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Summary:Shanghai has not yet formed domestic leading enterprises

When it comes to brain-computer interface, people may feel that it is a bit sci-fi and out of reach. In fact, in a broad sense, a cochlear implant is an implantable brain-computer interface application that has long been popular. It converts external sound signals into electrical stimulation and directly connects to the central nervous system, thereby inputting external sound information into the brain of the deaf.

In January this year, Musk, a well-known American entrepreneur, announced on a social platform that Neuralink, a company he founded with several scientists, had completed the implantation of chip devices into the human brain.

It should be pointed out that this is only the company's first case, not the first invasive brain-computer interface clinical trial in humans. Musk, who is known for his courage to innovate, has always attracted much attention and attention in the field of brain-computer interfaces. Not long ago, he also advertised for Neuralink, saying that its next product will be dedicated to helping the blind restore their vision.

Is Neuralink's technology considered cutting-edge technology? What is the current status of China's brain-computer interface? What are the advantages of Shanghai in developing brain-computer interfaces?Wang Shouyan, deputy dean of the Institute of Brain-Inspired Intelligence Science and Technology at Fudan University and director of the Neural Regulation and Brain-Computer Interface Research Center.

[Musk's company is at brain-computer interface technology 1.0]

"Neuralink is currently still in the 1.0 'brain reading' stage of brain-computer interface technology, that is, the collection and decoding of EEG signals. It is a commercialization route and does not represent the most cutting-edge technology in the world." Wang Shouyan believes that the technological development path of brain-computer interfaces cannot be compared with Musk.

From the perspective of the development path of brain-computer interfaces, 2.0 is "writing the brain", which transmits external information to the brain through deep brain stimulation, cochlear implants, retinal implants, spinal cord stimulation, etc.; 3.0 is "reading and writing interaction", which realizes information interaction between the brain and the machine; 4.0 is "brain-intelligence fusion", which realizes the interaction and fusion of advanced cognitive functions between humans, intelligent machines and the environment through the development of brain-like intelligent technology.

Since Jacques Vidal of the University of California, Los Angeles first proposed the concept of "brain-computer interface" in 1973, the two routes of "brain reading" and "brain writing" have developed in parallel for half a century. "Brain reading" has always faced the dilemma of few application paths and is usually used as a rehabilitation auxiliary technology. In contrast, "brain writing" is widely used in clinical practice with neural regulation as its core. Taking my country as an example, more than 130 hospitals carry out deep brain stimulation surgery, and more than 10,000 people are implanted each year; cochlear implants have restored hearing for tens of thousands of children in my country; more than 1,000 hospitals carry out transcranial magnetic stimulation treatment services, and the number of patients with depression treated each year is conservatively estimated to exceed 10 million.

The core scientific issue of brain-computer interface is the interaction between brain information and external devices and environment. In recent years, the international community has gradually integrated "brain reading" and "brain writing", and has made initial breakthroughs in the fields of depression, pain, epilepsy, etc.

What is the future vision of brain-computer interface? "Connecting human consciousness with the digital virtual world." Wang Shouyan said that with the rapid development of artificial intelligence, digital twins and embodied intelligence are gradually becoming a reality, and digital life with emotions, memory and decision-making capabilities will appear. The integration of brain and intelligence, and the integration of people and intelligent environment will be the next key node. The technical breakthrough lies in the development of cognitive neuroscience and brain-like intelligence, which is by no means achievable by relying on Neuralink's "brain reading" business development route.

Technology-driven or problem-driven?

Nature Electronics believes that 2023 is the first year of brain-computer interface technology, and the market is about to explode. According to McKinsey's estimates, the potential market size of global brain-computer interface medical applications is expected to reach US$40 billion in 2030 and exceed US$145 billion by 2040.

As of the first quarter of 2023, there are more than 500 representative brain-computer interface companies in the world. Among them, the upstream accounts for 8%, including companies that produce, manufacture and sell core components such as electrodes and chips; the midstream accounts for 30%, including companies that produce, manufacture and sell medical and scientific research tools, analysis software and acquisition equipment; the downstream accounts for 62%, including companies that provide products and solutions for medical, industrial, educational, consumer and other industries.

