Lead nurse Jillian Hartin receives honorary award
19 August 2025
Publish date: 31 July 2025
UCLH has been selected as the lead site in Great Britain for Neuralink’s GB-PRIME study, a clinical investigation for Neuralink’s brain-computer interface (BCI).
GB-PRIME is a multi-site 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.
This follows from Neuralink's clinical trials in the United States, where several patients have been implanted with the N1 Implant and are using it to control useful devices in their daily lives, such as computers, smartphones, and robotic arms.
The launch of GB-PRIME at UCLH marks an important step towards advancing BCI technology that has the potential to transform the lives of individuals with neurological disorders around the world.
Mr Harith Akram, UCLH consultant
neurosurgeon and associate
professor at UCL
“The launch of GB-PRIME at UCLH represents a major milestone in the development of brain-computer interface technology, with the potential to transform the lives of people living with severe neurological disorders worldwide.”
“This study reflects our commitment to pioneering therapies that restore function, independence, and communication in patients with profound neurological disability. UCLH is proud to be at the forefront of this field, bringing together clinical excellence and cutting-edge neuroscience to deliver meaningful innovation in patient care.”
Mr William Muirhead,
consultant neurosurgeon
The study will involve up to 7 participants in Great Britain who cannot walk and whose manual control of a computer, smartphone, or tablet is significantly impaired or impossible because of their severe neurological condition.
Patients enrolled by UCLH will undergo their surgery at UCLH’s National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery at Queen Square. The study will be managed at the Leonard Wolfson Experimental Neurology Centre, which is part of the NIHR UCLH Clinical Research Facility and the study is being supported by NIHR UCLH Biomedical Research Centre infrastructure including the UCLH and UCL Joint Research Office.
Individuals interested in participating in GB-PRIME are invited to learn more about the study and join Neuralink’s Patient Registry at neuralink.com/
Note: 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). At this time, the GB-PRIME study will not include the use of BCI for robotic arm control.
Q&As
The N1 Implant consists of a round enclosure the size of a ten-pence coin, and 128 threads, each containing 8 electrodes along their length. The threads are thinner than a human hair and are surgically placed into the brain within microns of targeted neurons by the R1 Robot following careful planning by the neurosurgical team
The electrodes within the threads of the N1 Implant are designed to record electrical activity from the brain. These neural signals contain information, such as intentions to move. The N1 Implant wirelessly transmits this data to a computer and an application called the N1 User App ‘decodes’ these intentions, converting them into actions such as cursor movements, clicks, and keyboard strokes.
The N1 Implant is designed to allow study participants to control external devices, such as computers or smartphones, with their thoughts.
The GB-PRIME study is divided into two key parts: 1) the primary study and 2) the long-term follow-up.
- The primary study will last 12 months from the implantation procedure. During the primary study, participants will be asked to attend at least 9 in-person research site visits. Participants will also be asked to attend structured research sessions (at least 3 sessions per week, approximately 1 hour each) lasting throughout the study duration up until the N1 Implant is deactivated or removed. These sessions may take place in a clinical setting or at the participant’s home. A follow-up visit 12-months post-implantation will mark the end of the primary study period and the start of the long-term follow-up period.
- The long-term follow-up period will span 3 years, with in-person visits to the research site occurring every 3 months during this period.
Individuals may be eligible to take part in GB-PRIME if they have tetraplegia or tetraparesis (also referred to as quadriplegia and quadriparesis), which means paralysis or weakness in the arms and legs that significantly or completely impairs the individual’s ability to manually control a computer, smartphone or tablet with their hands. Additionally, individuals may be eligible if they have had a diagnosis which may result in tetraparesis or tetraplegia.
Neuralink has established an online patient registry and study participants may be recruited and screened from the group of people who have registered interest in taking part in research into this technology via this patient registry. All participants will be screened prior to their enrolment in the research study to confirm their eligibility and provide their consent to be part of the study.
The GB-PRIME study has been approved 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).
UCLH sees this as an important opportunity to explore improved autonomy for patients for whom there is currently very little we can offer.
In Neuralink’s studies in the United States (PRIME and CONVOY), several participants have been implanted with the N1 Implant and are using it to control useful devices in their daily lives such as computers, smartphones, and robotic arms (CONVOY study only).
More updates on the progress and experiences of Neuralink’s clinical study participants can be found below:
