China has completed the world’s first implantation of a commercially approved brain-computer interface (BCI) chip in a patient with a spinal cord injury.
It marks a significant milestone in the clinical adoption of neurotechnology.
Surgeons implanted a coin-sized brain chip in a patient with impaired hand mobility caused by a spinal cord injury sustained in a car accident 10 years ago.
The procedure was carried out in July by a research team at Huashan Hospital, affiliated with Fudan University in Shanghai, using the NEO BCI system developed by the Chinese medical device start-up NeuraClear Medical Technology.
The patient had lost hand function following the accident, and the implanted device is designed to interpret neural signals from the brain and translate them into hand movements.
NEO places its electrodes on the surface of the brain rather than penetrating brain tissue.
According to the research team, the procedure resulted in stable and clear extradural brain signal acquisition. The patient’s recovery and vital signs have remained stable following the surgery.
The implantation follows regulatory approval from China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA) in March.
According to Shanghai authorities, NEO is the world’s first commercially approved BCI product that can be prescribed and used in medical institutions, rather than being restricted to laboratory research or clinical trials.
The technology has been included in commercial health insurance coverage in certain regions of China and the country has identified brain-computer interfaces as a strategic emerging industry and is accelerating investment in the field.
The government aims to establish core technologies and industrial frameworks for BCIs by 2027 and develop two to three globally competitive companies in the sector by 2030.
