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type: "technology"type: "technology"status: "emerging"status: "emerging"horizon: "late 2020s"horizon: "late 2020s"trl: 6trl: 7categories: ["cybernetics", "foundations"]categories: ["cybernetics", "foundations"]tags: ["bci", "neurotechnology", "paralysis", "neural decoding", "implants", "assistive technology"]tags: ["bci", "neurotechnology", "paralysis", "neural decoding", "implants", "assistive technology"]summary: "A system that measures nervous-system activity, decodes an intention or state from it, and converts that decoded signal into a command for an external device."summary: "A system that measures nervous-system activity, decodes an intention or state from it, and converts that decoded signal into a command for an external device."updated: "2026-10-29"updated: "2026-10-30"humanEvidence: "Implanted arrays have given research participants with paralysis cursor control, robotic-arm use and conversational-rate speech decoding; no implanted BCI has been shown to improve any capability in a healthy person."humanEvidence: "Implanted arrays have given research participants with paralysis cursor control, robotic-arm use and large-vocabulary speech decoding at up to about 60-80 words per minute; no implanted BCI has been shown to improve any capability in a healthy person."access: "No implanted BCI is approved by any regulator; the only route is enrolment in an early feasibility trial. Consumer EEG headsets are sold freely as wellness devices."access: "China approved one epidural BCI for hand grasp after cervical spinal cord injury in March 2026; elsewhere implanted BCIs are trial-only. Consumer EEG headsets are sold freely as wellness devices."reversibility: "difficult"reversibility: "difficult"issues: ["The speech-decoding section states vocabulary and error-rate figures without citations."]issues: ["Trial statuses and participant counts in Current state are as of October 2026 and need rechecking as studies report.", "Chinese BCI programmes other than the approved Neuracle device are covered only in passing."]------ ```infobox```infoboxlines 23–30 → 23–314 unchanged lines not shown
{ "label": "Signal sources", "value": "Spikes, LFP, ECoG, EEG, fNIRS" }, { "label": "Signal sources", "value": "Spikes, LFP, ECoG, EEG, fNIRS" }, { "label": "First human implant trial", "value": "2004 (BrainGate)" }, { "label": "First human implant trial", "value": "2004 (BrainGate)" }, { "label": "Primary clinical use", "value": "Severe paralysis, anarthria" }, { "label": "Primary clinical use", "value": "Severe paralysis, anarthria" }, { "label": "Regulatory status", "value": "Investigational; no approved implanted BCI" }, { "label": "Market approval", "value": "2026, China (Neuracle NEO, hand grasp)" }, { "label": "Readiness", "value": "TRL 6" } { "label": "Regulatory status", "value": "Investigational outside China" }, { "label": "Readiness", "value": "TRL 7" } ] ]}}``````lines 34–48 → 35–513 unchanged lines not shown
a computer, a prosthesis, or the person's own muscles. The defining feature, in the standarda computer, a prosthesis, or the person's own muscles. The defining feature, in the standardformulation, is that the command bypasses the ordinary output path of peripheral nerve andformulation, is that the command bypasses the ordinary output path of peripheral nerve andmuscle.[^wolpaw2002] A BCI is therefore useful mainly to people whose ordinary output path ismuscle.[^wolpaw2002] A BCI is therefore useful mainly to people whose ordinary output path isbroken, and as of 2026 every serious clinical result comes from that population: participants withbroken, and as of October 2026 every serious clinical result comes from that population: participants withtetraplegia, brainstem stroke, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.tetraplegia, brainstem stroke, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The field has produced striking demonstrations in a very small number of research participants: aThe field has produced striking demonstrations in a very small number of research participants: aperson with no usable movement controlling a robotic arm, another producing fluent synthesizedperson with no usable movement controlling a robotic arm, another producing fluent synthesizedspeech from motor-cortex activity alone. The hardware behind them is tethered, requires frequentspeech from motor-cortex activity alone. The hardware behind them is tethered, requires frequentrecalibration, and has not been approved by any regulator for permanent use. The gap between thoserecalibration, and has not been approved by any regulator for permanent use. The implanted BCI fordemonstrations and a product lies largely in reliability, longevity, and manufacturing rather thanmovement that reached the market in China in March 2026 is far simpler: eight electrodes resting onin principle.the dura that let a person with a cervical spinal cord injury close a pneumatic glove.