Implantable BCI 'NEO System' Launches: Turning 'Mind Control' into Reality for Paralyzed Patients

Xinhua News AgencyTech Observation: The NEO Brain-Computer Interface System Launches – How Does "Willpower" Control Become a Reality?

Recently, the "Implantable Brain-Computer Interface Hand Movement Function Compensation System" (hereinafter referred to as: NEO system), jointly developed by a Tsinghua University team and Neuracle, has been officially approved for marketing. The National Healthcare Security Administration has completed the medical insurance coding for this product, marking the entry of the world's first invasive brain-computer interface medical device into the clinical application stage.

The NEO system, the world's first semi-invasive brain-computer interface product featuring "epidural implantation + fully wireless transmission design," has achieved full localization of key core technologies and components, and is suitable for quadriplegic patients with spinal cord injuries.

It is understood that spinal cord injury is widely recognized in the medical community as a "difficult-to-treat condition." Due to the disruption of neural "signal pathways," the brain’s motor commands cannot reach the limbs, leaving patients in a state of high-level paralysis and confined to long-term bed rest. Particularly for patients with a disease duration exceeding one year, the lack of direct repair methods makes neurological function recovery nearly hopeless.

Facing this medical challenge, the NEO system has provided a new solution. Hong Bo, leader of the technical team and professor at Tsinghua University's Department of Biomedical Engineering, introduced that the semi-invasive brain-computer interface system acts like a precise "translator." By implanting a coin-sized minimally invasive device on the patient’s dura mater, it can collect and decode brain signals in real time without touching brain tissue or damaging nerve cells. This allows the system to capture motor commands sent by the brain, bypass damaged areas, and enable patients to control an external pneumatic glove with their "thoughts," autonomously performing daily actions such as grasping, picking up objects, and drinking water.

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Based on Patient Needs

Finding the Optimal Solution Between Safety and Efficacy

The final decision to adopt the semi-invasive technology route was a carefully considered choice by Hong Bo's team after a long period of exploration. As early as 25 years ago, when the team entered the brain-computer interface field, the mainstream research routes were divided into two types: non-invasive and invasive. The former collects brain signals by placing sensors non-invasively on the outside of the scalp, which is safe but the signals are affected by physical barriers such as the skull; the invasive method implants sensors directly into the cerebral cortex to obtain precise signals, but it faces risks such as poor long-term compatibility, electrode detachment, and immune reactions.

How to find the optimal balance between invasiveness, signal quality, and long-term risks? In 2013, the team pioneered the concept of a "semi-invasive" brain-computer interface. Hong Bo used an ingenious metaphor to explain its core advantage: "If non-invasive signal acquisition is likened to 'listening to music through a wall,' which is blurry and distorted, then semi-invasive is like 'listening to music through gauze,' relatively clearer and safer." This technical approach cleverly places electrodes outside the dura mater, significantly improving signal quality while avoiding direct damage to brain tissue, truly achieving a win-win situation for safety and efficacy, laying the foundation for subsequent clinical translation.

In subsequent research and development, the team overcame a series of technical challenges such as long-term implant stability, wireless energy transmission, and high-precision and efficient brain signal decoding by relying on core innovations like near-field wireless communication and power supply technology, and the original "virtual signal channel." These breakthroughs not only laid the foundation for the lifelong reliable use of implanted devices but also reduced system decoding latency to hundreds of milliseconds, achieving precise and rapid translation of patients' movement intentions, truly enabling patients to "move as they wish."

Since the completion of the first implant in October 2023, through four feasibility clinical trials in 2024 that preliminarily verified its safety, efficacy, and clear indications, and up to the multi-center clinical trial carried out in 11 hospitals across China in 2025, completing clinical implants in 32 patients with cervical spinal cord injuries, the NEO system has achieved an astonishing "China speed" – all patients participating in the trial successfully realized brain-controlled grasping, and most patients showed significant improvement in hand motor function scores with the assistance of the brain-computer interface.

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From "0 to 1" Afterwards

Crack More Challenges with Prudence

After three years of rigorous verification, on March 13 this year, this invasive brain-computer interface medical device was officially approved for marketing. The approval and marketing of this product are not only expected to bring hope to millions of patients, but its progress has also attracted widespread attention from a large group of people with neurological diseases such as stroke and epilepsy.

In response to the expectation of whether brain-computer interfaces can benefit a wider population, Hong Bo stated that this achievement addresses specific problems based on clinical needs in China. Expanding its application to tens of millions or even hundreds of millions of patients with stroke, epilepsy, depression, and Alzheimer's disease still faces many scientific challenges and technical bottlenecks. "The NEO system has achieved a 'from 0 to 1' breakthrough. The subsequent development from 1 to 100, 1000... will be carried forward by more innovative teams in the industry."

Currently, the Hongbo team is reverse-exploring the fundamental scientific proposition of "returning from 1 to 0" based on existing clinical results. Among the 32 patients with cervical spinal cord injuries who have undergone implantation, 22 showed significant improvement in voluntary hand movement function scores after six months of brain-controlled training. This unexpected "neurological repair" phenomenon has prompted deep scientific inquiry within the team: What changes occurred in the connection between the brain and nerves? Can these changes be further accelerated? Deciphering the mechanisms behind these clinical observations has become the core mission of the team.

Source: Xinhua News Agency

Author:Yue Xiangzhi