China's implantable BCI tech helps quadriplegic patients return to work with latency below 50 ms
- Chris McMillan
- 16 hours ago
- 1 min read
Global Times
31st July 2026
China's implantable BCI tech helps quadriplegic patients return to work with latency below 50 ms
By Liu Yang and Zhang Weilan
China's implantable brain-computer interface (BCI) technology has made substantial progress in clinical trials, enabling multiple patients with high-level quadriplegia to return to work, with command latency below 50 milliseconds, the Global Times learned from Shanghai-based medical technology firm StairMed on Thursday.
This is not only a breakthrough in clinical application of BCI, but also a milestone in using advanced technology empowers patients to regain control of their lives and reintegrate into society. The high signal quality and operational stability demonstrated by the system also mark that implantable BCI technology has achieved a major leap from the laboratory to daily life, the company said.
Three patients with high-level quadriplegia have recently gained the ability to smoothly control computer cursors using only their thoughts through implantable BCI technology. After training, one patient surnamed Zhang can now proficiently make phone calls through e-commerce logistics backend. He can communicate with customers, confirm orders, and ensures that goods are delivered on time. Meanwhile, the other two patients, surnamed Li and Zhao, performed backend service work for vending machines, annotating data on items purchased by customers by watching videos.
China's implantable BCI tech helps quadriplegic patients return to work with latency below 50 ms