Gamingdeputy reported on May 9 that Neuralink, Musk’s brain-computer interface device company, published a blog post announcing the latest progress in its PRIME research.
It is estimated that approximately 180,000 people in the United States currently live with quadriplegia, and approximately 18,000 people suffer paralyzing spinal cord injuries each year. People with such paralysis often face reduced independence, social isolation, and economic problems due to difficulty interacting naturally with the digital world. Challenges and other issues. Therefore, Neuralink hopes to provide quadriplegic patients with a high-performance brain-computer interface, allowing them to better control digital devices and unleash their personal and professional potential.
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To achieve this goal, Neuralink welcomed Noland Arbaugh, the first participant in the PRIME research project, more than 100 days ago at the Barrow Neurological Institute in Phoenix, Arizona. Noland received a Neuralink brain-computer implant (Link) here. The surgery was so successful that he went home the next day.
Gamingdeputy learned from the official that the purpose of the PRIME study is to prove that Link can be safe and effective enough in daily life, so Neuralink will actually monitor it remotely and record the independent use time of Link to evaluate its impact. Study the lives of participants to quantify the benefits to patients. Regarding this change, Noland said:
“You've done so much for me that it's like a luxury fantasy that I haven't been able to do in eight years and now I don't even know where to start.” – Noland Arbaugh
According to reports, before the Link was implanted, the main digital interface Noland used was through a tablet stylus (bite stick) placed in the mouth by a caregiver. However, this method can only control the tablet in a standing position and cannot be used for long periods of time. It causes physical discomfort, muscle fatigue and bedsores, and also prevents the patient from speaking normally.
“The most comfortable thing is that I can use (Link) while lying in bed. Any other assistive technology requires someone to help me or sit up, and sitting still takes a toll on my mind and body.” Stress, which can lead to bed sores or cramps. Thanks to Link, I can finally live on my own terms without having someone else help me all day long.” – Noland Arbaugh
In the weeks after surgery, Noland has been able to use Link to control his laptop in different postures, such as playing online games (chess, Civ 6, Slay the Spire) with friends while lying in bed, browsing online news, or Live streaming, and of course using other apps on his MacBook, all of which can be done with your mind (controlling the cursor), and you can even use Link to play Mario Kart on the Switch, which It was something he had wanted to do but couldn't do since his spinal cord injury.
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“[Link]helped me reconnect with the world, my friends, and my family so that I could do things on my own again without my family spending all day on me.” — Noland Arbaugh
Neuralink said that Noland participated in an average of 8 hours of research meetings per day during the workday, and had more than 10 hours of discretionary time and entertainment time per day on the weekends. He used the device for a total of 69 hours in the most recent week, including 35 hours of structured meetings. time and an additional 34 hours of personal use.
“Actually, a month ago I thought the bite stick was much better than the brain-computer interface, but when I compared them side by side, I found that the brain-computer interface was not inferior at all or even better, and it continues to Improvement; I am now much better at gaming than I was before and can even beat some of my friends that I would never have beaten as a quadriplegic.” – Noland Arbaugh.
According to reports, involving Noland in the research will allow Neuralink to better evaluate Link's performance. The standard measure of cursor control speed and accuracy is bits per second (BPS) in grid training, with higher BPS values indicating better cursor control by the user. When he first participated in research, Noland set a new world record for cursor control by a human brain-computer interface with 4.6 BPS. He subsequently reached 8.0 BPS and is currently trying to beat Neuralink engineers who use a mouse (~10 BPS).
According to Neuralink, Link can differentiate between left and right clicks and provide sufficiently fine cursor control capabilities to select targets similar to the size of the smallest icons and buttons on a laptop screen, allowing Noland to better use various apps and also Go play games he couldn't play with a bite stick before.
In addition, in the weeks after Noland's surgery, some of the connecting wires fell off, reducing the number of effective electrodes, resulting in a decrease in BPS. In response to this change, Neuralink adjusted the algorithm to make it more sensitive to neural signals, further optimized the technology to convert these signals into electrical signals, and optimized the user interface, allowing BPS to rapidly and continuously improve, even now Exceeded Noland's initial BPS performance.
Neuralink also revealed that the focus of their current work is to improve the cursor control performance to the same level as that of able-bodied users and expand functions such as text input; in the future, they also plan to extend Link's functions to the real physical world to control robotic arms, Wheelchairs and other technologies that may help increase independence for people with quadriplegia.