NANCHANG, May 13 (Xinhua) -- In a hospital room decorated with balloons, a paralyzed patient leaned back in his bed. With the help of brain-computer interface (BCI) technology, he controlled a hand exoskeleton to grip a pen and write wobbly but heartfelt Chinese characters for his one-year-old son: "Happy Birthday."
The patient, surnamed Deng, is 29 years old and was once an art teacher. A swimming pool accident left him paralyzed and unable to use his hands. He could neither hold a brush nor cradle his newborn son. But after learning about BCI technology, he decided to give it a try. "Lying here, I couldn't take care of my family anyway," he said.
In December 2025, a team led by Professor Li Meihua at the First Affiliated Hospital of Nanchang University in east China's Jiangxi Province, under the guidance of Professor Mao Ying from the Huashan Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University, successfully implanted a BCI device in Deng's brain.
The system achieves ultra-low latency: from the moment Deng thinks of a movement to the exoskeleton's response, only 0.05 seconds pass -- faster than the blink of an eye. The chip is fully implanted and communicates wirelessly with external devices, with no wires protruding from the scalp. This design makes daily activities easier and enables activities such as eating, drawing and writing.
The BCI system was developed by NeuroXess Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. According to founder and chief scientist Tao Hu, the device uses flexible cortical electrodes placed on the surface of the cerebral cortex. It decodes movement intentions in real time, bypassing the damaged spinal cord, and precisely controls external devices. Meanwhile, an electrical signal activates the patient's own muscle groups, enabling natural movements like finger flexion. Over time, this helps to retrain the patient's hands for voluntary movement.
Yang Qinrong, algorithm director at NeuroXess, explained: "During training, the patient follows on-screen commands, and the exoskeleton guides their hand. After training, the patient can grasp on their own -- and then eat and drink without assistance."
Just one month after surgery, Deng could feed himself and independently write and draw. He fulfilled a wish he had thought impossible: drawing a family portrait. The small picture shows father and mother leaning toward each other, with their child in the middle.
"I feel hopeful about life again," Deng said. "I hope that one day I can pick up a paintbrush together with my son."
China's early efforts in ethical and institutional development have greatly benefited patients. In February 2024, China adopted an ethical guideline for BCI research, specifying that BCI research should cause no damage, and its fundamental purpose should be to assist, enhance and repair sensory-motor functions or to improve human-computer interactions -- thus enhancing human health and well-being.
In August 2025, multiple authorities, including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, issued guidelines to promote BCI innovation, aiming for key technological breakthroughs by 2027.
BCI is already improving lives across China. Medical institutions in Beijing, Tianjin, Guangzhou, Wuhan and other cities have set up BCI clinics. Domestic BCI products have been applied in disease diagnosis, motor rehabilitation and neuromodulation treatment for conditions like Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.
Professor Li Meihua, head of the hospital's neurosurgery department, is especially happy for her patient. "This success brings hope to patients with spinal cord injuries. We are honored to cooperate with leading BCI research teams to advance the clinical translation of this revolutionary technology." ■
