Today's Edition
SHANGHAI (XINHUA)
The Centre for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology (CEBSIT) at the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), and Huashan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University, have successfully launched China's first clinical trial of an invasive brain-computer interface.
The trials likely make China only the second country after the United States to progress BCI technology from laboratory research to clinical human applications.
A Chinese man who is part of the trial can now play chess and racing games using only his mind, 13 years after he lost all four limbs in a high-voltage electrical accident. The patient underwent a revolutionary procedure in Shanghai in which a BCI device was implanted in his brain, and then undertook a few weeks of training.
The research team hopes to make the device available, following regulatory approval, by 2028, potentially transforming the lives of patients suffering from complete spinal cord injuries, double upper limb amputations, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.
How It Works
BCI technology establishes direct communication with the brain. Electrical signals from the brain have previously been used to control external devices during scientific research, but the devices were bulky.
The ultra-flexible neural electrodes developed by the team in China are incredibly fine, measuring only about one-hundredth of the diameter of a human hair. But they are able to successfully acquire clear neural signals.
The BCI implant itself measures measures 26 mm in diameter and less than 6 mm in thickness, roughly the size of a coin. It has to be implanted in the brain through minimally invasive surgery.
Currently, there are mainly three BCI technological routes: non-invasive, semi-invasive, and invasive. Non-invasive methods are entirely non-surgical, while semi-invasive and invasive approaches involve surgical procedures.
Next, the team in China aims to enable the patient to control a robotic arm, allowing him to grasp and hold objects like cups. They will also explore controlling complex devices, like robot dogs and embodied intelligent robots.
