Brain Computer Interface

A Paralyzed Man Uses Thoughts to Control a Computer

Brain-computer interface enables quadriplegic man to use his mind for computing.

Posted March 21, 2024 | Reviewed by Jessica Schrader

Key points

Brain-computer interfaces enable the user to control external devices using thoughts.
The interfaces provide hope to people with severe motor and communication disabilities.
A recent Neuralink livestream demonstration marked a key milestone for the startup.

David_SMC/Pixabay

Elon Musk’s neurotechnology startup Neuralink streamed live on X (formerly Twitter) on March 20, 2024, a paralyzed man using their implanted brain-computer interface (BCI) to control a computer by thinking. Musk founded Neuralink in 2016 with headquarters in Fremont, California.

Brain-computer interfaces, also known as brain-machine interfaces (BMIs), are real-time neurotech devices that enable the user to control external devices using thoughts, offering hope to those with severe motor and communication disabilities. The brain-computer interface industry is expected to reach USD $6.2 billion in revenues by 2030 and grow at a compound annual growth rate of 17.5% from USD $2 billion market size value in 2023, according to Grand View Research, Inc.

The patient featured in the livestream is 29-year-old Noland Arbaugh, a quadriplegic whose body is paralyzed due to a spinal cord injury to his C4 and C5 spinal vertebrae from a diving-accident eight years prior to being implanted with the Neuralink brain-computer interface. Arbaugh has no sensation nor movement below his shoulders.

Arbaugh shared that although this has already changed his life, there is still work to be done, and this is just the start. “It’s not perfect,” he said. “I would say that we did run into some issues.”

The Neuralink brain-computer interface consists of the N1 Implant, a hermetically sealed device with 64 ultra-thin threads containing 1024 electrodes and a small rechargeable battery that can be charged wirelessly with an external induction charger. A proprietary surgical robot consisting of five camera systems, optics for an optical coherence tomography (OCT) system, and a needle thinner than a human hair to place the threads in the target areas of the brain.

“The surgery was super easy,” said Arbaugh. “I was literally released from the hospital a day later.”

During the livestream, Arbaugh showed how with the implanted BCI, he could control a cursor on a laptop to play chess and turn off music, using his thoughts. He likened his new abilities to the force, a mystical energy field used by Jedi knights, Sith lords, and other characters in the Star Wars films to move objects by levitation, trick minds, and perform precognition.

“It was like using the force on the cursor and I can get it to move to wherever I wanted—just stare somewhere on the screen and it would move where I wanted it to, which was such a wild experience,” said Arbaugh.

This livestream demonstration marks a key milestone for Neuralink. Other brain-computer interface companies include Synchron, Kernel, EMOTIV, Medtronic, NeuroSky, OpenBCI, Compumedics Neuroscan, g.tec medical engineering GmbH, Natus Medical Incorporated, Interaxon, Inc., ANT Neuro, Ripple Neuro, NIRx Medical Technologies, LLC, CGX, A Cognionics Company, and others.

“It’s really awesome and I want to thank Neuralink for doing this—for working hard every day to make this a reality,” said a grateful Arbaugh. “I think they are going to change the world.”