Another patient will receive Neuralink’s brain implant

Neuralink will be able to surgically implant its device into the brain of another patient. The Wall Street Journal that the company was allowed to proceed with a second procedure a few months after Noland Arbaugh became the recipient of the brain implant.

Elon Musk said last week that the company was “accepting applications for the second participant” in the trial. The company began recruiting potential participants for its first clinical trial last year with the goal of bringing the technology to people with ALS, spinal cord injuries or other conditions that cause quadriplegia.

Neuralink also reportedly offered a potential solution to a problem that caused Arbaugh’s implant to malfunction about a month after his surgery. The company said earlier this month that some of the implant’s wires “retracted from the brain,” causing the problem. Arbaugh recently said that software updates have since restored many of these features. Neuralink shared clips of Arbaugh, paralyzed from the neck down, playing chess, controlling a music player app and performing other activities.

According to The newspaper, Neuralink told the FDA that in a second procedure, the implant wires would be placed deeper into the patient’s brain to prevent them from moving as much as in Arbaugh’s case. The FDA apparently agrees with the changes. The company would like to complete the second surgery in June and has seen more than 1,000 people sign up for a chance to participate in the trial.