Chinese Start-up Develops Minimally Invasive Brain-Computer Interface
StairMed Technology is creating a stent-like BCI inserted via blood vessels, avoiding traditional brain surgery.
نظرة سريعة
- Chinese start-up StairMed Technology is developing a minimally invasive brain-computer interface inserted via blood vessels, bypassing the need for conventional brain surgery.
- The firm has raised over 1.1 billion yuan in funding.
ملخص مُنشأ بالذكاء الاصطناعي
لماذا يهم
Traditional BCIs require invasive brain surgery, whereas new approaches aim for blood vessel insertion.
The Chinese devices – which enable patients to control digital technology using their thoughts alone – can be inserted via a vein like a stent, unlike conventional BCIs that require patients to undergo brain surgery.
StairMed Technology – one of the start-ups involved – “is developing a more minimally invasive way of delivering the device, entering through blood vessels in the neck and guiding it through the vascular system directly into the brain,” said Zhao Zhengtuo, the company’s co-founder, at the Global Health Summit in Hong Kong on Saturday.
The Shanghai-based firm has raised more than 1.1 billion yuan (US$163 million) in funding over the past year to push forward with its research, with investors including the Chinese tech giants Tencent Holdings and Alibaba Group Holding. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.
In December, StairMed unveiled the programme – undertaken in partnership with a research team at the Chinese Academy of Sciences – to insert BCIs via blood vessel into a targeted region of the brain and anchor them in place outside the vessel wall. So far, it has tested the technique on sheep, but has yet to begin human trials.
ما الذي يجب مراقبته
توقعات الذكاء الاصطناعي — احتمالات وليست حقائق
Begin human trials for the BCI device
محتمل · خلال أشهر
أسئلة مفتوحة
- When will human trials begin?
- How effective will sheep testing translate to humans?
