Capital Medical University Xuanwu Hospital and Tsinghua University School of Clinical Medicine jointly announced on Tuesday that they have achieved the world’s first clinical trial using an implanted epidural electrode brain-computer interface (BCI) to treat limb paralysis caused by a cervical spinal cord injury. The 54-year-old male patient had experienced a severe neck spinal cord injury in a car accident, resulting in a complete impairment classified as ASIA (American Spinal Injury Association) grade A and leading to persistent limb paralysis. On Oct. 24, 2023, two coin-sized brain-computer interface processors were implanted into the patient’s skull, according to the announcement. After three months of rehabilitation training, the patient can now use brainwaves to operate pneumatic gloves, enabling independent activities such as drinking water through brain control, with the patient able to achieve a grip accuracy rate exceeding 90%. [Capital Medical University Xuanwu Hospital, in Chinese]
