A WIRELESS minimally invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) device co-developed by a team at China’s Tsinghua University and brain-computer interface startup Neuracle Technology will conduct dozens of clinical trials next year in a drive to bring the device a step closer to availability in market.

“We plan to implant the NEO device on between 30 and 50 spinal cord injury patients next year, in around 10 centers across China,” Hong Bo, team leader and professor at Tsinghua University’s School of Biomedical Engineering, said at the joint meeting of the Brain-Computer Interface Society and the Chen Tianqiao and Chrissy Institute, a non-profit organization named after Chinese entrepreneur Chen Tianqiao.

Once the trials are completed, the clinical data will be submitted to regulators to apply for the product to go to market, Hong said at the event, which was held in Shanghai last week. It is the first time that a BCI Meeting has been held in Asia in the 25 years since it was founded.

This year, NEO was implanted in three patients. One patient, who was paralyzed four years ago in a car accident, can now control his arms with his mind and perform simple actions such as picking up a cup to drink water, said Mao Yin, dean of Fudan University’s Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, where the operation took place last month.

During the procedure, a coin-sized device was embedded in the patient’s skull to collect neural signals from sensory and motor brain areas. Power and signal transmission was facilitated by an external magnetic coil connected through the scalp.

Unlike Elon Musk’s Neuralink, which directly places chips in the brain, NEO uses a semi-invasive approach. Electrodes are positioned outside the brain cortex, avoiding direct contact with brain tissue. “The results are even better than we expected,” Mao explained.

Using a prosthetic glove, the patient could control brain signals to perform daily tasks like picking up a cup, unscrewing a bottle cap, and drinking.

The operation was completed in just 1 hour and 40 minutes thanks to an online brain function localization system. This innovation allowed surgeons to pinpoint hand motor and sensory brain regions rapidly. The NEO device has already proven its efficacy in two earlier implantations conducted in Beijing last year.

In August, NEO became the first BCI to enter China’s “green channel” for quick approval of innovative medical devices. It is projected to be available for clinical use by 2027.

Scientific research institutions and companies around the world are accelerating clinical trials of BCI apparatus. Last month, Neuralink founded by Elon Musk said that it has been given the green light to conduct clinical trials in Canada, after completing two human implant surgeries in January and August.(SD-Agencies)