One of the biggest ways in which Neuralink has been showing off its successful transplants is by having them play video games, something that you’d imagine would be impossible for someone paralysed by a spinal injury otherwise. Where the first recipient is touted as being able to play Civilization VI post transplant, the second one does so with Counter Strike to some extent.
To be fair though, this second Neuralink recipient, identified as Alex, is not playing the game with just his thoughts. As the blog post indicates, he is still using the tech in conjunction with a mouth-operated joystick in order to play the Valve first-person shooter title. The company also says that it is looking to expand available controls to patients, and is currently working on making the implant “deliver full mouse and video game controller functionality”.
NEWS: 2nd Neuralink patient Alex plays the first-person shooter game Counter-Strike 2 on his laptop computer using the Link.
Alex playing Counter-Strike 2: https://t.co/M1pikMoGSJ pic.twitter.com/ROQNYgeXao
— ALEX (@ajtourville) August 21, 2024
Outside of video games, the company also says that it is “developing algorithms to recognise handwriting intent to enable faster text entry”. This will then be useful for those who are affected by conditions like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) that render them unable to speak. Going further, there are plans to “enable the Link to interact with the physical world, allowing users to feed themselves and move more independently by controlling a robotic arm or heir wheelchair”.
The post in question also addresses the issue of the Neuralink implant’s thread retraction issue, as faced by the first recipient. Methods tor reduce the chances of thread retraction include reducing brain motion during surgery, as well as reducing the gap between the implant and the surface of the brain. Using these methods for the surgery of the second recipient, there has not yet been any thread retraction observed with Alex.
(Source: Neuralink)
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