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The BCI Briefing

Clinical3 min read

Paradromics reports real-time speech from its first study participant

Three months after its first long-term implant, the company says a woman with motor neuron disease is choosing her own words through the Connexus BCI. No performance figures have been released.

ByThe BCI Briefing

Evidence class: Reported claim

The short version

  • Paradromics says its first participant communicated in real time using her own words, including during a live phone call.
  • The announcement contains no accuracy or speed figures and is not peer reviewed.
  • Connect-One is an early feasibility study with two participants planned across three US sites.

Paradromics announced on 14 September that the first person implanted in its Connect-One study has used the Connexus BCI for real-time speech and text communication.

According to the company, the participant — a woman in her sixties with a progressive motor neuron disease that has severely impaired her speech — moved beyond copying prompted sentences to choosing her own words, answering open-ended questions and speaking with family on a phone call.

The implant was placed in June at University of Michigan Health. The study, authorised by the FDA under an investigational device exemption, also lists Massachusetts General Hospital and UC Davis as sites.

How solid is this

Company reported, by press release. No quantitative metrics were given. The study's registration, sites and planned enrolment are confirmed on ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT07357428). The company also states that it observed distinct neural patterns for attempted and for imagined speech, consistent with peer-reviewed findings from Stanford in 2025.

Company reported. Stated by the company itself in a release, blog post or presentation. Not independently verified and usually without full methods.

What to watch

  1. 01Published word error rates and decoding speeds, measured in the way academic studies report them.
  2. 02A second participant, to show the result is not specific to one person.
  3. 03Longer follow-up on signal stability from the microwire electrodes.

This technology remains experimental and is not an established treatment. Access is limited to registered clinical studies.

Sources

  1. 01

    Paradromics Achieves Real-Time Speech with Connexus Brain-Computer Interface (opens in a new tab)

    Company reportedParadromics press release (via BioSpace)14 Sep 2026Checked against source 3 Oct 2026

    Press release. Contains no quantitative performance figures and no peer-reviewed data.

  2. 02

    Paradromics completes first implant in BCI early feasibility study (opens in a new tab)

    Independent reportingMassDevice17 Jun 2026Source identified, not opened

  3. 03

    ClinicalTrials.gov NCT07357428 (opens in a new tab)

    Clinical registryClinicalTrials.gov14 Apr 2026Checked against source 3 Oct 2026

    Registry record last updated 2026-04-14.

  4. 04

    Card NS et al. N Engl J Med 2024;391(7):609–618 (opens in a new tab)

    Peer reviewedNew England Journal of Medicine15 Aug 2024Checked against source 3 Oct 2026

    DOI 10.1056/NEJMoa2314132

  5. 05

    Kunz EM et al. Cell 2025;188(17):4658–4673 (opens in a new tab)

    Peer reviewedCell14 Aug 2025Checked against source 3 Oct 2026

    DOI 10.1016/j.cell.2025.06.015