A groundbreaking fully implantable brain-computer interface (BCI) surgery was successfully performed on a patient with high-level paralysis due to spinal cord injury at Tongji Hospital, affiliated with Huazhong University of Science and Technology (HUST). This marks the first such procedure in Central China.

Tongji Hospital team performs a fully implantable BCI surgery on the patient. [Photo/WeChat account of Optics Valley of China]

The implanted device is the first domestically produced high-throughput, single-neuron-level BCI product and currently the world's least invasive fully implantable brain-control device. Recognized as an innovative medical device by China's National Medical Products Administration, its core function is to bypass the damaged spinal cord. It decodes thoughts like "raise hand" or "walk" in real-time, converting them into commands for robotic arms, wheelchairs, computer cursors, and even smart home devices.

"In the past, we could only help patients adapt to their disabilities; now, we aim to help them 'bypass' these disabilities," said Professor Tang Zhouping, Party secretary of the Tongji Hospital. This surgery marks the completion of a full technology loop for fully implantable, semi-implantable, and non-invasive BCI technologies in Central China, positioning Tongji Hospital as one of the few institutions capable of systematically conducting clinical translation of all three BCI types.

This patient is part of a multi-center clinical study employing a prospective, open design focused on functional reconstruction for patients with spinal cord injury. In other words, this represents a critical real-world validation step for invasive BCIs in China as they move toward regulatory approval.