Neuralink Has Been Aware of Wiring Issue for Years, Reports Say

Neuralink, the brain chip company co-founded by Elon Musk, is facing a significant issue with its chip design. According to Reuters, some of the threads in Neuralink’s first human patient’s brain have spontaneously retracted, causing a decrease in the number of effective electrodes.

The issue of thread retraction has been a known problem for years, with Neuralink reportedly aware of the issue but deeming it too low-risk to address. Previous tests on animals had indicated the possibility of thread retraction, and the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was supposedly aware of the potential issue as well.

In response to inquiries, the FDA stated that it receives regular progress reports from Neuralink to assess safety and data quality. However, US lawmakers have raised concerns about the FDA’s approval of Neuralink’s human trials without further investigation, citing alleged animal testing violations and inadequate record-keeping.

Despite the thread retraction issue, Neuralink has made adjustments to its recording algorithm to continue capturing data on the chip. The company claims that these changes have resulted in a rapid and sustained improvement in performance.

Neuralink’s ultimate goal is to create a brain chip that allows people to control computers using only their thoughts. The company received FDA authorization for human trials last year and has seen some success with its first human patient, who is quadriplegic but can now play video games using only his mind.

As the situation unfolds, Neuralink faces the challenge of addressing the thread retraction issue while continuing to advance its groundbreaking technology.