China Takes First Step in Commercializing Brain-Computer Interfaces... World’s First Successful Patient Implant

Implanted in Spinal Cord Injury Patient: Moving Hands With Brain Signals
Goal to Foster Leading Global BCI Companies by 2030

China has become the first country in the world to successfully perform surgery implanting a commercial brain-computer interface (BCI) device in a patient.

The world's first successful surgery implanting a commercialized brain-computer interface (BCI) device in a patient has been achieved. Rehabilitation progress of the patient after surgery. Photo by Yonhap News.

According to Yonhap News, citing the South China Morning Post (SCMP) on July 17, the Shanghai Science and Technology Commission announced that on July 13, a team at Huashan Hospital, affiliated with Fudan University in Shanghai, successfully implanted an invasive BCI system called "NEO" in a patient with a spinal cord injury.

The patient, who received the surgery, had suffered a spinal cord injury in a car accident ten years ago and was unable to move his hands properly. The medical team implanted a coin-sized BCI chip inside the patient's skull, and immediately after the surgery, they were able to detect stable and high-quality epidural brain signals. The patient's recovery progress and vital signs were also reported to be stable.

The device used in this procedure, "NEO," is a BCI device developed by Chinese neurotechnology startup Boruikang (also known as Neuracle). It operates by placing the device on the surface of the brain, rather than penetrating the brain tissue directly, reading neural signals and converting them into hand movements. Its notable feature is that it stably acquires signals while minimizing brain damage.

According to SCMP, "NEO" received approval from China's National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in March, making it the world's first commercial BCI product that can be prescribed in real medical settings rather than limited to research or clinical trials. Within about four months of approval, production, hospital introduction, and patient selection were completed, and in some regions, it is already covered by commercial medical insurance.

The Chinese government, through its BCI industry development plan announced last year, set a goal to establish core technologies and an industrial ecosystem by 2027 and nurture two to three leading enterprises with global competitiveness by 2030.

SCMP evaluated that this achievement represents a symbolic case showing that China is accelerating not only technology development but also commercialization in the BCI sector, which it is fostering as a future strategic industry.

Currently, the most notable competitor in the BCI sector is Neuralink, founded by Elon Musk in the United States. Neuralink has enrolled more than 20 participants in clinical trials for its first product, “Telepathy,” but has not yet received formal approval for commercial use from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.