How can we break the limitations of our bodies and connect with the world around us using just our minds? In the tale of "Journey to the West," Sun Wukong possessed the supernatural ability to retrieve objects with his thoughts alone. Today, brain-computer interface (BCI) technology allows direct communication between the brain and external devices, enabling humans to move from "reach and grab" to "think and it's there."
Recently, American entrepreneur Elon Musk announced that his BCI company had completed the implantation of BCI devices into humans, aiming to help paralyzed patients control computers with their thoughts. Almost simultaneously, teams from Tsinghua University School of Medicine and the Xuanwu Hospital of Capital Medical University announced the successful completion of the world's first wireless minimally invasive BCI clinical trial. This trial enabled a patient paralyzed for 14 years due to a car accident to control an air-powered glove through brain activity after three months of postoperative rehabilitation, achieving over 90% accuracy in grasping objects.
These cases indicate that BCI technology is transitioning from animal experiments to human implantation. Currently, BCI technology is experiencing a period of rapid technological advancement, primarily applied to assist neurologically impaired patients in improving motor, communication, and sensory functions.
What exactly is a BCI? At what stage of development is it? What are its prospects? And what aspects need regulation? With these questions in mind, a reporter from Science and Technology Daily interviewed experts in the field of BCI.
BCI: Birthed from Advancements in Neuroscience
A brain-computer interface creates an information channel between the brain and external devices, enabling direct interaction between the two. It records neural activity using recording devices, decodes neural activity using machine learning models, and extracts subjective intentions and other information. Based on this information, it outputs corresponding commands to manipulate external devices to perform actions consistent with human intentions. Additionally, it can receive feedback signals from external devices, forming an interactive closed-loop system.
The development of BCIs is closely tied to advancements in neuroscience. In the 1920s, German psychiatrist Hans Berger first recorded human brainwaves. Since then, EEG monitoring has been used in clinical practice. In 1969, researchers at the University of Washington conducted EEG biofeedback studies on monkeys, marking the beginning of BCI technology. In 1998, Dr. John Donoghue and his team at Brown University connected a computer chip to the human brain, enabling remote control of other devices.
In recent years, with significant advancements in biomedical, communication, and artificial intelligence technologies, BCI technology has experienced rapid development. Currently, technologies like controlling computers and robotic arms through BCIs have become relatively mature.
Many countries and regions have strategically designed BCIs at the national level. The United States launched the "BRAIN Initiative" in 2013, the European Union initiated the "Human Brain Project" in 2013, and Japan introduced the "Brain/MINDS" initiative in 2014. Subsequently, China also announced the "Brain Science and Brain-Like Intelligence Research," known as the "China Brain Project."
Showing Strong Vitality in Medicine
Based on the method of obtaining EEG signals, BCIs can be categorized as invasive, non-invasive, and semi-invasive. Musk's company employs invasive BCI technology, involving the implantation of electrodes through cranial surgery to contact neurons for EEG signal acquisition and decoding. Professor Duan Feng from the College of Artificial Intelligence at Nankai University explains, "Invasive BCIs are traumatic implants with significant technical challenges and a risk of secondary infections. If a cranial infection occurs or electrodes malfunction or reach their lifespan limit, the electrodes must be removed to prevent secondary brain damage. Additionally, with prolonged implantation, electrodes may become encapsulated by connective tissue, leading to a gradual weakening or loss of signals."
Non-invasive BCIs collect brain signals from outside the scalp in a non-traumatic manner, showing enormous potential in commercial applications, moving towards low-cost, portable, and diversified development. He Xiyu Jin, Partner and Senior Vice President of Qiang Nao Technology, says, "Users seek effectiveness and demand powerful yet user-friendly BCIs. The technical characteristics of non-invasive BCIs perfectly meet this user requirement. However, the brain signals obtained through this method are relatively weak, requiring robust decoding capabilities to avoid misinterpretation of EEG signals."
Semi-invasive BCIs involve surgical intervention to implant signal recording devices, such as electrodes, into specific brain areas, offering low-trauma, high-precision, and high-throughput brain neural signal acquisition technology. In 2023, a team led by Professor Duan Feng successfully conducted the world's first non-human primate semi-invasive BCI trial.
Although BCIs are still in their infancy, they exhibit strong vitality in medicine. BCIs can serve as a bridge connecting the brains of paralyzed patients with external "bodies," enabling them to retrieve objects with their thoughts. Similarly, BCIs can help amputees' prosthetics execute brain commands more accurately. Due to the presence of the blood-brain barrier, most drugs struggle to enter the brain through blood vessels, resulting in weak efficacy in treating conditions like depression and Parkinson's disease. BCI technology, through direct modulation intervention in neural nuclei, may have unexpected effects on treating brain diseases. Since 2020, a team led by Professor Sun Bomin at Shanghai Ruijin Hospital has been attempting to treat depression in 26 patients using BCI technology. Additionally, for treating Parkinson's disease, electrodes can stimulate the motor cortex of the brain, suppressing abnormal brain discharges and alleviating symptoms such as tremors in Parkinson's patients. As an interactive technology, BCI technology can both obtain information from the human brain and influence the brain through invasive or non-invasive means. Consequently, humans can acquire more data from previously less understood brain regions through BCIs, thereby accelerating the rapid development of neuroscience. In everyday life, businesses are exploring the use of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) to tap into the potential of the human brain. He Xiyu Jin believes that BCI devices can read brain signals in real-time and provide visual or auditory feedback promptly through software. Athletes can train their focus using non-invasive BCI.
Connecting the Brain to Everything: Challenges Ahead
"BCI is an emerging technology that involves various disciplines such as computer science, medicine, and engineering. We need to give more time and tolerance to BCI research," admits Duan Feng.
Currently, scientists haven't fully explored consciousness. Therefore, brain-computer interface technology, developed based on neuroscience research, still has a long way to go before achieving true connectivity between the brain and everything else.
When that day truly arrives, on one hand, people can use the internet as an infinitely expandable external brain, directly accessing all accumulated human knowledge, with thoughts and ideas being uploaded and backed up in real-time. This will fundamentally change how humans interact with the world. However, on the other hand, the privacy issues arising from the ability to read and upload thoughts become a challenging problem that humanity must face.
As a new technology, BCI requires regulatory policies. In January of this year, seven departments including the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology jointly issued the "Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Development of Future Industrial Innovation," announcing the ten major innovative products of the future industry, with "Brain-Computer Interface" among them. The opinions clearly state the need to "break through key technologies and core devices such as brain-machine fusion, neuromorphic chips, and brain computing neural models, develop a batch of user-friendly and secure BCI products, and encourage exploration in typical fields such as medical rehabilitation, autonomous driving, and virtual reality," which provides direction for the development of BCI. In February, the National Science and Technology Ethics Committee's Subcommittee on Artificial Intelligence Ethics compiled the "Ethical Guidelines for Brain-Computer Interface Research," stating that "BCI research should be moderate and harmless, and the fundamental purpose of research is to assist, enhance, or repair sensory-motor functions of the human body or enhance human-machine interaction capabilities."
A millennium ago, Li Shangyin wrote, "The body lacks colorful wings for a tandem flight, but the hearts share an understanding like that of a telepathic connection." Today, brain-computer interfaces are connecting the brain to everything, breaking the limits of the body, and expanding the boundaries of "telepathic connection" infinitely.
