China’s NEO brain implant enters clinical use with first patient

China’s NEO brain-computer interface, or BCI, has now moved into clinical use after China approved the device in March 2026. That appears to make this the first surgery anywhere in the world using a BCI cleared for commercial use.

At Huashan Hospital in Shanghai, doctors implanted the coin-sized NEO in a patient whose hand was left paralyzed after a spinal cord injury from a car crash about 10 years ago. The speed of the rollout stands out: in roughly four months, the NEO program went from regulatory clearance to manufacturing, hospital use, patient screening, implantation, and even coverage through local commercial insurance.

NEO uses eight electrodes placed on the dura mater rather than inside the cortex. That gives it an epidural design that’s less invasive and meant to lower risk and reduce signal degradation, though the tradeoff is less precise data than Neuralink’s intracortical system. Neuralink has tested its device in more than 20 people, but it still doesn’t have full FDA approval for commercial use.

Early reports say the patient’s signals are stable and vital signs remain steady. Still, there’s a lot that has to prove itself from here: rehab, training, durability, cost, side effects, maintenance, and competition from groups such as Synchron, Paradromics, Science Corp, StairMed, and Gestala.

If you follow BCIs, NEO is worth watching. In China, it’s currently available by prescription.