China’s Brain-Computer Interfaces Leap from Lab to Clinic
Brain-computer interface (BCI) technology in China is accelerating from laboratory research into clinical practice at an unprecedented pace, marked by landmark patient recoveries, the world’s first approved invasive BCI medical device, and a comprehensive policy framework supporting the emerging industry.
According to Xinhua News, a patient with complete spinal cord injury regained the ability to walk independently with brace assistance after receiving a semi-invasive BCI implant, while China’s first clinical trial for a high-channel invasive BCI system launched in May 2026.
A Landmark Recovery: From Paralysis to Walking
Perhaps the most compelling evidence of BCI’s clinical potential comes from the case of Zhiming (a pseudonym), a 30-year-old man who suffered a severe T12-L1 spinal cord injury in a 2020 car accident. In May 2025, a neurosurgery team led by Zhao Guoguang, president of Xuanwu Hospital at Capital Medical University, simultaneously implanted the semi-invasive “BeiNao-1” BCI system and a temporal spinal cord electrical stimulation system.
Beijing Evening News reported that after one year of rehabilitation, Zhiming progressed from complete paralysis to incomplete spinal cord injury, achieving what was previously considered impossible: independent walking with brace assistance and restored bladder and bowel control. “On the 4th day after surgery when the device was activated, I felt a subtle electrical sensation from the top of my head,” Zhiming recalled. “It was the first new sensation my body had experienced since the injury — I was too excited to speak at that moment.”
The breakthrough challenges the traditional medical consensus that late-stage complete spinal cord injury is irreversible. The innovative “BCI + spinal cord stimulation + exoskeleton” combined therapy reconstructed neural pathways across the injury site, creating an electronic “bridge of life” that restored communication between the brain and lower body.
Three Technical Paths Advancing in Parallel
China is pursuing all three BCI technical approaches simultaneously: non-invasive (electrodes on the scalp), semi-invasive (electrodes on or under the dura mater), and invasive (electrodes inside the brain tissue).
The Brain-Computer Interaction and Human-Machine Integration Haihe Laboratory in Tianjin, based at Tianjin University, has developed over 30 “Shengong” series medical device products deployed across rehabilitation medicine, psychiatric medicine, neurocritical care, and audiovisual diagnostics. These include the “Shengong-Shener” auditory intelligence assessment system, which helps doctors optimize cochlear implants by directly reading the brain’s response to sound, and the “Shengong-Shen’gao” hydrocephalus rapid diagnosis system, which cuts diagnosis time from 2-3 days to 30 minutes.
“Non-invasive BCI collects EEG signals directly from the scalp surface through external devices like EEG caps, offering better safety guarantees and broader applicability,” said Ni Guangjian, executive deputy director of the Haihe Laboratory.
Meanwhile, the semi-invasive “BeiNao-1” system — developed by the Beijing Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Research Institute — uses 128-channel wireless fully-implanted flexible electrodes attached to the dura mater. According to the Beijing government website, its multi-center registered clinical trial launched in March 2025 has completed patient enrollment, with plans to apply for a medical device registration certificate in 2027.
The invasive “BeiNao-2” system, featuring 512-channel wireless fully-implanted flexible intracortical electrode arrays, targets severely paralyzed patients requiring ultra-fine motor decoding and plans to initiate human clinical validation within 2026.
World’s First Approved Invasive BCI Device
On March 13, 2026, China’s National Medical Products Administration approved the world’s first invasive BCI medical device — the implantable BCI hand motor function compensation system (NEO) developed by BrainCo Medical Technology. As 21st Century Business Herald reported, the system is designed for quadriplegic patients with cervical spinal cord injuries, using a brain-controlled pneumatic glove to assist with hand grasping functions.
This milestone marked China’s entry into a new era of BCI clinical application. In a national multi-center clinical trial, 32 surgical subjects achieved 92% grasping accuracy using the NEO system.
In May 2026, Zhirang Medical launched China’s first registered clinical trial for a >100-channel invasive BCI system. As 36Kr reported, the company’s 128-channel system uses ultra-thin biocompatible flexible electrodes and a wireless fully-implanted signal collector supporting wireless charging. “We look forward to this trial enabling patients with quadriplegia due to spinal cord injury to achieve brain-controlled mouse operation and restore partial hand motor function substitution,” said Song Qi, CEO of Zhirang Medical.
Strategic Policy Framework and Market Growth
China has positioned BCI as a strategic future industry. The “15th Five-Year Plan” (2026-2030) explicitly identifies BCI alongside quantum technology, biomanufacturing, and 6G communications as one of six key future industries. The 2026 Government Work Report included BCI in the future industry cultivation list for the first time.
Regulatory support has been equally decisive. The National Healthcare Security Administration established independent fee items for BCI procedures in 2025, and Hubei Province issued the nation’s first BCI medical service pricing in March 2026. National standards for BCI were released by the State Administration for Market Regulation in April 2026.
China’s BCI market is expected to reach approximately 5.58 billion yuan in 2026, with projections exceeding 15 billion yuan by 2030, according to industry analysis from 21st Century Business Herald. Investment activity has surged dramatically, with first-quarter 2026 enterprise financing exceeding full-year 2025 totals.
The China-US Competition
The BCI field has emerged as a new arena of technological competition between China and the United States. While the US — particularly Neuralink — leads in certain aspects of invasive BCI technology, 36Kr analysis notes that China has narrowed the gap from an estimated 7-8 years to within 3 years.
China has achieved several world-firsts: the first approved invasive BCI medical device globally, the first wireless fully-implanted BCI for Chinese language decoding, and the smallest invasive BCI implant worldwide. China’s BCI medical application academic papers now rank second globally after the US.
Challenges Ahead
Despite the rapid progress, experts urge caution. Zhao Guoguang emphasized at the national BCI clinical application conference that “BCI can only solve some problems that traditional medical approaches cannot; functional reconstruction cannot be achieved overnight. We need to have a rational understanding of this.”
Key challenges include electrode material performance, the need for larger clinical samples and controlled studies, standardization of clinical trial criteria, a talent gap across neuroscience, electronic engineering, and materials science, and ethical concerns surrounding neural privacy and non-medical implantation risks.
Luo Minmin, director of the Beijing Brain Science and Brain-Inspired Research Institute, emphasized the importance of basic research: “Disruptive technological breakthroughs originate from original discoveries in basic research; the depth of basic research determines the height of technological innovation.”
What to Watch For
As China’s BCI industry enters what experts call a “golden period,” several developments bear watching: the planned 2027 medical device registration applications for both BeiNao-1 and Zhirang Medical’s high-channel system, the anticipated clinical validation of BeiNao-2, and the continued expansion of BCI applications beyond medical rehabilitation into aerospace, education, and human-machine interaction. With policy support, clinical demand, and investment converging, China’s BCI sector is positioned for transformative growth in the years ahead.