• Strands of Neuralink have reeled back in from a patient’s brain, causing the device to be inoperable.
• The patient is still working actively with the interface daily and has had several positive experiences as a result.

Neuralink, the brain-computer interface (BCI) device founded by Elon Musk, has already seen a major problem with their initial brain implant in humans. The company stated that some of the "threads" used to connect the internal of the brain to technological devices have retracted, which impacted the device's performance.

Start of Story Before the Problem

This object, known as the NeuraLink, was implanted in Noland Arbaugh, a28-year-old man in January. Arbaugh (who participated in the live demo this March) has seen positive BCI use for the greater part of this month. 

While the initial steps revealed advantageous outcomes of the electrodes, they also subsequently began to retract from the brain tissue, leading to fewer electrodes being functional.

While it could be argued that Neuralink experienced some hurdles due to these changes, the company has already started working on correcting errors in the recording algorithm and user interface to solve this problem. 

Modifications were also implemented by adding on to the processing of neural signals into cursor movement, a key aspect for communication between Arbaugh and his digital environments.

Continuous Use and Feedback from Patient

Despite the technological challenges, Arbaugh is working with the BCI system for up to 10 hours on weekends and around 8 hours on weekdays. In this, he illustrates technology as a “luxury overload”, something that greatly enriches the ways for interaction with the outside world.

While Neuralink has assured that the drawback is not the real danger to his life, to this day there are a few issues that stand and remain unstudied in the duration of the procedures required. The company is mulling over several other actions nevertheless discontinuation of the gadget is not yet on the agenda.

In the process, Neuralink deals with those issues it remains committed to the FDA requirements that stay valid for possible approval. The mission to introduce this path-breaking technology covers strict safety and efficacy testing to confirm that it meets its clinical usage.