Mind-Controlled tablets give voice to the paralyzed
NCT ID NCT01958086
First seen Jun 27, 2026 · Last updated Jun 27, 2026
Summary
This study tests a brain implant that lets people with severe paralysis control a tablet computer using only their thoughts. The goal is to help them communicate, use apps, and control smart devices, improving their quality of life. Up to 5 participants will be implanted and followed for up to 6 years.
This is an AI summary of the original study and may miss details. Read our disclaimer.
Study facts
What this study's own registry entry says, in plain language.
- Phase
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Not a phased trial
Phase numbers describe drug development. The registry uses this when they do not apply, as it does for trials of devices, procedures or behaviour changes, and for observational studies.
- Participants
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About 2 people
The number the study aims to enrol. It can still change while the study runs.
- Started
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Oct 2013
- Expected to finish
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Jul 2031
An estimate. End dates often move.
- Lead sponsor
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Other sponsor
The registry's catch-all category, for sponsors it does not file as a company, a government agency, or a research network.
Who can take part
This study's own entry requirements. Only the study team can say for certain whether you qualify.
- Ages
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22 to 65 years
- Sex
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Anyone
- Healthy volunteers
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Not accepted
This study is not open to healthy volunteers. The entry requirements below say who it is open to.
Show the full entry requirements Hide the full entry requirements
Copied word for word from the study's registry entry, so the wording is the study team's rather than ours.
Inclusion Criteria: * Pathology resulting in paralysis * Age 22-65 years * Able to provide informed consent * Understand and comply with instructions, if necessary, with the aid of a translator * Able to communicate via speech * Surgical clearance * Life expectancy greater than 12 months * Live within 60 miles of study location and willing to travel up to 5 days per week * A regular caregiver to monitor the surgical site * Psychosocial support system * Stable ventilator status Exclusion Criteria: * Intellectual impairment * Psychotic illness or chronic psychiatric disorder, including major depression if untreated * Poor visual acuity * Pregnancy * Active infection or unexplained fever * Scalp lesions or skin breakdown * HIV or AIDS infection * Active cancer or chemotherapy * Medically uncontrolled diabetes * Autonomic dysreflexia * History of seizure * Implanted hydrocephalus shunt * History of supratentorial brain injury or neurosurgery * Medical conditions contraindicating surgery and chronic implantation of a medical device * Unable to undergo MRI or anticipated need for MRI during study * Nursing an infant or unwilling to bottle-feed infant * Chronic oral or intravenous use of steroids or immunosuppressive therapy * Suicidal ideation * Drug or alcohol dependence * Planning to become pregnant, or unwilling to use adequate birth control * Implanted Cardiac Defibrillator, Pacemaker, vagal nerve stimulator, or spinal cord stimulator.
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Conditions
The condition(s) this trial relates to.
As listed by the trial registrant
The condition terms exactly as the trial's registrant entered them.
How to take part
Only the study team decides who joins. These are the ways to reach them.
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The places running it
3 sites. The list below names each one and where it is.
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The official record
ClinicalTrials.gov lists the study team's own contact details, including names and phone numbers. We don't republish those.
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A doctor treating you
A doctor who knows your case can contact a study site on your behalf, and can tell you whether this study is worth pursuing at all.
Contacts and locations
Locations
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California Institute of Technology
RECRUITINGPasadena, California, 91125, United States
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Casa Colina Centers for Rehabilitation
RECRUITINGPomona, California, 91769, United States
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University of California Los Angeles
RECRUITINGLos Angeles, California, 90095, United States
More trials for these conditions
Other studies related to the condition(s) this trial covers.
- Brain training with magnetic pulses may restore arm function after spinal cord injury
- Mind over matter: brain implant could restore digital independence for quadriplegics
- Mind over muscles: brain chip lets paralyzed man grasp objects
- Mind-Controlled tech: Neuralink's brain implant trial begins
- Mind-Reading chip: neuralink Robot-Implants brain device for speech
- Mind-controlled devices: tiny brain chip tested in paralysis patients