China News Service, Beijing, January 31 (Reporter Gao Kai) Tsinghua University announced on January 31 that a team from Tsinghua University and Xuanwu Hospital successfully conducted the first clinical trial of a wireless minimally invasive brain-computer interface.
According to the news, on October 24, 2023, the wireless minimally invasive implantable brain-computer interface NEO (Neural Electronic Opportunity) designed and developed by Professor Hong Bo of Tsinghua University School of Medicine and led by a team successfully conducted its first clinical implantation trial at Xuanwu Hospital. On January 29, 2024, the joint team held a clinical trial phase summary meeting and announced that the first patient's brain-computer interface rehabilitation had made breakthrough progress.
According to reports, the first patient was a patient who suffered complete spinal cord injury at the cervical spine caused by a car accident and had been in a state of quadriplegia for 14 years. The system adopts a wireless minimally invasive design. The internal machine is buried in the skull, and the electrodes are covered in the epidural mater (the dura mater is located between the skull and the cerebral cortex, protecting nerve tissue). It does not damage brain cells. Discharged and returned home.
According to the news, after three months of home-based brain-computer interface rehabilitation training, patients can drive pneumatic gloves through brain electrical activity to realize brain-controlled functions such as drinking water independently, and the grasping and decoding accuracy exceeds 90%; ASIA clinical trials of patients with spinal cord injuries There were significant improvements in scores and sensory evoked potential responses.
On January 30, Beijing time, American entrepreneur Musk, known as the “Iron Man of Silicon Valley,” posted: “Yesterday, the first human patient underwent Neuralink (brain-computer interface) implantation surgery and is currently recovering well. ." According to reports, unlike the Neuralink brain-computer interface led by Musk, the wireless minimally invasive implantable brain-computer interface NEO places electrodes on the brain's epidural mater. It was developed through long-term animal experiments and will not damage neural tissue; it uses near-field Wireless power supply and signal transmission, no batteries required in the body.
It is reported that the second spinal cord injury patient's implantation was successfully performed at Tiantan Hospital on December 19, 2023, and the patient is undergoing home rehabilitation training. The clinical trial of the wireless minimally invasive brain-computer interface passed the ethical review of Xuanwu Hospital and Tiantan Hospital in April and May 2023 respectively, and registered international and domestic implantable medical device clinical trials. (over)