A first video, posted on social networks by the American company, shows him playing video games simply by using his mind, just two months after undergoing surgery. He can, for example, move the pieces in a game of chess.
The idea behind a connected brain implant is to graft a small implant, no bigger than a coin, into a patient’s brain so that it picks up electrical signals from neurons and transmits them to an external device via a Bluetooth connection.
These signals are then decoded and interpreted, little by little, so that a machine can be controlled, for example.
In January, Neuralink was finally able to implant its Telepathy brain chip in a first volunteer patient, after obtaining the green light from the American health authorities in 2023.
A few days later, Elon Musk, co-founder of Neuralink, was particularly enthusiastic: “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 just by thinking,” he said in a Spaces event on his social media site, X.
Elon Musk went on to say that Neuralink was “trying to get as many button presses as possible from thinking.” And the progress made since then is astounding.
Today, Noland Arbaugh can not only play chess and Civilization VI, but also control a music player on his computer, all by thought. For him, although it’s still not perfect, he’s delighted with what he can do with this implant.
Note that this same technology has been successfully tested on monkeys in the past. And, as the implant can also stimulate neurons, there are hopes that it could one day be used to treat degenerative diseases or to restore lost motor functions.
Neuralink is the first player in the field to implant its connected chip directly into the human brain, and this is why these early results are being watched with great attention by the scientific world.
The company has launched a campaign to recruit volunteers among Americans over the age of 18 with severe physical disabilities. In addition to Noland Arbaugh, other people should soon be able to benefit from this programme.