The First Recipient Of A Neuralink Brain Implant

[To the Sun]

Noland Arbaugh, the first recipient of a Neuralink brain implant mentioned in this video

https://twitter.com/ModdedQuad/status/1771298116719002100

that he had a quadstick. I wonder… if he's on this forum? I have so many questions.

[Fred Davison]

Wow!  Great video.  Amazing technology.  I hope it becomes widespread really quickly.

He's had a quadstick for several years but other than a repair a few years ago I haven't communicated with him.

You could probably direct message him through X.

[Steven F]

https://www.ign.com/articles/first-human-patient-to-receive-a-neuralink-brain-implant-used-it-to-stay-up-all-night-playing-civilization-6

[QuadStick]

If you're interested in learning whether you may qualify for current and/or future Neuralink clinical trials, consider joining their Patient Registry.

https://neuralink.com/patient-registry/

[Bliss Chapman]

My name is Bliss and I'm the Neuralink engineer from this livestream. If anyone on this forum has questions about Neuralink technology, feel free to drop me a note. I'd love to meet you and hear your questions :)

@Fred, your work with the QuadStick and this community is incredible. Thank you for all you've done. I'm a big fan.

[Tom]

I’ll reserve my excitement for when technology can get people moving their limbs, going to the toilet, living independently. As for moving a cursor around the screen using my mind, I’d rather use my hand.

Just a note, if you really are about improving the lives of quadriplegics’, check out Nervgen Pharma. Perhaps you could work with them.

https://nervgen.com

Now that is something to get excited about.

Regards 

Ray

[Dan NH]

Ray, that is a little bit dismissive, especially for engineers in the trenches doing the work for quality of life right now. I would rather encourage and welcome anyone who wants to do the work making things better for folks in similar situations.

I respect both approaches, the folks who are doing the adaptive devices now and the ones going for the "Cure." But I think a lot of the media around cures and achieving independence makes people glaze over what they could be doing right now to live more fulfilling lives. For people who are trapped in their own bodies, having Neuralink might be beneficial for them for what life looks like *right now.* And that is a personal decision for each person.  But don't put off living your best life right now for the dream of getting back what was lost or maybe something you never had. You'll be stuck on pause wishing and hoping while the world keeps spinning.

A lot of the "big cure" media makes it seem like it's the be-all end-all to be walking again. And yeah, that would be great, wouldn't it? But reality is what it is, and there's still a life full of joy and accomplishment to be had. To do that takes work, and thankfully with technology it can allow achievement. That's why I celebrate Neuralink's accomplishment.

Bliss, thanks for your work. I am a software engineer as well with data science experience, and your work is intriguing. If you are able to use ML for classifying thoughts, what that could do for cybernetics is limitless. Keep going!

[MIchael Trent]

Hi my name is Michael I am quadriplegic from brain stem stroke and I was just wondering if nurolink is primarily just for spinal cord injury or if it is working too improve mobility in Brain injury and stroke?

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[Brian Sawyer]

I’m wondering the same thing and curious -quad from brain stem stroke (Pontine stroke) here.

Brian 

Sent from my iPad

On Apr 30, 2024, at 8:34 AM, MIchael Trent <mikeypr...@gmail.com> wrote:



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[Bliss Chapman]

Specific to the PRIME study (brochure), we are focused on exploring new ways of controlling your computer. Beyond this current study, we are interested in many future applications and you can stay in touch via our patient registry: https://neuralink.com/patient-registry

We would love to be in touch when we launch future clinical trials!

If any of you have thoughts or further questions about either of these resources, I'd be happy to jump on a video call to meet and learn from you. Just shoot me a note at bl...@neuralink.com.

- Bliss

[Tom]

Hi Dan

No not dismissive, just don’t find excitement in such an invasive surgery that just bypasses the problem for spinal injuries. I have no issues with things that aide people today, giving people more involvement and control, especially things like the quadstick. It actually allowed people to do something that could not be accomplished before. I have loved the enjoyment it’s given to my life.

However, what is the ultimate aim of Neuralink? Is it to operate a computer, which already numerous applications can be used now? Or use a mobile a little quicker than can be done now ? I just don’t see excitement in that. If in the future its ultimate aim is to make a bridge over the site of the spinal injury using an interpreting chip and a receiving chip, while also these other applications, I’m all for it. If it’s to aid in seamless control of prosthetic limbs with one’s mind, superb.

