China is working on a brain-computer interface (BCI) that could one day be implanted without opening the skull, using blood vessels in the neck to reach the brain. The approach could make brain implants faster and less invasive than conventional procedures, although the technology is still in the experimental stage. The Shanghai-based start-up StairMed Technology is developing the system with researchers from the Chinese Academy of Sciences, South China Morning Post reports. Instead of exposing the brain through surgery, doctors would insert the device through a blood vessel in the neck and guide it through the vascular system until it reaches a targeted area of the brain. The device would then be secured outside the blood vessel wall.
The company first unveiled the program in December. So far, the procedure has been tested on sheep, but StairMed has not yet started human trials. That means the much-discussed 10-minute implantation time is currently a target demonstrated by researchers rather than a procedure available to patients.
A different route into the brain
Traditional implanted BCIs require doctors to open the skull and place electrodes directly into or on the brain. Elon Musk’s Neuralink, for instance, uses a surgical approach in which a device is implanted into the brain’s cortex. The Chinese approach attempts to avoid that step altogether. By using the body’s existing blood-vessel network as a route to the brain, researchers hope to reduce the trauma and risks associated with major brain surgery while making implantation easier to perform.
Duan Wanru, chief physician at Xuanwu Hospital under Beijing’s Capital Medical University, said his team is also investigating a vascular method involving the brain’s venous sinuses. The hospital has already begun its first human clinical study.
“A surgeon with four or five years of experience can position the device in as little as 10 minutes,” Duan said. “So far, there have been no major safety concerns, and the implant can even be removed and retrieved within a month of the operation.”
China’s Nankai University also completed what it described as the world’s first human trial of a BCI implanted through blood vessels last year. The country is now trying to build a larger domestic BCI industry, with Beijing aiming to develop two or three globally competitive companies in the field by 2030.
What could these implants do?
BCIs are designed to translate electrical signals from the brain into commands that computers and other electronic devices can understand. For people with severe paralysis, the technology could potentially offer a way to communicate, control devices or regain some independence using their thoughts.
StairMed co-founder Zhao Zhengtuo said people with paralysis could eventually use the technology to get closer to a life similar to that of people without disabilities. The company has already reported an example of how its technology could be used. In one trial involving a surgically implanted BCI, a patient was able to use the system to serve customers on Chinese e-commerce platform JD.com and earn around 1,800 yuan a month.
StairMed has attracted significant investment as China increases its focus on neurotechnology. The company said its funding over the past year had crossed 1.1 billion yuan, with investors including Alibaba and Tencent.
The idea of inserting a BCI through a vein is not unique to China. US-based Synchron has also implanted its BCI through the jugular vein in patients in Australia and the United States. However, the biggest question remains whether these less invasive implants can work safely and reliably over long periods. Animal testing cannot establish how well the technology will perform in people, and human trials will have to show whether doctors can accurately position the device, keep it stable and capture useful brain signals without causing serious complications.
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