Elon Musk’s Neuralink Reveals Its Brain Chip Has Run Into Some Problems
Elon Musk’s neurotech startup Neuralink said Wednesday it has run into problems with a brain chip it implanted into a 29-year-old quadriplegic man earlier this year, with the issues considered so serious, it reportedly considered having the implant removed entirely.
In a blog post announcing the issues, Neuralink said its test patient, Noland Arbaugh, has begun losing the ability to efficiently control some technology using only his thoughts—the entire selling point of Neuralink.
Neuralink said those failures were caused by some of the implant’s 64 threads retracting and becoming unusable. It didn’t specify how many of the threads—the microscopic links that transport his brain signals to a chip that allows him to control technology with his mind—were impacted, nor did it say what caused the error.
People familiar with the issue told The Wall Street Journal, however, that the thread retraction was partially the fault of air that’s remained trapped inside Arbaugh’s skull which stems from the brain surgery that installed the implant, a condition known as pneumocephalus.
