old Nolan Abo, who was paralyzed below the shoulders in a diving accident about eight years ago. After the transplant, Abo was able to control a computer mouse and play chess with his mind.

However, Abo encountered the problem of wire shrinkage after the transplant, which led to a sharp reduction in the number of electrodes that could measure brain signals. It is reported that Neural Connection was aware of this problem when conducting experiments on animals.

"Neural Connection" said that by modifying the algorithm and other means to make the brain-computer interface more sensitive, it will restore its ability to monitor Abo's brain signals.

In addition to Neuralink, there are many institutions around the world that are developing brain-computer interface technology, and some have already conducted human clinical trials.

“Giving people superpowers”

In addition to Musk, Abo and three executives from Neural Connection also participated in the podcast discussion hosted by Friedman.

Neuralink chief neurosurgeon Matthew McDougall revealed the company has also made progress in restoring limb function to paralyzed patients, a departure from current devices that only allow subjects to control a mouse with their thoughts.

"We've actually made great progress in sewing electrodes into the spinal cord as a potential solution for spinal cord injury," McDougall said. Neural Connection has already demonstrated in animal trials that brain implants will interact with spinal implants to produce muscle contractions in previously paralyzed arms and legs, and that the animals "are moving their legs in a way that allows them to walk."

"We're just starting with the basic, simple things, relatively speaking, to address neuronal damage," Musk said in the podcast. Once the risk of the implant is proven to be low and its safety is proven in long-term, large-scale human trials, Neural Connection may also expand the target group to include people without neurological defects.

"Since we're here, why not? Let's give people superpowers." Musk once again mentioned the prospects of the integration of brain-computer interfaces and artificial intelligence.

He said that if artificial intelligence in the future runs at terabits per second and people process information at bits per second, artificial intelligence will get "bored" when communicating with people.

(Editor’s email: [email protected])