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Elon Musk’s Neuralink is reportedly planning to implant its brain-computer interface, or BCI, device into a second patient within the next few weeks.
In a livestream event with Neuralink management, Musk said that the procedure could be conducted “within the next week or so.” He added that the company hopes to implant the device in a “high single digits” number of patients this year, according to CNBC.
Neuralink implanted the device in its first patient earlier this year. On Wednesday, management said that only 15% of the device’s channels were still operational due to problems with the neural threads retracting. Despite this, the recipient, who is quadriplegic, is still able to use the device to read and play video games, management said.
The company said during the livestream Wednesday that it was working to minimize the risk of retraction in future patients, CNBC added.
Neuralink’s technology is aimed at helping people with conditions such as quadriplegia interact more effectively with their environment by allowing them to control devices such as a computer with their thoughts via a BCI device.
In May, the FDA reportedly signed off on proposed fixes for the BCI and approved implantation of the device into a second patient.