Did Neuralink Ignore the Risk of the Early Trial? Brain Implant Problems in the Lab Before the Human Case

Last week, Neuralink’s first human device ran into trouble. Reports say that tiny lines that are needed to pick up brain signals came loose. Some people who know about the situation said that Elon Musk’s company has known about this problem for years.

Three people who were involved in the testing say that tests done on animals before the US approved the device last year showed that the inserted wires might be able to retract. The thin probes that read brain messages could also come loose because of this retraction.

Sources say that Neuralink doesn’t care about the results of the animal tests because they think the risk of wire slippage is very low. They say that the neurotechnology company run by Musk chose not to remake. Neuralink’s brain implant is being tried so that people who are paralyzed can use their thoughts to control digital gadgets.

This technology has a lot of potential to help people with spinal injuries, as shown by the recent success of Nolan Arbaugh, the first person to take part in a human study. The 29-year-old quadriplegic person is said to have been able to handle video games, such as “Mario Kart,” using only brain waves.

Keeping safety and functionality in check

Neuralink admitted last week that their first attempt with humans was a failure. The very thin lines of the implant, which are about the width of a human hair, moved around inside the patient’s brain.

Because of this event, fewer sensors that are needed to record brain data are now working. Then, these signals are turned into moves that let people handle things like moving the cursor on a computer screen.

Even though Neuralink agreed to keep the information secret, an unnamed source said that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was told about the possible wire problem when the application for human testing was being made. This information most likely came from the results of the tests Neuralink did on animals and sent to the FDA.

A co-founder of Neuralink, Benjamin Rapoport, recently quit the company because of differences about how to keep people safe. Keeping patients safe is still the FDA’s top concern.

The agency told Reuters that it will continue to keep an eye on all of Neuralink’s study subjects, but it wouldn’t say anything specific about the trial.

What’s Next for Neuralink

On the other hand, Neuralink could run into problems if they keep testing without fixing the problem of wires coming loose. Specifically, more wires could break and make the implant less useful.

Neuralink’s recent changes to the program might not be enough to make up for the fact that fewer cells are working. But changing the tiny threads that connect to the brain is also a difficult answer.

If they choose a makeover that includes making the threads stick out further in the brain, it could cause the brain to be hurt when these threads come loose. Two of the people also said that if the device needs to be taken out in the future, it might be harder to do and even dangerous.

Current and past workers say that Neuralink made it easy to remove threads when planning future updates. Neuralink put its device into its first human patient in January. However, a blog post from last week showed that some of the threads came out of the brain over the next few weeks.

Neuralink’s update said that some threads were not working properly, but it didn’t say how many or how they affected patients’ health. Blog posts and films from the company only show how far Arbaugh has come.

He has done amazing things, like play video games, browse the web, and even set a new record for the fastest mouse speed handled by thought.

Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to follow my whatsapp channel