What if a single thought could move a wheelchair, control a phone, or lift a cup of water?
At Tongji Hospital, affiliated with Huazhong University of Science and Technology(HUST), it's happening right now with the Brain Computer Interface(BCI).
On August 3, 2026, a team led by Professors TANG Zhouping, SHU Kai, and HU Feng from Tongji Hospital performed the delicate procedure, implanting eight ultra-flexible electrodes(each just 2–3 microns thick, thinner than a human hair) through a one-centimeter opening in the skull of a 55-year-old woman paralyzed for two years. She became the first person in Central China to receive a fully invasive BCI implant.
The 256 channels (32 contacts per electrode) capture every "I want to move" impulse in milliseconds. When she thinks "lift my finger", AI decoding algorithms translate that neural firing pattern into commands, for a robotic arm, a wheelchair, a computer cursor, or smart home devices. "It's like opening a high-definition window onto the cerebral cortex," said Professor SHU Kai. "We turn intention into action."
The device is China's first high-throughput, single-neuron-level BCI product recognized as by China's National Medical Products Administration(NMPA), and reported to be the world's least traumatic fully invasive brain-control device of its kind.
"In the past, we could only help patients adapt to disability," said Professor TANG Zhouping, Chair of Tongji Hospital and Director of HUST Brain-Computer Interface Research Institute. "Now, we are helping them bypass it."
Tongji Hospital has now closed the loop across all three major BCI technical routes, fully invasive, semi-invasive, and non-invasive, making it one of the few medical institutions in China capable of systematic clinical translation across the full BCI spectrum.
Surgery Guided by the Brain
In May 2026, the team completed Central China's first epilepsy surgery guided by a BCI intraoperative monitoring system, to cure a 45-year-old man with 20 years of drug-resistant epilepsy. Micro-flexible electrodes, guided by robotic positioning, enabled surgeons to precisely locate and remove seizure-causing tissue while preserving healthy brain function — a leap from “surface detection” to deep precision sensing.
June 2025
Central China's first BCI clinic opened,100+ patients evaluated within weeks
June 28, 2025
First semi-invasive implant: a 58-year-old patient regained independent eating and drinking in 3 months, with 92% decoding accuracy on day one after surgery.
Aug 2025
The reported world's first 256-channel flexible electrode implant combined with brain tumor resection.
Sept 2025
China's first hospital-based BCI research institute established in Tongji Hospital.
What ties all of this together is a powerful convergence of neuroscience, microchips, advanced materials, and artificial intelligence. The chain of innovation runs seamlessly from signal to action: electrodes capture the brain's whisper-quiet electrical signals; AI decoding algorithms translate them into machine commands; and closed-loop systems send feedback back to the brain, gradually rebuilding the information highway between mind and body.
This fusion of medicine and engineering is anchored by two landmark institutions:
In September 2025，Tongji Hospital established China's first hospital-based BCI research institute, creating an integrated platform for clinical diagnosis, trials, and technology development.
In January 2026，HUST Brain-Computer Interface Research Institute was founded, designed to build a world-class BCI innovation platform through a full-chain layout spanning science, technology, engineering, clinical application and governance.
From a fleeting neural impulse to a full-scale innovation ecosystem, HUST has built every link of the chain, and closed the loop between brain and machine.
Source
China Daily
Hubei Daily
Tongji Hospital
ihuster
Editor
Jiajia XUE
