In recent months, Elon Musk’s Neuralink brain chip had a problem. A 29-year-old patient named Nolan Arbaugh was paralysed from the top down after a diving accident eight years ago. Thanks to this implant, he can control external technology only with his mind. Arbaugh, who participated in the experiments with this hope, was implanted with 1024 electrodes and 64 ultra-thin threads in his brain that collect data about him together with the chip. The company cancelled the surgery of the second human patient due to medical problems.
Neuralink brain chip not implanted due to medical issues
In September last year, Neuralink announced to the public that it had started experiments and was looking for human patients. A man named Noland Arbaugh applied for the experiment and the implant was implanted in the patient until January. The company was to implant the chip in the second human patient last May, but this surgery was cancelled due to the patient’s medical problems. The patient, whose surgery was cancelled, was found to have amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, which causes nerve cells in the spine and brain to degenerate.
This disease of the nervous system causes muscle weakness and impairs a person’s ability to work physically. According to research, 20 per cent of people diagnosed with Lou Gehrig’s live for 5 years, while 5 per cent live for 20 years or more. However, the company plans to perform the surgery next month at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona, if it finds another suitable patient. The first human patient, Noland Arbaugh, underwent surgery at the same centre. As the name suggests, the Phoenix-based facility is a centre that treats patients with complex neurological conditions.
Cristin Welle, currently an associate professor of neurosurgery at the University of Colorado and a former US food and drug administration official, says it may be more useful to test the brain chip on patients with different motor disorders. Neuralink is looking for a second patient to implant the brain implant. the company is currently looking for individuals who do not have the physical use of its specialist.
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