Auxiliary implantation assembly, kit, and system for flexible neural electrodes

The present application provides an auxiliary implantation assembly, kit and system for flexible neural electrode, comprising: a cannula having a longitudinal cavity, and a tube wall at the distal end of the cannula configured to form a contact area larger than a first threshold to realize the pressing and limiting against the distal part in a case where the cannula is fixed and contacts the distal part of the flexible neural electrode; and a traction member extending in the longitudinal direction, the distal end of which is formed with a traction part and is configured to form a first physical connection mechanism with the proximal end of the cannula, the first physical connection mechanism is switchable between a locked state and an unlocked state by means of the proximal operation of the traction member.

The abstract as published by the patent office, from US12070246B1. It describes the invention; it is not a statement of what is protected.

• Surgical access

  Insertion tools and robots

• Interface and electrodes

  Electrodes and arrays · Peripheral interfaces

• Stimulation

  Stimulation

What the filing appears to be about, read by published rules from its title, abstract and classification codes (A61B17/3468, A61B5/263, A61B5/293, A61B5/386, A61N1/0529). The claims define what a patent protects, and they are not read here.

Surgical access

A probe soft enough for the brain to tolerate is too soft to push in by hand, and each route into the head has its own risk. The problem behind it: placing many contacts exactly, without injuring tissue or vessels, in an operation short and repeatable enough to offer widely.

Interface and electrodes

Everything downstream works with what the contacts pick up. Their number, size and distance from the neurons set the ceiling on the signal. The problem behind it: more contacts, closer to neurons, that still record after years in tissue that reacts to them.

Stimulation

Restoring sensation, sight or movement needs information going in, and a therapy that adapts needs to sense and stimulate at once. The problem behind it: evoking a precise, stable effect without damaging tissue or electrodes, and without blinding the recording.

Why the layer matters to the field, not a judgement of this filing. A patent family shows that protection was sought. It does not show that the technology was built, is used in a product, or works in people. The whole stack

One invention, published 6 times in 3 offices. Each publication opens in Espacenet.

• ChinaCN116439718A18 Jul 2023CN116439718B26 Sep 2023 · grant
• United StatesUS12070246B127 Aug 2024 · grant
• European Patent Officea route to several countries, not a countryEP4477164A118 Dec 2024EP4477164B111 Mar 2026 · grantEP4477164C011 Mar 2026

1. 16 Jun 2023First filingEarliest priority, at China. The family is counted in this year.
2. 18 Jul 2023First publicationCN116439718A, China.
3. 26 Sep 2023Grant publishedCN116439718B, China.
4. 29 Mar 2024ApplicationFiled at European Patent Office.
5. 4 Apr 2024ApplicationFiled at United States.
6. 27 Aug 2024Grant publishedUS12070246B1, United States.
7. 11 Mar 2026Grant publishedEP4477164B1, European Patent Office.
8. 6 Oct 2026Office recordEuropean Patent Office, on EP4477164A1: lapsed in a contracting state [announced via postgrant information from national office to epo] (ES, GR, HR, NO, PL, RS, SM).

Dates as the offices published them. Office records are in the offices' own words and are a selection: refusals, lapses and withdrawals, and records that name an owner. Each concerns one member of the family, not the family as a whole, and another member in the same office may stand. Whether a patent is in force today is not assessed.

Organisation

BCIFlex · 24 families identified

• Bibliographic data, family members and office records: European Patent Office, Open Patent Services (the DOCDB and INPADOC databases), read 7 Oct 2026.
• The record itself, with its claims and description: US12070246B1 in Espacenet
• Counted as a BCI patent family: classified A61B5/293 (invasive electrodes for brain recording); filed by 北京智冉医疗科技有限公司, an organisation already in the graph; describes neural hardware or methods without naming the field; cites a family already accepted. How families are found and judged