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The BCI Briefing

Clinical4 min read

China's BCI pipeline, counted for the first time

A preprint from Chinese clinicians tallies 134 registered trials, 26 investigator-initiated trials and five approved products, months after the country registered the first implanted BCI anywhere.

ByThe BCI Briefing

Evidence class: Reported claim

The short version

  • The analysis counts 134 BCI trials in China's national registry, 26 investigator-initiated trials and five approved products as of June 2026.
  • Almost four in five registered studies are non-invasive, and stroke rehabilitation leads the indications.
  • In March 2026 the regulator registered NEO, an epidural implant for assisted grasp: the first marketing authorisation for an implanted BCI.

A group of Chinese clinicians and researchers posted a landscape analysis of the country's BCI translation on 8 July. It draws on three sources that are rarely read together outside China: the Chinese Clinical Trial Registry, investigator-initiated trials run inside hospitals, and the list of products approved by the National Medical Products Administration.

The authors report that trial registration has risen quickly since 2020, with research centres concentrated in Guangdong, Shanghai and Jiangsu. Non-invasive systems account for 79.1% of registered studies and stroke rehabilitation for 65.0%.

The approved products are an epidural implantable BCI, a closed-loop deep brain stimulation system that records local field potentials, and three EEG-based rehabilitation systems. The implant is NEO, made by Neuracle and registered on 13 March for adults with tetraplegia from cervical spinal cord injury, to drive a pneumatic glove that assists grasp.

How solid is this

A preprint on arXiv (Chen et al., 2026), not yet peer reviewed. The figures here are from its abstract. The NEO registration is reported by Chinese and trade press and by MIT Technology Review; the regulator's own notice exists but we could not open it. The registration trial is on ClinicalTrials.gov as completed, with 32 participants. For comparison, ClinicalTrials.gov lists 26 BCI studies with a site in China, 12 of them with an implanted interface, as read on 5 October 2026. No peer-reviewed results of the NEO trial have been published, so its clinical benefit cannot yet be weighed against the published record of other systems.

Preprint. A full manuscript shared publicly before peer review. Methods are open to scrutiny, but conclusions may change.

What to watch

  1. 01Peer review of the analysis, and publication of the NEO trial results.
  2. 02Results from the larger implant studies that StairMed and NeuroXess opened in 2026, each with more than thirty participants planned.
  3. 03Whether other regulators treat the Chinese registration as evidence, or ask for their own.

Sources

  1. 01

    Clinical Translation of Brain-Computer Interface in China: A Landscape Analysis of Investigator-Initiated Trials, Registered Clinical Trials, and Regulatory Approval (opens in a new tab)

    PreprintarXiv (Chen et al.)8 Jul 2026Checked against source 4 Oct 2026

    Preprint, not peer reviewed. Figures quoted are from the abstract: 134 registered trials, 26 investigator-initiated trials and five approved products as of June 2026.

  2. 02

    The world's first registration certificate for an implantable BCI goes to Shanghai: Neuracle's NEO system approved for market (opens in a new tab)

    Independent reporting新浪财经 (Sina Finance)13 Mar 2026Checked against source 4 Oct 2026

    Names the registrant (博睿康医疗科技（上海）有限公司), the product (植入式脑机接口手部运动功能代偿系统), the indication, the epidural placement, 32 implantations at 11 hospitals and entry to the innovative-device review channel in August 2024. The NMPA's own notice was not opened.

  3. 03

    Neuracle Technology receives China's NMPA clearance for BCI device (opens in a new tab)

    Independent reportingMedical Device Network16 Mar 2026Checked against source 4 Oct 2026

    Describes the system's components and the patient group. Gives no patient numbers.

  4. 04

    First invasive brain-computer interface medical device approved for market (opens in a new tab)

    Regulatory source国家药品监督管理局 (National Medical Products Administration)13 Mar 2026Source identified, not opened

    The regulator's own notice. Identified through search; the regulator's site refused the request, so the text was not read. Facts cited from it are taken from the news reports listed beside it.

  5. 05

    China has approved the world's first invasive brain-computer chip. Here's what's next (opens in a new tab)

    Independent reportingMIT Technology Review1 Jun 2026Checked against source 5 Oct 2026

    Describes NEO (eight sensors on the dura, a soft robotic glove), the patient group, the health-insurance code assigned days after the registration, and Beinao-1. Quotes outside researchers who caution against reading the field as a race.

  6. 06

    ClinicalTrials.gov NCT06990412 (opens in a new tab)

    Clinical registryClinicalTrials.gov25 Aug 2026Checked against source 3 Oct 2026

    Registry record last updated 2026-08-25.

  7. 07

    ClinicalTrials.gov NCT07603752 (opens in a new tab)

    Clinical registryClinicalTrials.gov22 May 2026Checked against source 3 Oct 2026

    Registry record last updated 2026-05-22.

  8. 08

    ClinicalTrials.gov NCT07720882 (opens in a new tab)

    Clinical registryClinicalTrials.gov22 Jul 2026Checked against source 3 Oct 2026

    Registry record last updated 2026-07-22.