Neuralink patient masters mind-mouse maneuvers – if Musk is to be believed
- Reference: 1708435630
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2024/02/20/neuralink_patient_mouse_mind/
- Source link:
There were no ill effects "that we're aware of," the billionaire reported during a Spaces event on X (formerly Twitter).
As well as noting that the patient could control the mouse pointer, Musk went on to say that the next step would be to detect mouse button events. "Overall, it's looking very good," he added.
[1]
The first patient in Neuralink's Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface (PRIME) study [2]received their implant at the end of January , and the purpose of the interface is to decode movement signals from brain activity. [3]According to Neuralink [PDF], a surgical robot is used to implant the N1 device in a region of the brain that controls movement intention.
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Details regarding the patient remain scarce. Neuralink's eligibility criteria for the PRIME study calls for patients that have quadriplegia – limited function in all four limbs – due to spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and to have gone at least a year without improvement.
[6]Elon Musk's brain-computer interface outfit Neuralink tests its tech on a human
[7]Neuralink pockets extra VC cash in computer-brain interface quest
[8]Neuralink's looking for participants willing to be part of human trials
[9]Neuralink says US OKs human experiments with Elon's brain chips
The PRIME trial will last for six years, according to Neuralink. However, precious little about it has been made public other than a brochure on the company's website. A glance on [10]ClinicalTrials.gov shows a variety of brain-computer interface (BCI) trials, yet there is nothing from Neuralink, which represents a troubling lack of transparency.
Sharing information about clinical trials is vital in the development of treatments since it allows investigators to learn what does and does not work. It also ensures that results receive proper scrutiny. [11]Science by tweet is, in comparison, a poor substitute.
We asked Neuralink for more information about the PRIME trial. Other than a description of the "cosmetically invisible" implant – 1,024 electrodes distributed over 64 threads – there is little information available. The primary study will take 18 months and involve a combination of nine at-home and in-person clinic visits followed by a five-year follow-up.
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However, there is no information on what might constitute an adverse reaction nor how the implant would be removed if required. The study lasts six years, and the conditions it hopes to treat are lifelong. [13]Compassionate use can come into play after a trial concludes, where a patient has received benefit from a treatment but no approved alternatives exist. ®
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[1] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZdTavrKKzWZPVXzUFf8R1gAAAFM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[2] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/30/neuralink_first_human_trial/
[3] https://neuralink.com/pdfs/PRIME-Study-Brochure.pdf
[4] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZdTavrKKzWZPVXzUFf8R1gAAAFM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
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[6] https://www.theregister.com/2024/01/30/neuralink_first_human_trial/
[7] https://www.theregister.com/2023/11/27/neuralink_funding/
[8] https://www.theregister.com/2023/09/20/neuralink_human_trials/
[9] https://www.theregister.com/2023/05/26/neuralink_brain_implant_fda/
[10] https://clinicaltrials.gov/
[11] https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1752098683024220632
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_offbeat/science&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZdTavrKKzWZPVXzUFf8R1gAAAFM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://www.fda.gov/news-events/public-health-focus/expanded-access
[14] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
Pathetic creature of meat and bone
I can barely imagine the horror of a machine that automatically grabs your head, drills a hole in it, and squodges some electrodes inside..
Evokes images of the Cortex Reaver from System Shock
Re: Pathetic creature of meat and bone
Nonsense, it's like going to Tahiti--it's a magical place.
masters mind-mouse maneuvers
I was relieved when the first sentence pointed out that this is referring to a *computer* mouse.
I had visions of Neuralink just connecting the human patient's device to the lab wifi and wondering why the caged mice were suddenly so attentive - and why the patient was asking about cheese.
Re: masters mind-mouse maneuvers
Mice? Mice are for wimps. José Manuel Rodríguez Delgado stopped a charging bull via a remotely controlled brain implant -- sixty years ago.
SQUEAK?
Details about the patient are scarce...
I would kind of hope so.
There is a delicate balance here between ethical experimentation, public transparency, and medical privacy.
I'd hope that there is some (confidential) external oversight to verify the first of those, the second then becomes relatively easy - that external group/organisation should be vetting any public statements to make sure that they are honest, and that they don't mess up the third item in the balance.
I don't need to know who the patient is, but since the fact of the trial is public... I'd like to know that they're being appropriately looked after, and I'd be interested to hear about major milestones.
"Can control a cursor" is a major milestone, but it's really quite vague - how good is the control? Can we get a screen capture of a few seconds of obvious control?
Re: Details about the patient are scarce...
Exactly. There is nothing to suggest that the medical team who have been treating the patient before he volunteered have received anything but transparency from Neuralink.
If they broke their Hippocratic oath by not studying the pertinent data (from Neuralink s animal studies and medical literature regarding other implants) then something has gone wrong with the wider medical system.
It is not in Neurolink's interests to take shortcuts and endure the rightful backlash for being negligent.
Long term care after the tech is declared obsolete
> However, there is no information on what might constitute an adverse reaction nor how the implant would be removed if required.
We are rightly concerned about how Neuralink are going to behave if things go wrong, but we should also be asking about their plans if things go right.
How long are these implants intended to work? What will happen when they reach their natural end of life (physical breakdown of parts)? What about when they are declared obsolete and are unnaturally declared EOL by Neuralink - having moved onto the Next Big Thing with a cohort of Bright Young Minds who have no idea how the existing system works?
Are patients going to receive an email saying, sorry, but in the next hour your ability to communicate with the outside world is going to be switched off? You did keep up practising with the clunky old pick-a-word board, didn't you?
The recipients of [1]Second Sight's visual implants have been through this - are there signs that Neuralink (or any other commercial implant company) are taking their long-term responsibilities seriously?
At a bare minimum, placing *full* details of the device and support systems into escrow, in hopes that someone is able to at least try and help the victims.
[1] https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-60416058
Re: Long term care after the tech is declared obsolete
From what I have read it is highly unlikely that the patients selected for this trial will live beyond the length of the trail due to the nature of their illnesses.
The FDA requires that the device either last for the remainder of the patient's natural life or there be an approved process for removing it, since we have not seen Nuralink submit a process for removing it we can assume that they have gone for the first option. Once the patient is dead they will likely use the body to develop the removal process prior to testing it on living patients.
"a troubling lack of transparency"
Well, it's His Muskiness. What do you expect ?
Re: "a troubling lack of transparency"
"Well, it's His Muskiness. What do you expect ?"
From Phoney Stark I expect:
• Claims that the technology will be in the shops in 6 months.
• The technology will be named "Auto Telekinesis" but if the user isn't in full control at all times it fatally crashes.
• He will Xeet ridiculous hyperbole, then Xeet that the company has been over-hyped, crashing the stock price.
• External oversight and criticism will be treated as a personal attack, prompting public meltdowns, empty threats of fisticuffs and teams of high-priced lawyers attacking non-profits.
• Claims that Buddhists are pushing the "Earth is a globe" agenda, followed by a trip to meet the Dalai Lama.
It should be noted that the source article is likely from TheConversation.com, in which two contradictory concerns are simultaneously expressed:
What if the company is profit lead?! and
What if the company goes out of business?!
Um... okay.
https://theconversation.com/several-companies-are-testing-brain-implants-why-is-there-so-much-attention-swirling-around-neuralink-two-professors-unpack-the-ethical-issues-222556
Articles in the Conversation often follow a format in which a specific news event is used to get a professor or two to speak generally about the field. The length of articles is such that they don't have space to concede points, and thus appear less nuanced than perhaps intended.
Trust Space Karen to implant something in your brain?
If ever a technology needed dog-fooding it's this one.