NEURALINK

1.Inroduction

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1.1 Introduction

Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) have the potential to help people

with a wide range of clinical disorders. For example, researchers have
demonstrated human neuroprosthetic control of computer cursors, robotic
limbs, and speech synthesizers using no more than 256 electrodes. While these
successes suggest that high fidelity information transfer between brains and
machines is possible, development of BMI has been critically limited by the
inability to record from large numbers of neurons. Noninvasive approaches
can record the average of millions of neurons through the skull, but this signal
is distorted and nonspecific. Invasive electrodes placed on the surface of the
cortex can record useful signals, but they are limited in that they average the
activity of thousands of neurons and cannot record signals deep in the brain.

In 1943, a neurologist Warren McCulloch and a young

mathematician Walter Pitts wrote a paper on how neurons might work; they
modelled a simple neural network with electrical circuits. In 1957, John von
Neumann suggested simple neuron functions by using telegraph relays and
vacuum tubes. Recently, the studies related to neural networks have taken a
sudden leap and it is being used to heal a person’s brainly disorders.
Neuralink is a device that will be surgically implanted into your brain and
with it, you’ll be able to communicate with machines and even control them.
It will also help study the electrical signals in the brain and arrive at
solutions that can help cure various medical problems.

Neuralink has gone out of the bounds of current studies in neural network and
has started to not just cure the patients but also connect them to digital devices
and help them use these devices without the need of using any of their body

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parts. These electrodes can then understand the electrical signal in your brain
and translate them into an algorithm that a machine can read. This way
Neuralink will be able to read what you are thinking and find a way for you
to talk to machines without even opening your mouth. So, no more calling out
“OK Google” or “Alexa”.
The idea currently falls quite firmly in the realm of sci-fi and is either utopian
or dystopian, depending on who you talk to. Musk refers to it as a “Fitbit in
your skull, with tiny wires”, but this is no easy install. The company would
need to insert 3,072 electrodes connected to 96 thin, flexible threads into your
brain. These are between four and six am (micrometer, which is one
thousandth of a millimeter) in diameter, making them far finer than human
hair, and they are connected to a brain-to-machine chipset called N1,
measuring just 23mm by 8mm. Musk says the implant that transmits neural
signals is called the Link.

Neuralink as the name suggests creates a link between the Neurons inside
our brain and a machine.

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1.2 About Brain-Machine Interface

Brain-Machine Interface (BMI) or Brain to Machine Interface

(B2M) is an interface through which we can connect ourselves to any machine
which is capable of reading the inputs from our brain. For this, we need to
have a high bandwidth rate, but we have a very low bandwidth as we use only
two of our thumbs to input into the machine or the smartphone. Even by using
images, videos and audios we cannot get the same bandwidth as we can get
by transferring directly from the brain to the machine. Brain-Machine
Interfaces hold the power to help people with a wide range of clinical
disorders such as dis-functional sensory and motor functions. BMI hasn’t been
widely popular with clinical disorders as they had a modest number of
channels to transfer signals but Neuralink has taken its first step into creating
a scalable high-bandwidth channel to transfer the signals using arrays of
threads and electrodes.

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2. History

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2.1 History

Neuralink isn’t the first to believe that brain implants could extend or
restore human capabilities. Researchers began placing probes in the brains of
paralyzed people in the late 1990s in order to show that signals could let them
move robot arms or computer cursors. And mice with visual implants really
can perceive infrared rays.
Neuroscientists have, in fact, been listening to brain cells in awake
animals since the 1950s. At the turn of the 21st century, brain signals from
monkeys were used to control an artificial arm. And in 2006, the Brain Gate
team began implanting arrays of 100 electrodes in the brains of paralyzed
people, enabling basic control of computer cursors and assistive devices.

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2.2 What is UTAH ARRAY and what is with NEURALINK?

Degray, 66, has been paralyzed from the collarbones down since an
unlucky fall over a decade ago. He was able to send the message because in
2016 he had two tiny squares of silicon with protruding metal electrodes
surgically implanted in his motor cortex, the part of the brain that controls
movement. These record the activity in his neurons for translation into
external action. By imagining moving a joystick with his hand, he is able to
move a cursor to select letters on a screen. With the power of his mind, he has
also bought products on Amazon and moved a robotic arm to stack blocks.
But while the Utah array has proved that brain implants are feasible, the
technology has a long way to go. Degray had open brain surgery to place his.
The system is not wireless – a socket protrudes from his skull through which
wires take the signal to computers for decoding by machine-learning
algorithms. The tasks that can be done and how well they can be executed are
limited because the system only records from a few dozen to a couple of
hundred neurons out of an estimated 88bn in the brain (each electrode
typically records from between one and four neurons).

