Neuralink's First User Admits He Wasn’t Aware Implant Thread Could Pull Out From Brain, Was Initially Worried But Not Anymore

Neuralink's First User Admits He Wasn’t Aware Implant Thread Could Pull Out From Brain, Was Initially Worried But Not Anymore
(Photo: Wikimedia Commons/Steve Jurvetson)

Noland Arbaugh, the first human user of Elon Musk's Neuralink brain device, shared his experiences with the technology and how it helped him regain independence.

Noland Arbaugh On Neuralink's Brain Device

Arbaugh spoke with WIRED about his experience with Neuralink after being implanted by the device earlier this year. According to him, it made him "more independent." It didn't only make his life more convenient, but also those around him, because they didn't need to look after him or wait for him 24/7. He felt "less helpless" and "less of a burden."

During the interview, he was asked about Neuralink's update on a blog post regarding some implant threads with dotted electrodes being pulled from his brain. He was asked if he was aware that it was possible.

According to Arbaugh, he had no idea that it was even feasible. In all of the animal testing, he believed it wasn't observed. It was said to be quite different from what he had heard and that it might have happened to one of the monkeys. It was never expected that he would experience it.

However, they were surprised by several facts about the human brain, including how much it moves. Many of their estimates about how things ought to be going were disrupted by it, per Arbaugh.

When asked if he was worried more threads could pull out and the implant would stop working altogether, he admitted that he feared such instances. He even brought up the issue with Neuralink, but they assured him they didn't see any evidence that it would happen.

Also, according to Arbaugh, the threads have stabilized, and those pulled out have found their way back to his brain, so he is no longer worried about it.

When asked what he observed when the threads pulled out from his brain, he said he could tell immediately something was wrong. He remembered that he had started losing control of the cursor for three weeks. He thought the problem was on their end and that a software update was done, which made it perform worse.

It reportedly took two weeks for him to get back to the cursor speed he was. The team also slightly tweaked the software, and things kept improving from there, according to the Neuralink user.

ALSO READ: FDA Approves Elon Musk's Human Clinical Study for Neuralink

Neuralink Issue Revisited

Neuralink announced earlier this month that it encountered a problem that inhibited the company's ability to measure Link's speed and accuracy. They revealed that the issue had something to do with threads retracting from the brain. Neuralink did not reveal how many threads were removed from the tissue.

As a fix, Neurolink stated in the blog post that it modified the recording algorithm, enhanced the user interface, and enhanced techniques for translating signals into cursor motions. Neuralink published its blog post in response to a report that questioned the company about the problem.

While Neuralink contemplated removing the implant, the issue did not immediately jeopardize Arbaugh's safety. Despite some threads retracting from his brain tissue, Neuralink reported that Arbaugh utilizes the company's BCI system for eight hours a day during the week and often up to 10 hours on the weekends.