China completes world’s first commercial brain-computer interface implant
Coin-sized implant marks a breakthrough in neurotechnology, underscoring China’s bid to lead the global race against Elon Musk’s Neuralink
Chinese surgeons implanted a coin-sized brain chip on a patient with impaired hand mobility linked to a spinal cord injury from a car accident 10 years ago, according to a statement from the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality on Wednesday.
The procedure, performed on Monday at Huashan Hospital, captured stable, high-quality epidural brain signals, with the patient recovering and vital signs remaining stable.
Developed by local start-up Neuracle Medical Technology, the NEO device assists hand motion. It is placed on the brain’s outer surface without penetrating tissue, reading neural signals and translating them into hand movements.
It became the world’s first commercially prescribed BCI after winning approval from China’s National Medical Products Administration on March 13, making it available as a commercial product rather than confined to laboratories and clinical trials.
Since clearance, NEO had rolled out production, hospital introductions, patient screening and inclusion in local commercial health insurance within four months, according to the statement.