The implant being developed is still the same size as one of the Utah
arrays in DeGray’s brain, it has far more electrodes, meaning it can record
from far more neurons. While a Utah array – of which up to four or five can
be inserted – typically has 100 electrodes, Neuralink says its version will
have more like 1,000. And the company thinks it is feasible to place up to
10. Very thin threads of flexible biocompatible polymer material studded
with electrodes would be “sewn in” by a robot to avoid piercing micro
vessels, which Neuralink hopes would ameliorate scarring, thereby
increasing how long the device lasted.

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3.Architecture

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3.1 Architecture

Neuralink's architecture "dramatically simplifies" the complexity of a

computer-brain interface device. Debuting "The Link," the interface as being
"kind of like a Fitbit in your skull with tiny wires." The below figure is the
device surgically implanted into pigs.

3.2 The N1 Sensor

Neuralink’s first human product was called the N1. It was unveiled in
2019 and has since been replaced by a smaller chip called The Link V0.9.
The ‘N1 sensor’ was the central component of N1. It’s a small processor that
sits on the surface of the skull.
Each N1 sensor has 1024 electrodes and is contained inside an 8mm
diameter, 1mm tall cylinder. The N1 sensor captures data from the thread-
electrodes.
N1 implants, which were to be controlled through a user-friendly phone app,
were connected through very small wires tunneled under the scalp to an
inductive coil behind the ear that connected wirelessly through the skin to a

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wearable pod-like device called “The Link” – which contained a Bluetooth

radio and a battery. The goal was that if anything was to be upgraded, it would
only be the pod-like device.

Neuralink made remarkable progress, and in August 28th 2020, the

company revealed that the N1 implant they demonstrated in 2019 had been
miniaturized to the size of a coin, and that they also got rid of the pod-like
device which rested behind the ear.
The new 2020 version of the Neuralink chip implant, which is 23mm x
8mm, is called ‘Link V0.9’. The small dimensions of this 2020 version allow
it to fit nicely and flush within the skull, making it practically invisible.
The Link is inductively charged and has an all-day battery life. And with 1024
channels and able to monitor health

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3.3 What is LINK V0.9?

Link V0.9 has 1,024 channels per Link. By installing the device will
leave only a tiny scar, and includes all the sensors one would expect in a
smartwatch or smartphone

Elon Musk unveiled the Neuralink 1024-electrode read/write link

device— LINK v 0.9.
It uses only 1024 electrodes and comes with a 6-axis inertial
measurement unit (IMU), and the Neuralink device is 23mm in diameter and
8mm deep, these dimensions make it easy for Link v 0.9 to fit inside the skull
securely. It also houses various sensors for measuring pressure, temperature,
and more. Also, equipped with analog to digital converters and Bluetooth, this
device can connect to your phone via an app.

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Some Specifications of the Link v0.9

3.4 Implantation Process?

Moreover, to make the surgery risk-free, engineers are working day and
night to develop precise robots that can independently operate to implant the

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device. These robots can slice a hole in your skull and insert the device
without damaging any arteries in the brain. Once placed and given enough
time to heal, it’ll be invisible from the outside, leaving just a small scar that is
very hard to notice. The below picture showed is the Robot that used to
implant the chip.

The Neuralink surgical robot can be separated into three main parts: The
head, the body and base. The head of the robot is that helmet-like piece,
which actually holds the head of the patient. It also includes a guide for the
surgical needle, as well as embedded cameras and sensors to map the patent’s
brain. The Neuralink robot also has a “body,” that humped rear assembly,
which includes all the parts responsible for the motion of the robot as it sets up
from the procedure. The third element is the base, which basically keeps the
whole thing from tipping over, and apparently also contains the computing
brains of the brain-bot itself.

3.5 What about the Battery?

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The above picture is of an older version and the new version is doing a section
that we have a wired magnetic pole above our head and it charges the link, as
we look at the older versions, we could take out the battery and charge it and
now of to the new release it has been changed. The battery that is used maybe
of Lithium, Lithium-Polymer.

As of the older & newer versions both the batteries last a day on a single
charge and restores to full-health on an overnight charging.

3.6 Materials used

The probes, composed mostly of polyamide, a biocompatible material,
and coated in a thin gold thread, will be inserted into the brain through an
automated process performed by a surgical robot.

