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Recently, Zhao Zhengtuo and Li Xue from the Center for Excellence and Innovation in Brain Science and Intelligent Technology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, together with Huashan Hospital affiliated to Fudan University and related enterprises, carried out the second clinical trial of invasive brain computer interface, which was declared successful. After implantation of relevant systems in the brain, patients with high paraplegia can freely move electric wheelchairs and command robotic dogs to complete daily tasks such as retrieving objects through mental manipulation. This marks that China's invasive brain computer interface technology has successfully moved from the virtual interaction stage in the laboratory to the application in real life scenarios, providing new possibilities for the reconstruction of life abilities for patients with motor dysfunction.
It is understood that the high-throughput wireless invasive brain computer interface system developed by the team was used in this clinical trial. Compared with the first domestic clinical trial of invasive brain computer interface conducted six months ago, this breakthrough has achieved three major breakthroughs: expanding from two-dimensional electronic device control to three-dimensional physical space control, extending from virtual scene interaction to real-life applications, and upgrading from basic intent control to deeply integrated functional implementation with daily life. The upgraded system WRS02 developed by the team has a data reading speed that is four times faster than the first generation product, providing technical support for precise control.
The patients in this clinical trial suffered from high paraplegia due to spinal cord injury in 2022, and after rehabilitation treatment, they were only able to move their head and neck. After implanting the brain computer interface system and undergoing 2-3 weeks of training, the patient first achieved stable control over electronic devices such as computer pointers and tablets. Subsequently, the technical team further expanded the application scenarios and included peripheral devices such as smart wheelchairs and robotic dogs in the control range. To cope with complex road conditions and interaction requirements in real environments, the team has overcome multiple technical challenges: developing high compression ratio and high fidelity neural data compression technology to improve the efficiency of effective information extraction in noisy environments; Introducing neural manifold alignment technology to extract stable core intent features from high-dimensional neural signals; Innovative online recalibration technology enables real-time micro calling of system parameters, ensuring long-term stability during use. More importantly, the system compresses the end-to-end delay from signal acquisition to instruction issuance to within 100 milliseconds, which is lower than the natural neural circuit conduction delay of the human body, allowing patients to have a smooth and natural control experience.
At present, the clinical trial of the third patient with invasive brain computer interface by the research team has been completed. Team leader Zhao Zhengtuo, a researcher, stated that at present, all the interfaces and devices used are universal, such as household robotic arms and robotic dogs. In the future, it is hoped that through a unified control interface, patients can flexibly control various peripherals and further expand their freedom of life. The team has a clear plan for the technological development path: to promote the large-scale application of sports and language function reconstruction within the short term of three years; Strive to achieve breakthroughs in the fields of artificial vision, auditory restoration, and precise regulation of neurological and psychiatric disorders within the next five years; To achieve highly minimally invasive systems and explore broader application scenarios such as medical consumption in the long term of about ten years.
Pu Muming, academician of the CAS Member and academic director of the Brain Intelligence Center of Excellence, pointed out that research in the field of brain computer interface has been carried out for nearly 30 years. Previously, it was difficult to achieve clinical popularization due to technical bottlenecks such as miniaturization, systematization and wireless devices. The series of clinical trial results of our team not only promote the implementation of technology, but also highlight the social demand orientation of research. He also emphasized that the development of brain computer interface technology needs to balance innovation sharpness and humanistic care, and related ethical boundary issues urgently need to be clarified, such as strictly prohibiting the use of technology for functional enhancement in healthy populations to avoid triggering new social inequalities.
Industry experts analyze that the breakthrough in the practical application of invasive brain computer interface technology is a successful practice of the innovative model of "medical engineering integration" in China's medical device field. With the continuous iteration of technology and the deepening of clinical verification, it is expected to bring more comprehensive rehabilitation solutions for patients with motor dysfunction such as spinal cord injury and limb amputation, and also promote the innovative development of brain computer interface, which is a key area of international technological competition in China.