South Korean media: China completes world's first "brain-computer interface" transplant surgery ahead of the U.S.
South Korean newspaper JoongAng Ilbo (Japanese edition) published an article on July 17: China has successfully carried out the world’s first transplant surgery using a "brain-computer interface (BCI)" device, which seamlessly connected the brain to a computer.
The surgery was performed on the 13th at Huashan Hospital, affiliated with Fudan University in Shanghai. A minimally invasive brain-computer interface system called "NEO" was implanted into a patient who had been paralyzed for ten years due to a traffic accident causing spinal cord injury.
The medical team announced that they successfully implanted a coin-sized BCI chip beneath the patient’s skull, capturing stable and high-quality epidural brain signals post-surgery. The patient’s recovery is progressing well, with vital signs remaining stable.
The "NEO" device used in the surgery was developed by NuRacle (Borui Kang Technology), a Chinese startup. The device is placed on the surface of the brain without penetrating brain tissue, reading neural signals and converting them into hand movements.
On March 13 this year, the product received approval from China’s National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), becoming the world’s first commercially available BCI product approved for use outside laboratories through prescription. About four months after official approval, production, hospital adoption, and patient selection have all advanced, and in certain regions of China, the device is now covered by commercial health insurance.
This surgery demonstrates that China is positioning BCI as a future growth industry, accelerating its commercialization race in related technologies.
In the field of BCI, Neuralink—founded by Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla—is also speeding up technological development in the United States. Neuralink has recruited over 20 patients for clinical trials of its first product, Telepathy, but reports indicate that Musk has not yet obtained formal commercial approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
As a result, China has surpassed the United States in achieving the world’s first practical clinical application of brain-computer interface technology.
Original source: toutiao.com/article/1870926076933195/
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