Neuralink’s first in-human brain implant has experienced a problem, company says

Elon Musk’s startup Neuralink on Wednesday said part of its brain implant malfunctioned after it put the system in a human patient for the first time.

Neuralink has built a brain-computer interface, or a BCI, that could eventually help patients with paralysis control external technology using only their minds. The company’s system, called the Link, records neural signals using 1,024 electrodes across 64 “threads” that are thinner than a human hair, according to its website.

In January, Neuralink implanted the device in a 29-year-old patient named Noland Arbaugh as part of a study to test its safety. The company streamed a live video with Arbaugh as he used the BCI in March, and Neuralink said in an April blog post that the surgery went “extremely well.”