One Abu Dhabi hospital now has agreements with two US brain-implant companies. Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi already hosts Neuralink’s first trial outside North America, and on 29 October Precision Neuroscience said the hospital is its first clinical research site outside the United States.
The agreement
Precision says it signed a two-year memorandum of understanding with Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi on 21 October at the Abu Dhabi Future Health Summit, with the support of the Department of Health Abu Dhabi, the emirate’s health regulator. The two will evaluate how well brain-computer interfaces work and whether they are feasible to use, including Precision’s Layer 7 cortical interface for mapping and monitoring brain activity. They will also explore joint technology development, training and knowledge exchange.
Precision says its initial focus is restoring function for people with severe paralysis caused by brainstem stroke, spinal cord injury or ALS. Layer 7 is a thin film carrying 1,024 electrodes that sits on the surface of the brain and is designed to be removed safely. The US Food and Drug Administration cleared its temporary version, Layer 7-T, on 30 March 2025 for recording, monitoring and stimulating the brain’s surface during temporary use of less than 30 days. Precision says its clinical research programme now spans more than 110 patient procedures at 18 medical institutions.
Why Abu Dhabi
Neuralink’s UAE-PRIME feasibility study, run at Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi with the Department of Health Abu Dhabi, began in May 2025 and aims to enrol 10 people with paralysis. Abu Dhabi capital is also on Precision’s shareholder register: Mubadala Capital took part in Precision’s $250 million Series D in September, which brought the company’s total funding to $430 million.
Precision’s other recent moves are also aimed at taking Layer 7 beyond research: it has a commercial partnership to integrate its technology with Medtronic’s neurosurgical platform, and in October it hired Nevro founder Konstantinos Alataris as president.
Not disclosed
Precision has not said when the first procedure in Abu Dhabi will take place, how many patients will take part, whether the work will use temporary or longer-term implants, what approvals it needs from UAE regulators, or whether any money changes hands under the agreement. No Abu Dhabi study for Layer 7 appears on ClinicalTrials.gov.
What to watch
Whether Precision registers an Abu Dhabi study and reports its first procedure there.
Whether the work moves beyond temporary implants of less than 30 days.
Whether other US brain-computer interface companies sign with Cleveland Clinic Abu Dhabi or the Department of Health Abu Dhabi.
Whether Neuralink reports implants under UAE-PRIME.
Sources
Primary:
- Precision Neuroscience (GlobeNewswire): Precision Neuroscience expands clinical network beyond the U.S. with first international site in Abu Dhabi, 29 October 2026
- ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT06992596, UAE-PRIME feasibility study
- FDA: 510(k) K242618, Layer 7-T cortical interface, 30 March 2025
Coverage:
- WAM: Launch of Neuralink’s UAE-PRIME in Abu Dhabi marks powerful moment for future of health, May 2025
- The National: Elon Musk’s Neuralink to test brain chip in UAE, 15 May 2025
- Khaleej Times: UAE’s first brain chip trials to be held in Abu Dhabi with Neuralink
Cross-reference to prior InsideBCI coverage: