Featured Image Credit: Twitter/@NeuraNova9
Topics: Elon Musk, Health, Science, Technology, Neuralink
Lucy Devine
Topics: Elon Musk, Health, Science, Technology, Neuralink
A woman has written her name for the first time in two decades using only her mind.
Audrey Crews, from Louisiana, US was severely injured in a car accident at the age of 16. She was left quadriplegic after damaging the C4 and C5 vertebrae in her neck.
Two decades on from the incident and Audrey has been able to write her name again using just her thoughts, thanks to a brain chip developed by Elon Musk's Neuralink.
Neuralink is a type of technology that translates thoughts into actions, as the company further explains: "Our brain-computer interface translates neural signals into actions. In our clinical trials, people are using Neuralink devices to control computers and robotic arms with their thoughts.
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"This technology will restore autonomy to those with unmet medical needs and unlock new dimensions of human potential."
Writing on X, Audrey explained she'd recently had her surgery to implant the Neuralink and that everything was going well.
"Here's more information about how my BCI, brain computer interface, implant works and my surgery," she said. "I had surgery last week and everything is going amazing. It was brain surgery, they drilled a hole in my skull and placed 128 threads into my motor cortex. The chip is about the size of a quarter."
She went on to praise the staff at the University of Miami Health Center, calling them 'awesome' and 'some of the sweetest people I've ever met'.
Audrey also explained that she had been able to write her name for the first time since the accident 20 years ago, adding: "I tried writing my name for the first time in 20 years. Im working on it. Lol."
Explaining how the chip works, she said: "The BCI lets me control my computer using my mind. I'll be able to control more electronic devices in the near future. I also want to clarify this implant will not allow me to walk again or regain movement.
"Its strictly for telepathy only. We are still in Miami but I'll be home soon and we'll post more vids explaining the proses in more detail. I am the first women in the world to do this."
She later shared some doodles she had drawn, adding: "Here are some more of my doodles! Im taking request. Lol Imagine your pointer finger is left click and the cursor moment is with your wrist.
"With out physically doing it. Just a normal day using telepathy."
Audrey is the ninth person to have the procedure - with Noland Arbaugh from Arizona being the first to receive the implant in 2024.
Musk himself has recently commented on her story, writing on X: "She is controlling her computer just by thinking. Most people don't realize this is possible."