Milestone for neurotechnology: brain chip converts thoughts into movement
China has approved the world's first brain-computer chip which, when implanted in the skull, enables paralysed people to move their hands with their thoughts.
Until now, paraplegia has been virtually untreatable. Those affected can no longer move their arms and legs and therefore lose their independence. Now, for the first time in the world, a brain-computer interface (BCI) has received approval outside of clinical trials. The brain implant called NEO helps people with severe paralysis to move their hands again. It was developed by Neuracle Medical Technology in Shanghai.
«The approval is a milestone for the entire field of BCI research», says Zhengwu Liu, an electrical engineer at the University of Hong Kong who worked with the NEO team.
The researchers from Shanghai were able to show that the brain implant works on the basis of test subjects over 18 months. Such long-term data is rare in this field of research. Liu sees this as a key reason that made the authorisation possible.
Minimally invasive brain-computer interface
NEO is about the size of a coin and is inserted into the skull. Eight electrodes superficially record brain activity. If the person imagines moving their hand, a computer analyses these signals and uses them to control a soft robotic glove. This enables those affected to reach for something again, for example. If the person stops imagining grasping, the pneumatic glove opens and releases the object.
Source: https://doi.org/10.1101/2024.09.05.24313041
The benefits for patients are immense: they can move paralysed limbs again and regain their independence in everyday life.
In a not yet peer-reviewed preprint, the researchers report on test subjects who are able to eat and drink independently again thanks to the BCI - tasks that they were unable to perform before the BCI implantation. A remarkable medical side effect is that the other hand, which was not wearing a robotic glove, also made slight progress in its ability to move. The researchers suspect that the constant, intensive mental training to control the chip stimulates the brain to rewire itself. This apparently also stimulates remaining neural pathways in the non-supported half of the body.
A total of 32 people have received the chip so far. The result: all of them can grasp again with the help of the robotic hand. A success, even if the number of participants is very low for a scientific study.
The brain chip race: Where the competition stands
While NEO has now received regular approval, other high-profile BCI projects are still going through lengthy clinical trial phases. Last year, the US company Paradromics received permission to test its implant on two people - with the aim of restoring speech ability lost due to neurological damage. Neuralink, the neurotechnology company founded by Elon Musk, announced in January that 21 people are currently taking part in clinical trials.
There is probably a clear medical reason why the Chinese system has overtaken its US competitors in terms of approval: its design. BCI researcher Avinash Singh from the University of Technology Sydney points out that NEO is significantly less invasive. Because the electrodes do not penetrate deep into the sensitive brain tissue, as is the case with Neuralink, for example, but only sit superficially, the procedure is considered safer. This is likely to have significantly favoured the remarkably fast approval process.
The approval of the NEO system coincides with China's new five-year plan, which defines brain-computer interfaces as a strategic industry of the future. Experts now expect accelerated approvals, more research funding and early clinical tests, for example on stroke patients.
Science editor and biologist. I love animals and am fascinated by plants, their abilities and everything you can do with them. That's why my favourite place is always the outdoors - somewhere in nature, preferably in my wild garden.
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