It is these innovation that I will reserve my excitement for.  

Ps. Sorry about the font..I copied and paste from Notes.. I hope it doesn’t seen like I’m shouting. Definitely not meant. 😊

[Jake Scholl]

Hi Bliss,

Very impressed by what I've seen from Neuralink! Does it work on Android , Windows and Linux or just Mac and iOS? (Most disabled people use Windows. )

Thanks ,

Jake Scholl

[Bliss Chapman]

Hey @Ray, thanks for the comments. This community is large and diverse and your perspective is helpful. I'd love to meet you and hear more of your thoughts. Would you be willing to get on a video call sometime to chat more in depth?

I don't know how to get your email from this forum but if you're interested and want to drop me a note at bl...@neuralink.com we can find a time that works for you. Thanks for the consideration and have a great day!

[To the Sun]

@Ray, yes, their goal is to do all of that and much much more, but you have to start somewhere.

[Tom]

@Tom I understand what you are saying. However, the technology is here, I’d be trying to adapt now to things i mentioned. Anyway it will interesting to watch how it progresses.

[To the Sun]

Bliss,
I saw the posts you made on the Quadstick forum, inviting people to get in touch with you. First let me sincerely thank you for all the hard work you're doing. It's truly important stuff.

My name is Ryan and I don't believe I actually qualify for this round of trials, but I definitely have some questions regardless. I don't have quadriplegia or ALS, but an extreme case of CRPS that renders my hands and arms worse than useless.

My initial questions are about the training process, as in what sort of training the user has to go through to get it all working fluidly. When training to move a mouse cursor or click a button, does the user always have to tie it to imagining a hand (or other physical) movement? I guess more specifically, does just imagining work or does it have to be an actual attempt with the nerves to move those muscles? My issue is that my arms and hands actually do work, but if I attempt to move them I do a ton of harm to myself.

I definitely do have more questions, but I think I'll leave it there for now and wait to hear back from you.

Thanks again,
Ryan

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[Steven F]

https://neuralink.com/webgrid/

I got 5.07 bps... not sure if that means I did better or worse. I think lower is better, so I welcome our cyborg overlords lol.

[To the Sun]

Higher is better. An ordinary person with a mouse can get around 10 bps, but I think they said the record for an ordinary person was about 18 bps.

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[To the Sun]

Still, if you're doing that with a quadstick in your mouth that seems pretty damn good.

On 5/17/2024 11:24 AM, Steven F wrote:

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[Steven F]

Yeah, I meant to write higher is better not lower.

[Fred Davison]

That test might be a good way to measure the effect of different preference settings in the quadstick.  

The mouse pointer is affected by the joystick range, dead-zone, and mouse speed settings, as well as the Parabolic, Linear, and Mixed settings for the response curve.  Then Windows or the Mac have several mouse settings of their own.

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[Bliss Chapman]

@Fred: We play around a lot with similar dead-zone / speed / and response curve settings for brain controlled cursors as well! I'd personally be super interested to hear what scores people get and what settings work best for them.

@Ray: thanks for taking the time to chat with me this evening. Your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

@Ryan:

My initial questions are about the training process, as in what sort of training the user has to go through to get it all working fluidly. When training to move a mouse cursor or click a button, does the user always have to tie it to imagining a hand (or other physical) movement? I guess more specifically, does just imagining work or does it have to be an actual attempt with the nerves to move those muscles? My issue is that my arms and hands actually do work, but if I attempt to move them I do a ton of harm to myself.

Thanks for the great question! I have no first-hand experience with telekinesis but what I have been told by our first user is that it can work by just imagining and without needing to explicitly attempt the movement. In our preclinical work with monkeys, they also seem to be able to move the cursor around without actually moving their body. 

I'd love to meet you and hear more of your story. If you'd be down to chat, please reach out to me (bl...@neuralink.com) and we can coordinate a time.

[Tom]

Please, if anyone has a chance, have a chat to Bliss. He is very informative and open about Neauralink’s applications and potential. A pleasure to talk too.

Ray 🤠

[Ray]

Please note…

https://www.popsci.com/health/neuralink-wire-detachment/

https://newatlas.com/technology/first-human-neuralink-implant-fails/

[To the Sun]

Just had a very informative and stimulating conversation with Bliss yesterday and he corrected me when I mentioned those "detached" electrodes. Apparently they only moved slightly and didn't actually pull out of the brain tissue.