Elon Musk’s Neuralink Offers Hope For Paralysis Recovery: Livestream Shows Patient Demonstrating “Telepathy”
Neuralink's technology reads brain signals to control computers. Photo by Horacio Villalobos#Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images.
Key Takeaways
- In January, Noland Arbaugh became the first person to receive a transplant of Neuralink’s brain-computer interface.
- A video demonstrating the technology shows Arbaugh controlling a computer cursor using his mind.
- Alongside the Australian company Synchron, Neauralink is pioneering technology that could drastically improve disabled patients quality of life.
To some, Elon Musk’s biotech startup Neuralink is on a dangerous path toward a dystopian transhumanist future. But the company has always maintained that before it moves on to general human enhancement, first it will develop treatments for brain diseases and spinal injuries.
Quadriplegic patient Noland Arbaugh became the first person to receive a transplant of the company’s brain-computer interface earlier this year. In a video streamed by Neuralink on Thursday, March 20, Arbaugh gave the public its first glimpse of how the technology works in practice.
Neuralink Patient Says Device is “Like Using the Force”
Assistive devices that let paralyzed patients control computers can drastically improve quadriplegics’ quality of life. But current solutions controlled by eye or tongue movements are limited, can be difficult to use for extended periods and often require assistance.
Using a Neuralink transplant that reads his brain activity, Arbaugh can direct the cursor on a computer informant of him.
Controlling the computer with his mind, he described it as “like using the Force on the cursor.”
When he was first given control over his device after the implant, Arbaugh said one of the first things he stayed up until 6 a.m. playing the turn-based strategy game Civilization VI.
“I had basically given up on playing that game,” he told the Neuralink engineer Bliss Chapman.
Brain-Computer Interface Could Improve Quality of Life
Before he had the implant, Arbaugh, who became paralyzed below the neck after a diving accident, said he relied on his parents and other helpers for assistance in using devices. While seated, he is also limited to shorter sessions due to the need to have his position readjusted every few hours to avoid pressure sores.
But now, Arbaugh said he can “lie in bed and play to my heart’s content.”
Future Directions
Alongside Neuralink, the Australian company Synchron has developed a similar technology, publishing the findings from the first 4 patients to receive transplants last year. Synchron has now enrolled 6 US patients with severe quadriparesis to receive implants during the second clinical trial.
At the moment, researchers are focused on controlling computers and phones, but potential future applications could include prosthetic limbs and exoskeletons that can be controlled with brain signals.
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