In a display of its growing technological prowess, China showcased its pioneering Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) technology, a real-time mind-reading machine, on Thursday, January 2, 2025.
The Chinese startup NeuroAccess reportedly conducted two tests utilizing its flexible BCI device. The device demonstrated the ability to decode the thoughts of a brain injury patient and decode Chinese speech in real time.
According to Chinese state media Xinhua, BCI technology has the potential to enable patients to control software functionality using their minds, interact with artificial intelligence models, manipulate objects, and control speech-controlled digital avatars.
World's first! A Chinese company on Thursday reported two significant clinical-trial milestones: its flexible brain-computer interface (BCI) device successfully decoded the precise intended movements of one patient with a brain injury in real time, and decoded Chinese speech in… pic.twitter.com/dpVGkTdvZa
— People's Daily, China (@PDChina) January 3, 2025
In August 2024, neurosurgeons at Huashan Hospital, affiliated with Fudan University, implanted a 256-channel, high-throughput flexible BCI device in a 21-year-old female epilepsy patient. The device, manufactured by Shanghai-based NeuroAccess, utilizes a lesion in her motor area for treatment purposes.
The device processes ECoG data from her brain signals to decode in real time, resulting in a system latency below 60 milliseconds. This achievement enabled the mapping of functional brain areas immediately following the surgery. Within just five days of training, she attained a 71% accuracy rate in decoding 142 commonly used Chinese syllables, with an overall latency of less than 100 milliseconds.
