The first patient with Neuralink implant in his brain is already playing chess on computer (video)

In January of this year, the first paralyzed volunteer underwent a surgery to install a Neuralink implant into his skull, which enabled him to control a cursor on a laptop literally with the power of his mind. The company released videos this week demonstrating the new physical abilities gained by the volunteer after this operation.

During the broadcast, which Neuralink predictably conducted on Elon Musk's X platform, a company representative introduced the audience to 29-year-old Noland Arbaugh, who suffered a spinal cord injury eight years ago, losing mobility in all four limbs. As explained by the patient himself, he cannot move his arms and legs and also feels nothing below shoulder level.

Nevertheless, the volunteer was in great spirits during the broadcast, smiling and joking. According to him, he underwent the implant surgery very easily and was discharged from the hospital the next day. After some training and equipment setup, he learned to control the laptop screen cursor with his mind, and in the first few days, the emergence of this ability excited him so much emotionally that he would wake up at six in the morning, eagerly awaiting access to the coveted laptop.

After trying his hand at the strategy game Civilization VI and chess, Noland Arbaugh preferred the latter, and at some point, he became so engrossed in this activity that he eagerly awaited the moment when the battery of his implanted device would be recharged for further experiments. It is worth noting that the implant's battery lasts for several hours of continuous operation, after which it needs to be replenished using a special pillow with wireless charging functionality. It is assumed that in the serial version, the charging will occur while the patient is in bed and asleep.

The first patient with a Neuralink brain implant admitted that the technology of this company is not without its flaws, but he is convinced that it is at the beginning of its journey, and even in its current form, its developments have greatly changed his life. CNBC experts explained that other developers of neurointerfaces achieved similar results long before Neuralink, but the activity of this company in terms of scientific publications is still extremely low.

It will be several months before regulators in the United States allow Neuralink to perform operations on other volunteers, and then begin mass production of implants and their installation. Company representatives stated that they hope in the future to learn how to restore lost vision using their implants.