Noland Arbaugh

Noland Arbaugh (born 1994 (age 30)) is an American quadriplegic known for being the first human recipient of Neuralink's brain-computer interface (BCI) implant. He gained attention for his use of the device to regain digital autonomy after a spinal cord injury left him paralyzed.

Early life and education
Arbaugh was born in Yuma, Arizona. He was a student and athlete at Texas A&M University. In 2016, while working as a summer camp counselor at the Island Lake Camp in Starrucca, Pennsylvania, Arbaugh experienced a swimming accident and suffered a severe spinal cord injury that led to quadriplegia, paralysis from the shoulders down.

Neuralink brain-computer interface
Arbaugh became the first person to receive a brain chip implant developed by Neuralink, a neurotechnology company.

Post-surgery experience
Arbaugh reported that the surgery was straightforward and that he was released from the hospital the following day without cognitive impairments.

According to a nine minute impromptu interview posted on the social media service X, Arbaugh said that the technology provided by Neuralink had changed his life despite running into "some issues" as part of the surgery and installation. The implant allows him to control a computer cursor with his thoughts, enabling him to perform digital tasks. Despite encountering some issues with the chip, he has been able again to play games like Civilization 6 and chess.

A month after the procedure, up to 85% of the Neuralink threads implanted in Arbaugh's brain had retracted and become unresponsive, degrading his ability to control external interfaces. In lieu of additional surgery to fix the problem, software updates were made that have allowed Arbaugh to regain some functions.