Each probe consists of an area of wires that contains electrodes capable

of locating electrical signals in the brain, and a sensory area where the wire
interacts with an electronic system that allows amplification and acquisition
of the brain signal. Each of the probes contains 48 or 96 wires, each of which
contains 32 independent electrodes; achieving this way, a system of up to
3072 electrodes per formation.

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4. Applications

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4.1 Applications

1| For Visual Prosthesis

This project has the potential to provide a visual prosthesis for people
who have retinal injury or blindness through eye injury. The idea is to
essentially plug a camera directly into the visual cortex and stimulate an
enormous array of thousands or maybe tens of thousands of electrodes to
recreate a visual image.

2| For Telepathy
It takes an incredible amount of effort to put thoughts into a set of
words. These words are a compressed format of our immense thinking
capabilities.

3| As an Oscilloscope for Brain

Oscilloscopes provide visual information of printed circuit boards

(PCBs). Similarly, the Neuralink device can shed light on many functions of
the brain.

4| Unlocking Hidden Creativity

With enough electrodes in the right places, you could begin to sort of
tap into those raw concepts or thought vectors and be able to decode that and
show people primitive versions of music or even 3D model for engineering

5| Nostalgia on Demand
One can go revisit the memory and alter the mood on demand. If this
is cracked, then cognitive disorders like dementia can be easily dealt with.

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6| Eliminate Pain
Pain is somehow minimized then the way we look at ailments
dramatically changes. Neuralink devices can play a crucial role in this too.

7| AI Symbiosis
AI symbiosis where an AI extension of one’s self is like a tertiary
layer above the limbic system and cortex.

8| Consciousness Through the Lens of Physics

The brain these tools get better it will pull it into the realm of physics
and it’s really one of the last big great mysteries in science.

9| Disease Prediction
We’ll be able to not just speak of electrical signals but can also pick
up chemical cues in the brain and prevent the diseases ahead of time.

10| Solve Mental Illnesses

The device has the potential to scale to more channels, more regions.
As it goes deeper, the chances of solving issues related to anxiety, fear and
depression become high.

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5. Advantages and
Disadvantages

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5.1 Advantages

• Cure neurological conditions and allow people with paralysis to control a

computer mouse with their brain.
• It could alleviate memory loss.
• The technology could monitor a user’s health and warn them if they’re
having a heart attack.
• It will help for Visual Prosthesis.
• It takes serious engineering to prevent unwanted access to such devices.

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5.2 Disadvantages

• Still a lot of things to invent in Neuralink.

• This technology is not undergone the test of long-term reliability.
• All the peoples are not able to use this technology.
• Still the government didn’t approve to do the research upon human
beings.
• It may affect internal organs.

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6.Conclusion

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6.1 Conclusion

• Neuralink has developed an Application-Specific Integrated Circuit

(ASIC) to create a 1,536-channel recording system.

• This system consists of 256 amplifiers capable of being individually

programmed ("analog pixels"), analog-to-chip converters within the chip
("ADCs") and a peripheral circuit control to serialize the digitized information
obtained.

• It aims to convert information obtained from neurons into an understandable

binary code in order to achieve greater understanding of brain function and
the ability to stimulate these neurons back.

• Neuralink has developed a robot capable of inserting flexible probes, allowing

the rapid insertion of multiples of these to minimize trauma that can trigger a
bounce reaction.

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7. Bibliography

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8.1 Reference

➢ https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neuralink
➢ https://neuralink.com
➢ https://theconversation.com/neuralink-brain-hacking-is-
exceptionally-hard-no-matter-what-elon-musk-says-145711
➢ https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/sep/22/brain-
computer-interface-implants-neuralink-braingate-elon-
musk#:~:text=While%20a%20Utah%20array%20%E2%80%93
%20of,will%20have%20more%20like%201%2C000.&text=Para
dromics%2C%20like%20Neuralink%2C%20is%20focused,face
%20of%20its%20neural%20implant.
➢ https://www.thequint.com/amp/story/explainers/what-is-
neuralink-and-how-does-it-work-explained
➢ https://interestingengineering.com/elon-musk-debuts-how-
neuralink-device-works-in-real-time
➢ https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/703801v2.full
➢ https://airegion.com/neuralink/
➢ https://www.analyticsinsight.net/everything-must-know-brain-
machine-
interface/#:~:text=Brain%2Dcomputer%20interface%20(BCI),co
ntrol%20computers%20with%20their%20minds.
➢ https://biohackinfo.com/neuralink/
➢ https://medium.com/1-one-infinity/the-neuralink-project-
explanation-and-human-benefits-of-brain-machine-interfaces-
500cb30ccff

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