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Summary:Integration Research

On August 3, the Fudan University Neural Regulation and Brain-Computer Interface Research Center (hereinafter referred to as the "Center") was unveiled.

Just the word "brain" is in our name. Fudan University already has the Institute of Brain Science, the Institute of Brain Science Translational Research, the Institute of Brain-Inspired Intelligence Science and Technology, the National Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Brain Disease, etc. Why do we need to build a dedicated brain-computer interface research center?

【Joint guidance for graduate students across departments】

"Brain-computer interface involves materials, chips, clinical neuroscience, and engineering technology. Fudan has formed a leading advantage in basic research, intelligent technology, and clinical research. It is the only university in the country that has established national key laboratories in the fields of materials, chips, brain science, and neurological diseases."Wang Shouyan, Director of the Neuromodulation and Brain-Computer Interface Research Center at Fudan UniversityHe told the Jiefang Daily and Shangguan News reporter that in order to gather and give full play to Fudan's multidisciplinary accumulation and advantages in the field of brain-computer interface, the center has built an integrated research team and set up a scholarship program to support graduate students in conducting cross-departmental medical and engineering cooperation.

Neuromodulation and brain-computer interface are two rapidly developing technologies in the field of neuroscience, and they have similar goals: to improve the quality of life of patients through direct interaction with the nervous system. Neuromodulation mainly treats neurological and psychiatric diseases through electrical and magnetic stimulation, while brain-computer interface controls external devices by decoding neural signals. "The integration of neuromodulation and brain-computer interface technology can give full play to the advantages of both and provide a more comprehensive treatment plan."

According to reports, the center is not a physical scientific research institution, but an interdisciplinary platform across departments.

It brings together 36 scientists from three national key laboratories, two national clinical medicine centers and one national clinical medicine research center. The center is responsible for overall planning and undertaking major scientific research tasks, and provides joint guidance to graduate students across departments.

"The essence of the intersection of different disciplines is communication and collision, but it is not easy to get everyone to chat and enjoy it." Wang Shouyan admitted that it is difficult to create "sparks" by simply putting people from different disciplines in the same physical space. The key is to have scientific problems of common interest, so that you can focus on the problem instead of talking in general terms.

For example, engineers and doctors are both interested in the problem of "awakening vegetative patients". How to accelerate the recovery of consciousness involves algorithms, which engineers are more proficient in; while how to implant electrodes in clinical practice is what doctors are good at. "Taking issues of common interest as the starting point, the tolerance of both parties will be higher." Wang Shouyan introduced that this cross-collaborative research has also been supported by the "Brain Science and Brain-like Research" Young Scientist Project of Science and Technology Innovation 2030.

【Driven by the urgent need for medical and health care】

There are approximately 160 million people suffering from visual impairment worldwide, 40% of which are related to retinal photoreceptor degeneration and apoptosis.Zhang Jiayi, a researcher at the Institute of Brain Science at Fudan University, and her collaboratorsTaking a different approach, we have developed an artificial retina using nanomaterials for the first time in the world. The density of this artificial photoreceptor is far higher than that of the human retina, it does not require any power supply equipment, and can effectively repair the human body's visual function.

This is just one of the representative achievements of the center's brain-computer interface. At present, serious medical treatment is the most suitable scenario for the implementation of brain-computer interface. Driven by the urgent needs of medical health, the center has built a vertical field achievement transformation platform. Many projects have entered the industrialization stage, including implantable brain-computer interface neural regulation equipment, ultra-high spatiotemporal resolution ultrasound brain-computer interaction equipment, non-invasive closed-loop neural regulation, etc. In addition, artificial retinas, high-throughput brain-computer interface flexible electrodes, Parkinson's digital intervention systems, etc. are gradually entering industrialization.

It is not an exaggeration to describe the planning and preparation of the center as “ten years of hard work”.

Fudan University has invested RMB 400 million to build a world-class brain-computer interaction and brain-intelligence fusion research platform, which owns the country's first 11.7T ultra-high field magnetic resonance imaging system, which can realize in vivo magnetic resonance imaging of small animals and brain function imaging; the world's fourth and Asia's first strong gradient field magnetic resonance imaging system, which can reveal the white matter nerve fiber pathways inside the human brain; the imaging platform is combined with the center's independently developed digital brain and cognitive function monitoring and intervention platform, which can achieve "seeing more, seeing more, and seeing farther" at the micron level and millisecond time scale; it has built a brain function database with multi-dimensional information such as depression, stroke and autism; and has developed an intelligent brain-computer interaction neural regulation software platform with NVIDIA, Huashan Hospital and others.