BCI technology gathers pace in China, creating new health, well-being possibilities-Xinhua
BCI technology gathers pace in China, creating new health, well-being possibilities-Xinhua
https://english.news.cn/20260702/b40c5801b3a74a94991aad9c861c66db/c.html
Publish Date: 2026-07-02 07:31:00
Source Domain: english.news.cn
A doctor guides a patient to conduct brain-computer interface rehabilitation training at a hospital in Guiyang, southwest China’s Guizhou Province, April 7, 2026. (Photo by Yuan Fuhong/Xinhua)
TIANJIN, July 2 (Xinhua) — Electrodes taped to her forearm and a sensor-studded cap on her head, a stroke patient watched a screen where a virtual hand slowly closed. She fixed her gaze on the image, let her attention narrow, and held one thought: make a fist.
The electrodes fired, and her fingers curled inward. She looked at her hand and smiled, then lifted her head, waiting for the next signal.
The patient was receiving innovative therapy at a hospital in north China’s Tianjin Municipality, supported by brain-computer interface (BCI) technology. The therapy draws on “motor imagery,” in which the brain continues to produce movement-related signals even after the body has lost the ability to respond.
Using non-invasive electroencephalogram sensors that capture neural signals from the scalp, the system decodes such signals through algorithms and converts them into commands that activate external stimulators. This creates a feedback loop that gradually rebuilds the brain-body connection.
“Compared with traditional passive training that relies on therapists to physically move patients’ limbs, BCI-based therapy delivers greater intensity and efficiency,” said Gu Bin, general manager of the company that developed the device, adding that when patients are engaged in active imagination, their confidence and sense of control over movements can be strengthened.
Gu’s company is one of several startups incubated by the Haihe Laboratory of Brain-Computer Interaction and Human-Machine Integration at Tianjin University. The laboratory and its spin-off companies are now pushing BCI applications beyond restoring lost functions, into areas that improve overall well-being for a broader range of people.
“Should auld acquaintance be forgot, and never brought to mind?” The curtain rose, and voices…
