Twenty years after a car accident left her paralyzed from the neck down, Audrey Crews is drawing again — not with her hands, but with her thoughts. Neuralink shared her story on May 15, revealing that Crews, the ninth human and first woman to receive their brain-computer interface implant, is now using the device to create art entirely through neural signals.
Crews — identified as participant P9 in Neuralink's PRIME clinical trial — sustained a C4/C5 spinal cord injury in a 2005 accident that resulted in quadriplegia. The implant she received, called Telepathy, sits roughly the size of a quarter (23 mm across, about 8 mm thick) and is placed in the motor cortex via a small opening in the skull. From there, 128 ultra-thin threads carrying over 1,000 electrodes pick up neural signals and transmit them wirelessly via Bluetooth to a computer running Neuralink's custom software. The result: Crews can move a cursor, write her name, and now produce drawings — all by thinking.
Neuralink was careful to attach a standard disclaimer to the announcement: the devices remain investigational and are not FDA-approved for general use. The FDA initially rejected Neuralink's application for human trials in 2022 over safety concerns, then granted an investigational device exemption in May 2023. As of early 2026, 21 participants were enrolled globally in the PRIME study, with no serious device-related adverse events reported to date.
The broader timeline is worth keeping in mind. Neuralink is targeting a high-volume implant rollout in 2026, contingent on anticipated FDA clearance, and has a $650 million funding boost backing that push. The company also aims to transition to an almost entirely automated surgical procedure this year. Commercial availability for limited patient populations is projected between 2028 and 2030. Audrey Crews creating art with her mind today is, in that context, both a deeply personal milestone and a proof-of-concept for a technology that is moving faster than most people realize.
Sarah focuses on Tesla Energy, SpaceX missions, and the broader Musk AI portfolio. Former data analyst in clean energy. Based in San Francisco.
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