Page 6 - Autumn 2024

Industry News

MEDICAL UPDATE

Success for UK’s First Neuralink Implant William Muirhead, Principal Investigator at UCLH and
Surgery Consultant Neurosurgeon at NHNN, adds:
A patient with motor neurone disease was able to “It was remarkable to see Paul using his brain-
control a computer merely by thought following computer interface on the very first day after
the UK’s first Neuralink implant surgery performed surgery, he is now using it in his own home and
at University College London Hospitals’ National working very hard every day to improve his
Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery in October calibration and control. Using digital devices can
2025. be very challenging for people living with paralysis
so to see Paul’s growing independence in directly
The procedure is part of the GB-PRIME study which is
controlling his computer is incredibly rewarding”.
evaluating the safety and functionality of Neurolink’s
robotically implanted brain-computer interface, or Reference: Hookway, P., Electronic Specifier, 28th. October
BCI.
The study follows Neuralink’s clinical trials in the
United States and Canada, where patients are using
the N1 Implant to control everyday devices such as
computers, smartphones and robotic arms.
The study will involve up to seven participants
who are unable to walk and whose ability to use
computers, smartphones and tablets is significantly
impaired or impossible due to their condition. It is
currently being conducted at University College
London Hospitals and the Newcastle Hospitals NHS
Foundation Trust.

Harith Akram, Chief Investigator for the study, UCLH
Consultant Neurosurgeon at NHNN, and Honorary
Clinical Associate Professor at University College
London, states:
“This treatment has the potential to help thousands
of patients trapped in their own bodies, for whom
we have previously been able to offer very little.
I’m so proud of our talented team stretching the
boundaries for patients with paralysis”.

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