Noland Arbaugh, whose life changed dramatically at the age of 22 when he dove headfirst into waist-deep water and encountered an object that caused a severe spinal cord injury, shared his transformative experience as the first recipient of Neuralink's brain implant.
"I accepted that I was paralysed, and that was my life. I always held out hope that it would all get better," he reflects in an interview with ABC, as reported by Good Morning America.
For eight years, he said he lived unable to move from the shoulders down, with ample time for introspection. "One thing about being paralysed is that there's a lot of time to sit and think. So I thought through basically my whole life, and realised all the mistakes I've made and what I could do better."
Arbaugh recounted the turning point came when a college friend informed him about Neuralink's human trials. "One of my buddies from college called me up. We talked pretty regularly and he was like, 'Hey, Neuralink opened up to human trials.' And I said, 'What's Neuralink?'" Arbaugh said.
Neuralink, co-founded by Elon Musk, is developing an experimental implantable brain-computer interface (BCI). This technology involves a chip surgically implanted by a robot, connected by threads to the brain, allowing users to control computers and smartphones with their minds.
Noland Arbaugh expressed joy at being part of a significant milestone in aiding people with paralysis. He didn't worry, knowing his participation could alleviate future hardships.
"I was just very happy that I would be a part of something that I believe is so monumental, and this next step forward of helping people with paralysis. I wouldn't say worry. There was something where I knew that if I did this, then it would take a lot of headache and heartache away from the people down the road," said Arbaugh, emphasising the potential impact of his participation in the trials.
Since receiving the implant, Arbaugh said he has experienced significant changes. "I can control a computer just like anyone else can, which is not something I was able to do beforehand," he noted, adding that he recently enjoyed playing music, a simple pleasure he once thought lost forever.
However, the journey has not been without setbacks. Recently, some of the threads in Arbaugh’s brain retracted, affecting the device's performance. "It was really hard. It was very, very hard to give up all of the amazing things that I was able to do. I think I had cried basically afterwards," Arbaugh admitted.
Neuralink co-founder DJ Seo emphasized the importance of these trials in identifying and solving early-stage issues.
"The reason we do clinical trial, and you know, early feasibility trial is to uncover these sorts of issues as early as possible before they get marketed and we rolled up our sleeves and you know, found various different ways to you know, for Nolan be able to recover his performance, which we have successfully been able to do," Seo explained.
Remaining optimistic about the future of medical technology, Arbaugh envisioned a transformative landscape where individuals with spinal cord injuries could undergo surgery and walk out of the hospital within days.
"It's going to be amazing. When someone can have a spinal cord injury, go to a hospital, get surgery, and walk out a couple of days later. I think it's gonna happen. I don't think it's as far away as people might think," he said.
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