?? Neuralink’s First Human Brain-Chip Implant Recipient Speaks About His Experience

We are entering a new era in neurotechnology

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• ?? Neuralink’s First Human Brain-Chip Implant Recipient Speaks About His Experience
• ?? The Great Pottery Throwdown
• ?? The Bird Diaper

?? Neuralink’s First Human Brain-Chip Implant Recipient Speaks About His Experience

Neuralink, Elon Musk’s brain-chip startup, successfully implanted its first human patient in January this year, following the U.S Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authorization to begin its first human trial.

Neuralink’s aim is to enable individuals to control computer interfaces, like cursors or keyboards by thought, to restore their independence and improve their lives.

The successful implantation marks a significant step for the company’s mission to assist individuals in overcoming paralysis and various neurological disorders.

The Neuralink implant, N1, is a brain-computer interface which is fully implantable, cosmetically invisible and designed to let the user control a computer or mobile device anywhere they go.

N1 is powered by a battery which can be charged wirelessly from the outside via a compact, inductive charger enabling use from anywhere.

Inside the N1 Implant are advanced, custom, low-power chips and electronics which process neural signals, transmitting them wirelessly to the Neuralink App, which decodes the data stream into actions and intents.

Also inside the Implant are 64 ultra-thin, flexible threads which contain 1024 electrodes to record neural activity.?

The threads are so fine that they can’t be inserted into the brain by a human hand.?

Neuralink has designed and built a surgical robot to reliably and efficiently insert the threads to the correct brain position.

The implanting procedure uses the optics and sensors of five camera systems within the surgical robot head, and the needle which is thinner than a human hair, grasps, inserts, and releases threads to implant the N1 brain-computer interface (BCI) into a specific brain area that governs intention.

In February, Reuters reported that the first trial patient has fully recovered and is able to control a computer mouse using their thoughts.?

"Progress is good, and the patient seems to have made a full recovery, with no ill effects that we are aware of. Patient is able to move a mouse around the screen by just thinking," Musk said in a Spaces event on social media platform X.

Musk said that in March, Neuralink is trying to get as many mouse button clicks as possible from the patient.

On March 22, 2024, Participant 1 (a.k.a P1), visited Neuralink to share his experience with the Neuralink chip.?

In an hour long video from the Neuralink all-hands meeting, Noland Arbaugh shares his experience with good humor and immense gratitude. The video has been viewed over 2.7M times on his X account.?

In the first month, Noland logged 12 BCI sessions - 5 days a week, 8 hours a day.

He has spent 143 hours with the chip powered on, which is logged as BCI time.

He has played chess with the BCI.?

And he stayed up all night playing the game Civilization VI.?

Specifically, he played 7.6 hours of Civilization VI between 10pm - 6am.?

Noland compares the experience of the BCI to that of his mouth stick, which he describes as “a stick that he holds in his mouth with a bit of fabric so he can touch his iPad.” He said if he were to try to sit in the position necessary to control the iPad with his mouth stick for that many hours, his body would have spasms and "it would be next to impossible."

"[Without the BCI], it would be next to impossible."- Roland Arbaugh

He described this experience of being able to play Civilization VI to be as long as he used to play before his accident. He was incredibly grateful and overjoyed to be able to do something he used to enjoy again.?

He said he was at a loss for words at the impact that the Neuralink team is making and that they will change the world.

The video is full of examples of Noland learning to use the BCI incredibly fast through video games.?

It’s not been made clear what Noland’s accident was, or his current diagnosis. I hope he shares his full story soon.?

He gives advice to the next participant, P2, for when they join the trial,?

“Enjoy it as much as possible. It is so much fun working with [Neuralink]. Eight hours of work feels like nothing at all. I can keep going and going, and I want to. I hope the next patients appreciate what they are allowed to be a part of and the people around them…because it’s a lot of fun.”

Check out the whole video on X here.

?? Book of the Week

Not a book, but a show.

The Great Pottery Throwdown

I do ceramics and was recently introduced to this show by one of my best friends.

It’s wholesome. It’s kind. It’s great.

It’s just what we need right now.

The potters make amazing creations using all different types of techniques.

It’s heartwarming, easy to watch, Oh, and the judge cries a lot.

What more can you ask for?

?? Check This Out

The weirdest patent award goes to…the Bird Diaper.

In 1999, Lorraine Moore, Mark Moore, and Cely Giron patented the bird diaper.

The invention allows pet birds to freely explore outside of their cages with a featured “enclosed pouch for receiving and containing excrement.”?

Elastic straps over the bird’s wings and Velcro secure the spandex bird diaper, which the inventors said could be made in different designs, colors, and sizes.?

The get-up could even be attached to a leash, giving you and your bird friend the freedom to travel.?

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Edited by Wright Time Publishing