Countdown to NEO brain-computer interface clinical trial in China

Chinese researchers are planning a major clinical trial next year on technology linking the brain directly with electronic devices, according to a report on a Shanghai government social media account.

The brain-computer interface (BCI) technology was developed in China and was implanted successfully in three patients, said the report posted on the Shanghai Science & Technology account on the weekend.

One of the recipients was a 38-year-old spinal cord patient in Shanghai who had not been able to stand and had lost hand function since a car accident four years ago.

“The results are even better than we expected,” the report quoted Mao Ying, head of the National Centre for Neurological Disorders, as saying.

The implant is called Neural Electronic Opportunity (NEO), and is a collaboration between Neuracle Technology and a team headed by Hong Bo at Tsinghua University’s biomedical engineering department.

Mao, who is also director of Huashan Hospital affiliated with Fudan University, was part of the team conducting the implantation.