Forward-looking: Neuralink’s latest update on its second study participant, Alex, reveals promising results for individuals who have lost the ability to interact with their surroundings. Alex managed to control an on-screen cursor within minutes of his initial connection, and within hours, he exceeded his previous speed and accuracy levels in Neuralink’s Webgrid task – levels he had achieved using traditional assistive technologies.
Since its February announcement, the Neuralink PRIME study has been assessing the safety and efficacy of brain-computer interface (BCI) devices, along with the required BCI software, surgical robots, tools, and procedures for successful implant delivery. Earlier this week, the company released an update on its second participant, highlighting his remarkable success and ability to break existing BCI world records on his first day using the newly implanted device.
Alex, a former FPS enthusiast and automotive technician, was left quadriplegic after a spinal cord injury. Before the accident, he worked with his hands to build, fix, and design tools, vehicles, and machinery. Post-accident, he used a specific game controller for quadriplegics known as the Quadstick to play games like Counter-Strike 2.
This mouth-operated joystick features pressure sensors and lip position sensors for clicking. Unfortunately, its single joystick design limits users to either moving or aiming at any given time. Users need to switch functions by releasing the joystick and using a straw to signal specific actions by sipping or puffing air.
Using his new Neuralink implant in conjunction with the Quadstick, Alex was able to fully interact with the game again, moving, aiming, and shooting simultaneously without needing to stop one action to perform another. He merely thinks about where he wants to aim, and the implant interprets his thoughts, providing the appropriate in-game inputs.
Alex’s reaction to his new abilities is overwhelming and has likely exceeded his expectations. “Just running around is so enjoyable because I can look side to side, and not need to move the Quadstick left and right… I can [think about where to] look, and it goes where I want it to. It’s insane.”
Gaming is not the only benefit of the implant’s newly restored capabilities. It also enabled Alex to reengage in computer-aided design (CAD), a task previously challenging due to the technological limitations of the Quadstick and other assistive devices.
On just the second day of using his Neuralink implant, Alex successfully used Fusion 360 to design a custom mount for his Neuralink charger. The design was later 3D printed and integrated into his setup. The Neuralink team mentioned that they are continuously working with Alex to map intended movements to different types of mouse clicks, expanding the number of available controls, and enabling him (and future users) to swiftly switch between various modes and functions within the CAD software.
The Neuralink update also details lessons learned and mitigations implemented based on observations of the PRIME study’s first patient, Noland Arbaugh. Following Arbaugh’s implant, the discovery of some implant thread retractions temporarily reduced his overall BCI performance. Fortunately, the reduction was temporary, with the threads later stabilizing and performance recovering.
These observations allowed the Neuralink team to reduce the potential for retraction in Alex’s implant by implementing mitigations, including reducing brain motion during surgery and minimizing the gap between the implant and the brain’s surface. So far, Alex has not experienced any similar retraction-related performance issues.
The ability to interface with computers and the world around us using only our minds used to be the stuff of science fiction. But given the successes and ongoing advancements in implementation, it looks like Neuralink is inching ever closer to making the dream of seamless human-machine interaction a reality.
