A woman paralysed for two decades has written her name using only her thoughts, thanks to a brain implant being tested in a Neuralink clinical trial.
Audrey Crews, who has been paralysed since the age of 16, achieved the milestone as part of a brain-computer interface (BCI) study that translates brain activity into external actions.
The coin-sized device was implanted beneath her skull at the University of Miami Health Centre. It detects electrical signals from neurons in the brain and wirelessly transmits them to a device, allowing users to control it in real time without movement.
Crews is taking part in the PRIME (Precise Robotically Implanted Brain-Computer Interface) study run by California-based neurotechnology company Neuralink, founded by Elon Musk in 2016. The trial is evaluating a fully implantable, wireless BCI system.
Crews said: “I had surgery last week and everything is going amazing. It was brain surgery, they drilled a hole in my skull and placed 128 threads into my motor cortex.
“The chip is about the size of a quarter,” she wrote in a follow-up post.
“The BCI lets me control my computer using my mind.
“I’ll be able to control more electronic devices in the near future. I also want to clarify this implant will not allow me to walk again or regain movement. It’s strictly for telepathy only.”
The implant is intended for people with limited or no use of both hands due to cervical spinal cord injury or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) – a progressive neurological disease affecting the brain and spinal cord.
The study is assessing the implant’s safety and whether it can enable people with quadriplegia – paralysis of all four limbs – to control external devices using only their thoughts.
Crews, identified as ‘P9’ in the study, posted a photo on social media platform X showing the word ‘Audrey’ written on a laptop screen using the system – the first time she has written her name in 20 years.
Elon Musk commented: “She is controlling her computer just by thinking. Most people don’t realise it is possible.”
Neuralink’s team of engineers and neuroscientists has spent nine years developing the technology.
Following animal studies, it has now entered human trials.
The BCI system is designed to help people with severe paralysis or communication difficulties operate computers or smartphones by simply intending to move.
According to Neuralink, this will be the first study of its kind to be carried out in people, and could help identify safer, more effective ways to implant and use BCI technology.
The company is inviting more participants from around the world to join the PRIME study.
