Our First Transdural Procedure | Neuralink: technical breakdown, key moments and clinical context

Caption & verification basis: English manual + auto-generated captions (Official video playback, English caption track, official description, and primary Neuralink disclosures).

The dura is the brain's armor: a membrane so tough that a surgeon normally cuts through it with a scalpel. For the first time in our clinical trials, we inserted the electrode threads of our implant straight through the dura and into the cortex, keeping the dura intact. 

This isn't easy. The dura can be over 10x thicker than our electrode threads, which are thinner than a human hair. The brain beneath it is constantly moving, and the membrane hides the very blood vessels we need to avoid.

Performing micron-precision insertions under these conditions took extensive engineering work and preclinical study to develop and validate advanced transdural imaging and insertion techniques.

We like to say “the best step is no step” and deleting the durectomy takes one of the most delicate manual steps out of the procedure. This potentially means a safer, more repeatable surgery, and a real path to scaling Neuralink to the many people who could benefit.

This first-of-its-kind procedure was performed at University Health Network's Toronto Western Hospital as part of our clinical trials. The participant was controlling a cursor with their thoughts within an hour of surgery, and recovery is progressing as expected.

Neuralink devices are investigational and have not been approved by the FDA or other regulatory authorities. This video features voluntary clinical trial participants sharing their personal experiences, which may not reflect all participants or future outcomes.