This Chinese tech might render Elon Musk's Neuralink obsolete
What's the story
A team from China's Nankai University has successfully conducted the world's first human trial of a brain-computer interface (BCI) implanted through blood vessels. The revolutionary technology helped a paralyzed patient regain limb movement, marking a major milestone in neurotechnology. The research was led by Professor Duan Feng, Vice Dean of the university's medical college, and the surgery was performed at Fujian Sanbo Funeng Brain Hospital.
Procedure comparison
Less invasive than Neuralink's approach
Unlike Elon Musk's Neuralink, which uses an open-skull approach for BCI implantation, the method developed by Nankai University is less risky and takes less time to recover. The patient who underwent this procedure was a 67-year-old man with left hemiplegia due to cerebral infarction six months ago. He had been showing slow rehabilitation progress before the BCI interventional implantation.
Surgical details
How the surgery was performed
The BCI implantation in China was done under high-precision digital subtraction angiography (DSA) imaging guidance. The surgeons inserted a stent electrode into the patient's intracranial vasculature via a minimally invasive neck vein procedure. This innovative approach highlights the potential of BCIs in treating neurological disorders and restoring lost motor functions, without the need for invasive surgeries like those performed by Neuralink.
Improvement
Patient regained voluntary grasping
Following the treatment, the patient regained voluntary grasping and could also perform daily tasks like picking up medicines. Notably, there were no side effects such as any infection or thrombosis, China Science Daily reported.