On November 6, Xiao Dong, who has been paralyzed for 4 years, was preparing for a new treatment technique on the neurosurgical table at Huashan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University. This technology even sounds sci-fi — a coin-sized brain-computer interface is about to be embedded outside his skull, successfully collecting neural signals from the sensory motor area of Xiao Dong's brain.

This implantable brain-computer interface device was developed by Boruikang Medical Technology Co., Ltd. in collaboration with Professor Hong Bo from the Tsinghua University School of Biomedical Engineering. The system uses a wireless minimally invasive design that does not damage brain cells. Patients can leave the hospital and go home just one week after surgery.

On the same day, the neurosurgery department of Huashan Hospital completed the clinical implantation test for this case. The clinical trial was approved by the Huashan Hospital Ethics Committee. It was a GCP clinical trial carried out in accordance with the requirements of the “Medical Device Clinical Trial Quality Management Code” and the “Scientific and Technological Ethics Review Measures”.

The reporter learned from the International Brain-Computer Interface Conference that the patient recovered well after surgery. He was discharged from hospital and returned home on November 15. Currently, rehabilitation training is being actively carried out, and he has successfully completed brain control and drinking water.

The Zhitong Finance App learned that from December 6 to 7, the world's top academic conference “BCI Society & Chen Institute Joint Meeting” in the field of brain-computer interface was held in Shanghai.

Hong Bo from the School of Biomedical Engineering at Tsinghua University revealed in an interview that NEO brain-computer interface devices will be used in 30-50 brain-computer interface clinical trial implantation surgeries in about 10 centers across the country next year.

“This brain-computer interface device has entered the China Drug Administration's innovative medical device approval channel. In the future, we will cooperate with more medical institutions, including medical institutions in the western region, to allow more patients to participate in clinical trials. We will also closely observe the results of clinical studies, summarize relevant data in a timely manner, and submit it to the State Drug Administration.” Hong Bo said.

The Western Securities Research Report points out that brain science and brain-like research are one of the seven major scientific and technological frontier research projects in the “14th Five-Year Plan”, and brain-computer interface is one of the core key technologies that are currently expected to be applied. It is recommended to focus on overseas targets related to Phase 0-1, as well as domestic mapping.

Hong Kong stocks related to the brain-computer interface concept:

Nanjing Panda Electronics Co., Ltd. (00553): Nanjing Panda said on the investor interactive platform that in terms of brain-computer interface, the company has undertaken a provincial key R&D project and is currently still in the development stage.

Xinwei Medical-B (06609): On June 25, 2023, the first domestic interventional brain-computer interface independently developed by China successfully completed animal testing in Beijing. The interventional brain-computer interface was jointly developed by Duan Feng's research team, a professor at the School of Artificial Intelligence at Nankai University, and Xinwei Medical.