Courtesy: Sebastian Gomez-Pena/Sky News
A man taking part in the first UK trial of Elon Musk’s brain implant says the experience of using the technology feels “magical” and has given him renewed hope after being left paralysed from the neck down.
Sebastian Gomez-Pena is one of the first seven participants in a UK safety and reliability trial of a brain–computer interface developed by Neuralink, the neurotechnology firm founded by Elon Musk. The device is designed to help people with severe paralysis regain the ability to interact with computers and digital devices using only their thoughts.
Seb had just completed his first term at medical school when an accident left him unable to move his limbs. Speaking about the implant to Sky News, he said the technology has given him a sense of possibility he feared was gone. He described the moment he realised his thoughts could once again cause something to happen in the physical world as deeply emotional.
The Neuralink chip was implanted during a five-hour operation at University College London Hospital. The procedure involved British surgeons working alongside Neuralink engineers, while the actual insertion of the device was performed by Neuralink’s R1 surgical robot. The robot places microscopic electrodes into delicate brain tissue with high precision.
The implant connects to 1,024 electrodes embedded around four millimetres into the region of the brain responsible for hand movement. Signals from neurons travel through ultra-thin threads to the chip, which sits flush within a circular opening in the skull. From there, data is transmitted wirelessly to a computer, where artificial intelligence software learns to interpret the user’s brain signals.
As a result, when Seb thinks about moving his hand or tapping his fingers, those thoughts are translated into cursor movement or mouse clicks on a screen. He is now able to navigate documents, highlight text, and operate software at speeds comparable to, or faster than, a conventional mouse or trackpad. He has even resumed studying medical research papers using the system.
Doctors overseeing the trial say the level of control achieved so far is remarkable. Mr Harith Akram, a neurosurgeon at University College London Hospital and lead investigator for the UK trial, described the results as “mindblowing” and said the technology could dramatically improve independence for patients with severe neurological disabilities.
Neuralink has been developing the implant, robotic surgery system, and AI decoding tools for nearly a decade. The first human implantation took place in the United States two years ago. To date, 21 people across the US, Canada, the UK, and the UAE have received the device, all of whom have paralysis caused by spinal injuries, strokes, or neurodegenerative diseases such as ALS.
While results from the trials have not yet been published in peer-reviewed journals or submitted to regulators, early signs suggest significant potential. Some users have already learned to type on virtual keyboards using thought alone, while others have used robotic arms to feed themselves.
Beyond restoring movement-related functions, Neuralink is also running trials aimed at brain regions involved in speech, with the goal of helping people who have lost the ability to speak after strokes or brain injuries. The company has also discussed longer-term ambitions, including restoring vision and enabling users to control humanoid robots remotely, though these ideas remain speculative and face major technical challenges.
Despite the excitement, experts stress that safety, reliability, and privacy concerns must be addressed through much larger and longer trials before the technology could be approved for widespread use. For now, progress depends on volunteers like Seb, who are willing to test a technology that could redefine how the brain connects with machines.