China Approves World's First Invasive Brain-Computer Interface Chip

Jun 1, 2026

NEO became the first invasive brain-computer interface approved for use beyond clinical trials in March 2026. Developed by Neuracle Technology with Tsinghua University researchers, NEO beat Neuralink to approval. The device is now available to patients with paralysis from spinal cord injuries. Neuracle conducted 36 clinical trials since October 2023, demonstrating the technology's readiness for broader clinical deployment.

NEO brain implant approval

▪NEO was developed by Neuracle Technology, a Shanghai-based startup, together with researchers at Tsinghua University in Beijing.
▪NEO beat several other brain-computer interfaces to approval, including one from Neuralink, a California-based company founded by Elon Musk.
▪NEO is now available to some patients with paralysis in their limbs due to spinal cord injuries.
▪China started incorporating NEO into the country's health insurance system by assigning it a unique code days after NEO was approved.
▪Since October 2023, Neuracle has conducted 36 clinical trials using NEO.
▪NEO became the first invasive brain-computer interface product in the world to be approved for use beyond clinical trials in March 2026.
▪Thirty-two of Neuracle's NEO clinical trials took place in the space of a few months in 2025.
▪NEO is suitable for patients between 18 and 60 who have paralysis in all limbs due to spinal cord injuries but still have some residual function in their arms, according to China's National Medical Products Administration.

Dong Hui rehabilitation journey

▪Dong Hui started his rehabilitation around a week after surgery.
▪In November 2024, Dong Hui became one of the first people in China to be given an invasive brain-computer interface through brain surgery.
▪In October 2025, Dong Hui wrote his name, "Thank you," and the date with a pen in the courtyard of his house in China's Henan province.
▪Dong Hui signed up for a clinical trial with NEO's developer one month after seeing on TV how a brain-computer interface had apparently enabled another paralyzed Chinese man to hold his granddaughter.
▪Dong Hui completes 2.5-hour training sessions each day wearing a soft robotic glove to help Dong Hui learn to grab.
▪The procedure to implant NEO's sensors on Dong Hui's dura mater took just over an hour and a half.
▪On the ninth day of training, Dong Hui's right hand successfully grabbed a ball without the glove.
▪Dong Hui, 39, sustained spinal cord injuries in a car accident six years before October 2025 that left Dong Hui paralyzed from the neck down.

China BCI industry support

▪Several Chinese startups, including NeuroXess and StairMed, have already worked in the brain-computer interface field for many years.

US-China BCI comparison

▪NEO has a relatively less invasive design than counterparts such as Neuralink's N1 brain chip because NEO's sensors sit on top of the brain's protective membrane while Neuralink's N1 chip directly penetrates the cortex.

Future BCI development pipeline

▪Brain-computer interface candidates in China's approval pipeline could get the green light as early as 2028.
▪Beinao-1, developed by the Chinese Institute for Brain Research in Beijing and its affiliated startup NeuCyber NeuroTech, is designed to help those who have movement and speech difficulties due to spinal cord injuries or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.