What is the current status of China's brain-computer interface in the world? "my country's brain-computer interface started early and has accumulated a lot of experience, but there are few disruptive breakthroughs. At present, in the 3.0 stage of 'read-write interaction', my country and foreign countries are basically parallel, each with its own characteristics." Wang Shouyan said that foreign countries are leading in theoretical and clinical research, while my country has advantages in technology research and development. Therefore, we should guide the coordinated development of "theory-technology-clinical application" and at the same time proactively deploy brain-like intelligence tasks in the 4.0 stage of "brain-intelligence integration".

There are two development paths for brain-computer interfaces in the world. The first is the implicit path driven by problems in the science and technology community, which is not well known to the public. For example, the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology has enabled spinal cord paraplegic patients to walk again, the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in the United States has used closed-loop deep brain stimulation to increase the efficacy of severe depression to 70%, Fudan University has developed a passive artificial retina to restore vision for the blind, and Tsinghua University has pioneered the world's first nuclear magnetic resonance compatible brain pacemaker technology to achieve real-time imaging of brain regulation; the second is the explicit path driven by technological breakthroughs, which is a commercial transformation path represented by Musk.

Wang Shouyan believes that technology-driven development often leads to single-point breakthroughs, while problem-driven development leads to cross-integration. The shift from technology-driven to problem-driven development will help bring about disruptive changes in brain-computer interfaces. my country's brain-computer interface field must have an independent development path. If it follows Musk's example, it may take a detour and waste a lot of the country's scientific and social resources.

"Foreign countries have recently proposed a development path for the integration of brain-computer interface and neural regulation. We released the "White Paper on Frontier Advances in Brain-Computer Interaction and Neural Regulation" in 2022," Wang Shouyan introduced.

[Shanghai has its own advantages in global competition]

my country's 14th Five-Year Plan clearly lists brain-computer interface as a key technology category that needs to be tackled. "This has strongly promoted the basic scientific research and key technology development of brain-computer interface, but we still lack investment in ecological construction," said Wang Shouyan.

First, the investment in the integration of scientific research and industry is insufficient. There are few innovative products and it is difficult to implement them; there are many single technological breakthroughs, little interdisciplinary cooperation, and it is difficult to connect technology transformation.

Secondly, there is a lack of cross-disciplinary talent reserves and training. Brain-computer interface requires researchers and practitioners to be like "special forces" and have extensive knowledge of cutting-edge technologies and their applications such as medicine, computers, artificial intelligence, robotics, materials science, and electronics.

Third, the industry-university-research-application ecosystem has not yet been established, and scientific research directions, industrial layouts, and transformation and application are scattered.

Fourth, in terms of legal and ethical norms, the privacy protection of human experiments and human brain information data faces the problems of lack of legal norms and unclear ethical standards.

In March this year, Shanghai issued the "Implementation Plan for Accelerating the Advancement of New Industrialization" to support enterprises in taking the lead in breakthroughs in new technological transformation fields such as biomanufacturing, brain-computer interface, Web3.0, metaverse, 6G, quantum technology, space information, and low-altitude economy, and cultivate industry "nuclear explosion points."

There are more than 20 brain-computer interface companies in Shanghai, of which about 60% are incubated by universities and research institutions, and most are start-ups established after 2015. These companies are generally small in scale, lack cross-industry cooperation with artificial intelligence and smart manufacturing, and have not yet formed domestic leading companies.

"But we should also see that Shanghai has advantages in the global brain-computer interface industry competition, such as rich innovative elements, complete discipline layout, and solid foundation for international cooperation," said Wang Shouyan.

Shanghai has recently launched a number of policy measures, including "Several Opinions on Supporting the Innovation and Development of the Whole Chain of the Biomedical Industry". In his view, this will surely accelerate the creation of a good brain-computer interface ecosystem, aggregate exchanges between universities and research institutes, enterprises, and investors, strengthen the linkage and coordination of multiple government departments, and build Shanghai into an international innovation center in the field of brain-computer interfaces.