China has achieved a remarkable achievement in brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. It has successfully implanted a commercially accepted brain chip. This is a major leap in the country’s neurotechnology field. It will compete with Elon Musk’s Neuralink. According to the Science and Technology Commission of Shanghai Municipality, Chinese doctors have implanted a coin-shaped chip in the brain of a patient. His hand was paralyzed due to a spinal cord injury in a car accident 10 years ago. The groundbreaking surgery was performed last Monday at Huashan Hospital. It achieved stable, high-quality epidural brain signals.
Developed by a local start-up called Neuracol Medical Technology, the neo device assists in hand movements. It is continuously monitoring vital signs as the patient recovers. It is implanted on the outer surface of the patient’s brain. Without penetrating the tissue, it reads neural signals and converts them into hand movements. It became the world’s first commercially approved brain-computer interface and is now available on the market after receiving approval from China’s National Medical Products Administration on March 13. After receiving the approval, Neo’s production has begun rapidly. It is being introduced to hospitals, screening patients and being included in local commercial health insurance within four months. This milestone demonstrates China’s ambition to become a global pioneer in brain-computer interface technology.
