China beats Elon Musk to launch world’s first commercial brain chip
China has approved the world’s first brain-computer chip, beating Elon Musk to market.
The coin-sized device, NEO, is the first surgical implant to pass clinical trials for commercial sale. Its first version is designed to improve nervous system function in patients with spinal cord injuries and paralysis and is set to enter mass production for China’s state-run health system.
Musk has frequently highlighted the technology’s potential. “Restoring control of people who are tetraplegics and restoring sight, I think, are pretty big deals,” he said at an event in Israel last month. His start-up Neuralink aims to let users perform routine tasks through thought control, including typing and moving a mouse.
Brain chips could improve life for more than 3 billion people with neurological conditions, particularly those affecting movement and speech, as well as patients with depression, epilepsy, stroke and Parkinson’s disease.
Permanent implants face major challenges. The immune system can form scar tissue around foreign objects or reject them, while implants can also damage surrounding tissue.
Researchers at Tsinghua University and Shanghai-based Neuracle Technology sought to reduce those risks. NEO sits between the skull and brain, pressing eight sensors against the dura mater and connecting them to nearby computers. A central processor converts brainwaves into digital commands.
Thirty-six patients have reportedly used the implant successfully.
That presents a challenge for Neuralink, whose N1 device has not received FDA approval for general use despite human trials beginning in 2024. According to University of Technology Sydney researcher Avinash Singh, cited by MIT Review, NEO is likely ahead because it is less invasive. Neuralink’s N1 must penetrate the cerebral cortex.
“Any kind of brain implant can cause physical damage that may affect how neighbouring brain regions work,” said Griffith University cybersecurity expert Dr. David Tuffley, noting risks including bleeding, blood clots, infection, swelling and related complications. Neuralink’s N1 is currently being tested in nine patients.
