ChinaFocus:Chinesebrainimplanthelpsparalyzedmanrecovermotorskills_GuangmingOnlineBEIJING,Jan.31(Xinhua)--AChineseclinicalteamhasimplantedawirelessprocessorintotheskullofaparalyzedman,significantlyrecoveringhismotorskills,includingdrinkingabottleofwateronhisown.TheteamannouncedtheoutcomeonTuesday,callingitabreakthroughinthecountry'sbrain-computerinterface(BCI)device,afrontiertechnologythatmayassisttherehabilitationofpatientswithbraindiseasesandinjuries,andevenexpandthehumanbrain'sprocessingcapabilityinthefuture.Thepatient,whoreceivedtheimplantsurgeryinaclinicaltrialonOct.24,2023,hadsufferedacompletespinalcordinjuryasaresultofacaraccident.Hehadbeenquadriplegic,orparalyzedinallfourlimbs,for14years.ThebrainsurgeonsfromXuanwuHospitalimplantedtheminimally-invasive,wirelessBCIprocessorintwocoins'sizeintotheparticipant'sskullandsuccessfullyacquiredthenervesignalsinhisbrainregionthatcontrolthesensoryandmotorfunctions.Afterthreemonthsofhometraining,thepatientisnowcapableoffetchingabottleofwateronhisownviaanair-filledglovedrivenbybrainwaves,withhisgraspingaccuracyrateexceeding90percent.Thepatientalsoshowedimprovementinclinicalscoresforspinalcordinjuryandsensory-evokedpotentialmeasurements,accordingtotheneurosurgeonsinthetrial.Theimplantabledevice,calledNeuralElectronicOpportunity(NEO),hasbeendevelopedbyagroupofscientistsfromTsinghuaUniversity.Itsinternalpartispoweredbytheexternalpartthroughthescalp,anditreceivesneuralsignalsbeforetransmittingthemtoacomputerorcellphones.Unlikethe"Telepathy"technologydevelopedbyU.S.startupNeuralink,NEO'selectrodesareembeddedbetweentheskullandtheduramater,athickexternalmembranethatsurroundsthebrainandspinalcord.Theseelectrodescanensurethesignalqualitywithoutdamagingtheneuraltissues,accordingtoHongBo,aprofessorfromTsinghua'sSchoolofMedicine.Also,NEOemploysnear-fieldwirelesspowersupplyandsignaltransmission,thusmakingtheinternalmachineimplantedintheskullbattery-free,saidHong.OnDecember19,2023,thesecondNEOimplantationcaseinaspinalcordinjurypatientwasimplementedatBeijingTiantanHospital.Thepatientisnowundergoingrehabilitationathome.BCI,whichenablescommunicationbetweenthebrainandcomputerbyrecordingandinterpretingbrainsignals,hasbecomeahotspottechnologyamongstartupsrecently.ElonMusksaidonMondaythatNeuralinkhasimplantedadeviceinahumanforthefirsttime,withthepatientrecoveringwellandshowingpromisingneuronspikedetection.China'sMinistryofIndustryandInformationTechnologyhasvowedtosupportfutureindustriesthatincludeBCI,metaverseandhumanoidrobots.ZhaoGuoguang,aprofessoratXuanwuHospital,saidthatBCItechnologywillhopefullyhelppatientswithbraindiseasessuchasspinalcordinjuryandepilepsytorecover,andoffersthepossibilityofrealizingbrain-computerintelligencefusion."ButthereisstillacertainwaytogoforBCI'slarge-scaleapplication,andfutureresearchwillbeconductedondevicestabilityandfunctionality,"Zhaoadded.EnditemEditor:DisclaimerTheviewsandopinionsexpressedinthisarticlearethoseoftheauthor's,GMW.cnmakesnorepresentationsastoaccuracy,suitability,orvalidityofanyinformationonthissiteandwillnotbeliableforanyerrors,omissions,ordelaysinthisinformation.