Neuralink

We've been exploring how clinical trial participants can control a powered wheelchair — with their minds. The Neuralink implant decodes movement intentions in real time to move an on-screen cursor. That cursor controls a custom app that shows a live camera feed of what's in front of the participant. Move the cursor up and the wheelchair goes forward; down, backward; left and right to steer. The farther they push the cursor in any direction, the faster the chair moves. This video provides an early look at our work on telepathic wheelchair control — an important step on the path towards restoring independent mobility for people with paralysis. Learn more: neuralink.com Neuralink devices are investigational and have not been approved by the FDA or other regulatory authorities. This video features voluntary clinical trial participants sharing their personal experiences, which may not reflect all participants or future outcomes.

The dura is the brain's armor: a membrane so tough that a surgeon normally cuts through it with a scalpel. For the first time in our clinical trials, we inserted the electrode threads of our implant straight through the dura and into the cortex, keeping the dura intact. This isn't easy. The dura can be over 10x thicker than our electrode threads, which are thinner than a human hair. The brain beneath it is constantly moving, and the membrane hides the very blood vessels we need to avoid. Performing micron-precision insertions under these conditions took extensive engineering work and preclinical study to develop and validate advanced transdural imaging and insertion techniques. We like to say “the best step is no step” and deleting the durectomy takes one of the most delicate manual steps out of the procedure. This potentially means a safer, more repeatable surgery, and a real path to scaling Neuralink to the many people who could benefit. This first-of-its-kind procedure was performed at University Health Network's Toronto Western Hospital as part of our clinical trials. The participant was controlling a cursor with their thoughts within an hour of surgery, and recovery is progressing as expected. Neuralink devices are investigational and have not been approved by the FDA or other regulatory authorities. This video features voluntary clinical trial participants sharing their personal experiences, which may not reflect all participants or future outcomes.

Our goal at Neuralink is to restore abilities that were thought to be lost forever due to injury, accident, or disease. See how Audrey, who is paralyzed due to spinal cord injury, uses her brain-computer interface to play video games with her mind. Neuralink devices are investigational and not FDA approved. This video features voluntary clinical trial participants sharing their personal experiences, which may not reflect all participants or future outcomes.

“That first signature resembled my actual, physical handwriting.” Audrey became fully paralyzed in 2005 after a devastating car accident.  20 years later, she found herself signing her name again… using her mind. See how our brain-computer interface technology helped restore what Audrey felt was lost forever. Neuralink devices are investigational and not FDA approved. This video features voluntary clinical trial participants sharing their personal experiences, which may not reflect all participants or future outcomes.

After a car accident left her paralyzed from the neck down, Audrey didn’t think she would be able to draw or paint again. 20 years later, she became the first female participant in our clinical trials. Now, she uses her brain-computer interface to create art with her mind. Neuralink devices are investigational and not FDA approved. This video features voluntary clinical trial participants sharing their personal experiences, which may not reflect all participants or future outcomes.

The needle grasps and inserts each electrode thread of our implant into the brain. We've built the technology to produce these needles in-house, using lasers to mill features invisible to the naked eye. Neuralink devices are investigational and not FDA approved.

Information about everything you can experience — from movement, to speech, to vision — can be found by recording electrical signals in different areas of the brain. Many conditions such as paralysis, aphasia, and blindness are caused by disruptions in these signals. Neuralink is building a surgical robot capable of reaching any brain region. The goal: a generalized neural interface to help solve any condition that originates in the brain. Neuralink devices are investigational and not FDA approved. This video features voluntary clinical trial participants sharing their personal experiences, which may not reflect all participants or future outcomes.

Our robot is designed to insert hundreds of ultra-fine, flexible threads with thousands of electrodes within microns of targeted neurons while avoiding vasculature and adapting to real-time brain motion. Neuralink devices are investigational and not FDA approved. This video features voluntary clinical trial participants sharing their personal experiences, which may not reflect all participants or future outcomes.

We’ve built a surgical robot to automate key steps in the process of receiving a Neuralink implant to promote safety, reliability, and scalability. Learn more about the role of the robot and its future potential from the engineers helping develop it. Note: Neuralink devices are investigational and not FDA approved. This video features voluntary clinical trial participants sharing their personal experiences, which may not reflect all participants or future outcomes.

We are working to restore mobility that was lost due to disease or spinal cord injury by allowing participants to control robotic arms with their thoughts. See how this is possible.