Elon Musk’s Neuralink has said a second human trial of its brain implant has seen fewer issues after threads used to house electrodes became disconnected during the first.
Surgery “went well,” Neuralink said on Thursday, after a second patient known as Alex was given the brain chip earlier this month.
Alex’s chip faced no “thread retraction,” the company added, after some of these became disconnected in the first patient’s implant, reducing performance.
According to Reuters, Neuralink was previously aware of such issues following animal trials, which themselves have seen the company face scrutiny after complications with the chips led to research monkeys being euthanised.
Performance of the first chip, placed in Noland Arbaugh, has since stabilised and improved, according to a statement.
Both Alex and Noland were left paralysed after motor incidents, with the chips allowing them to control the likes of computer cursors through thoughts.
“I can [think about where to] look and it goes where I want it to. It's insane,” Alex commented.
Neuralink updated that he had been playing first-person shooter games since receiving his chip, with plans in place to give both control over a robotic arm mounted on their wheelchairs.