A woman who has been fully paralyzed for the last 20 years has regained the ability to use a computer, marking a world-first for Elon Musk’s Neuralink.
Thanks to Neuralink’s revolutionary implant, Audrey Crews revealed on X how she was able to write her name on a computer screen.
‘I tried writing my name for the first time in 20 years. I’m working on it. Lol,’ Crews posted on X while showing the world her first attempt at a signature since 2005.
Using the brain-computer interface (BCI), the implant recipient chose a purple-colored cursor pen to write the name ‘Audrey’ on the screen in cursive script.
The Louisiana resident was severely injured in a car accident at the age of 16, damaging the C4 and C5 vertebrae in her neck, and leaving her a quadriplegic with no feeling in her arms and legs.
The Neuralink procedure implanted a small quarter-sized device on Crews’ motor cortex this month, letting her control a computer with her mind.
In her posts on X following the surgery, Crews revealed how she has been able to draw pictures, write words, scroll with a mouse, and use a keyboard all through the power of her mind.
Responding to the positive feedback she’s received on social media, Crews said she felt liberated, and she’s even started taking requests on what to draw next as the pictures act as practice for her while using the implant.
Audrey Crews (pictured) has been paralyzed since she was in a car accident at the age of 16
Using a purple-colored pen on the computer screen, Audrey Crews wrote her name for the first time since 2005
Using Neuralink’s brain implant, Crews can now write her name and draw pictures using a specialized computer interface
Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, co-founded Neuralink in 2016 with a group of experts in the fields of neuroscience, engineering, and robotics.
There goal was to merge human intelligence with AI, treat brain disorders, and potentially enhance human ability in the future.
In 2019, Musk revealed the N1 implant, the small device placed on the brain to read and translate electrical signals into actions, like moving a cursor on a computer screen.
Crews became the ninth person to undergo the groundbreaking procedure, which has allowed patients with severe paralysis or neurological conditions like amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) to control electronic devices through telepathy.
‘I am the first women in the world to do this,’ Crews added on X.
‘Imagine your pointer finger is left click and the cursor [movement] is with your wrist, without physically doing it. Just a normal day using telepathy,’ she explained while showing off her latest drawings on Sunday.
The Neuralink patient has been able to draw hearts, flowers, rainbows, and even some faces while pushing the cursor with her thoughts sent to the N1 implant.
Crews’ surgery at University of Miami Health Center involved drilling a hole into her skull, so surgeons could place 128 threads smaller than a human hair into her motor cortex.
Surgeons drilled a hole into Crews’ skull, placing the N1 implant on her motor cortex
The implant on Crews’ brain detects electrical impulses and sends those signals via Bluetooth to a specialized Neuralink program on a computer
The threads carried over 1,000 electrodes which detect electrical signals, or neuron spikes, produced by brain cells when a person thinks about moving. Each thought creates a unique pattern of brain activity.
The implant is powered by a small battery that charges wirelessly. It sends the neuron spikes to a computer or smartphone running Neuralink’s software via Bluetooth, which is then translated into commands on the computer.
Asked by one person on X if she ever thought she would be able to do anything like this again, Crews replied: ‘Not in all my wildest dreams, but the future is here.’
Musk also replied to a post about Crews’ story, saying: ‘She is controlling her computer just by thinking. Most people don’t realize this is possible.’
The first female Neuralink patient noted that the BCI won’t give her the ability to walk again or regain any movement in her limbs, but she is hoping this breakthrough will allow her to write a book about her journey.
‘I’ve been a quadriplegic since the age of 16, so I have lots to tell,’ Crews explained.
Neuralink’s N1 implant (pictured) is the size of a quarter, with dozens of threads carrying electrodes which interpret neural activity in the brain
The N1 implant is still in early trials and its long-term safety and effectiveness are being tested.
The first person to use the N1 implant, Noland Arbaugh, saw the threads to his motor cortex retract, requiring Neuralink to adjust the device in order for it to maintain connection with the quadriplegic patient’s brain.
At the moment, Musk’s dream of these implants enhancing human ability is still in the planning phase.
They can’t ‘read thoughts’ beyond specific movement tasks, like moving the cursor on a screen.
For Crews and the other eight patients so far, however, it’s given them back a piece of their independence they thought was lost forever.
