First UK patient uses thought to control computer hours after Neuralink implant

A patient with motor neurone disease was able to control a computer just by using his thoughts following the UK’s first Neuralink implant surgery at UCLH’s National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (NHNN) in October 2025.  

The surgery is part of the GB-PRIME study evaluating the safety and functionality of Neuralink’s robotically implanted brain-computer interface (BCI), which aims to improve independence for people who are paralysed. 

The surgery went as planned, and on the day following the procedure, the patient was able to begin using their BCI implant to move a computer cursor with their thoughts and to return home from the hospital. 

The first UK patient, Paul, said: “To say I was nervous about having brain surgery is a huge understatement but when I heard about this study I was drawn to see if I could make use of this technology to improve my freedom but also to contribute to research for other people with conditions like mine.”  

The Chief Investigator for the study, Mr Harith Akram, UCLH consultant neurosurgeon at the NHNN and Honorary Clinical Associate Professor at UCL, said: “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. Patients volunteering for the study are courageous and inspiring and we thank them for their contributions to advancing healthcare. 

“I'm so proud of our talented team stretching the boundaries for patients with paralysis and I want to thank them for their dedication to finding effective treatments.” 

The Principal Investigator at UCLH, Mr William Muirhead, consultant neurosurgeon at NHNN, said: “It was remarkable to see Paul using his brain–computer interface on the very first day after surgery, he is now using it in his own home and working hard every day to improve his calibration and control. Using digital devices can be very challenging for people living with paralysis so to see Paul’s growing independence in directly controlling his computer is incredibly rewarding.” 

Since receiving the implant, Paul has been working with Neuralink engineers to explore potential uses for the device to enrich and restore autonomy in his daily life. Follow-up appointments and research sessions will continue monitoring the patient as they learn to use the device.  

This follows from Neuralink's clinical trials in the United States and Canada, where patients are using the N1 Implant to control useful devices in their daily lives, such as computers, smartphones and robotic arms.   

GB-PRIME will involve up to seven participants who cannot walk and whose manual control of a computer, smartphone, or tablet is significantly impaired or impossible because of their condition.   

The study currently has two sites: University College London Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (UCLH) and Newcastle Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. At UCLH the study is managed by the Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre, which is part of the NIHR UCLH Clinical Research Facility, and supported by NIHR UCLH Biomedical Research Centre infrastructure. The Joint Research Office at UCLH and UCL provided extensive support to get the study up and running.

Individuals interested in participating in GB-PRIME are invited to learn more about the study and join Neuralink’s Patient Registry at neuralink.com/trials. 

Note:  

GB-PRIME is a multi-site early feasibility study that aims to evaluate the safety and functionality of Neuralink’s N1 Implant. It is a fully implantable, intracortical BCI designed to help individuals with severe neurological conditions, such as spinal cord injury and Motor Neurone Disease, to control devices and communicate more independently with their thoughts. The N1 Implant records brain signals through over 1,000 electrodes distributed across ultra-thin threads, which are each finer than a human hair and precisely placed within microns of targeted neurons by Neuralink’s purpose-built R1 Robot. 

The N1 Implant and R1 Robot are investigational medical devices that have been approved for use in this research study by the Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA), the Health Research Authority (HRA) and Health and Care Research Wales (HCRW), and the London – Camberwell St Giles Research Ethics Committee (REC).