A BCI product displayed at Neuro Space in Shanghai. [Photo/WeChat ID: sh_stcsm]
Shanghai's Hongqiao International Central Business District is building a complete brain-computer interface industry chain, bringing together companies, researchers, hospitals, and investors to accelerate innovation and commercialization.
At the Neuro Space exhibition hall in the Shanghai Brain-Computer Interface Future Industry Cluster, visitors can see cutting-edge technologies, including mind-controlled drones, vision-restoration systems for blind patients, implantable devices that help restore hand movement, and noninvasive BCI therapies.
Located in the Hongqiao International Medical Center, the cluster is China's first dedicated BCI industry hub. More than 50 companies have gathered there, representing about 60 percent of Shanghai's BCI firms and 30 percent of the national total.
The cluster has become a place where "upstairs and downstairs are your upstream and downstream partners." With startups, research institutes, hospitals, and service platforms located side by side, ideas can move quickly from the laboratory to clinical trials and commercial use.
It also offers eight specialized platforms, including an incubator, a clinical translation center, a proof-of-concept center, and a brain data platform, covering every step from research and product development through testing and commercialization.
The model is already producing results. Earlier this year, Shanghai-based Neuracle Technology received approval for what is described as the world's first approved implantable BCI medical device to help restore hand movement. Other companies are developing technologies for vision restoration and rehabilitation.
By bringing the entire innovation and commercialization process together, Hongqiao is creating a complete BCI industry chain and accelerating the development of next-generation medical technologies.