[^stdaily2026][^cyd2026] Thegap between the laboratory demonstrations and a product lies largely in reliability, longevity, andmanufacturing rather than in principle. ```figure```figure{"key": "braingate-array", "caption": "The implanted array against a human hand. The entire recording surface is a few millimetres square."}{"key": "braingate-array", "caption": "The implanted array against a human hand. The entire recording surface is a few millimetres square."}lines 127–135 → 130–13978 unchanged lines not shown
{ "year": "2004-2006", "title": "First long-term human implant", "text": "Matthew Nagle, paralysed by a spinal cord injury, receives a Utah array in the BrainGate pilot and controls a cursor, a television, and a prosthetic hand." }, { "year": "2004-2006", "title": "First long-term human implant", "text": "Matthew Nagle, paralysed by a spinal cord injury, receives a Utah array in the BrainGate pilot and controls a cursor, a television, and a prosthetic hand." }, { "year": "2012-2013", "title": "Robotic arm control", "text": "BrainGate and University of Pittsburgh teams report multi-degree-of-freedom robotic arm control by participants with tetraplegia, including self-feeding." }, { "year": "2012-2013", "title": "Robotic arm control", "text": "BrainGate and University of Pittsburgh teams report multi-degree-of-freedom robotic arm control by participants with tetraplegia, including self-feeding." }, { "year": "2016", "title": "Fully implanted communication BCI", "text": "A Utrecht group implants a wireless electrocorticography system in a person with late-stage ALS, who uses it at home for years to select letters." }, { "year": "2016", "title": "Fully implanted communication BCI", "text": "A Utrecht group implants a wireless electrocorticography system in a person with late-stage ALS, who uses it at home for years to select letters." }, { "year": "2021-2024", "title": "Speech decoding becomes fluent", "text": "UCSF, Stanford, and UC Davis teams decode attempted speech at conversational rates from motor cortex, with large vocabularies and single-digit word error rates in the best case." }, { "year": "2021-2024", "title": "Speech decoding scales up", "text": "UCSF, Stanford, and UC Davis teams decode attempted speech from sensorimotor cortex at up to 62-78 words per minute over large vocabularies, with single-digit word error rates in the best case." }, { "year": "2023", "title": "Brain-spine interface", "text": "A Lausanne team restores volitional walking in a man with spinal cord injury by linking a cortical implant to an epidural spinal stimulator." }, { "year": "2023", "title": "Brain-spine interface", "text": "A Lausanne team restores volitional walking in a man with spinal cord injury by linking a cortical implant to an epidural spinal stimulator." }, { "year": "2024-2026", "title": "Commercial implants enter trials", "text": "Neuralink, Synchron, Precision Neuroscience, Paradromics, and several Chinese groups run early feasibility studies; none has regulatory approval for routine use." } { "year": "2024-2026", "title": "Commercial implants enter trials", "text": "Neuralink, Synchron, Precision Neuroscience, Paradromics, and several Chinese groups run early feasibility studies. No implanted BCI is approved in the US; high-density cortical arrays such as Precision's Layer 7-T are cleared only as electrodes for temporary recording and stimulation of under 30 days." }, { "year": "2026", "title": "Market approval in China", "text": "China's National Medical Products Administration approves Neuracle's NEO, an epidural BCI for hand grasp after cervical spinal cord injury, in March; the first implant outside a trial follows in July." }]]`````` lines 146–156 → 150–16510 unchanged lines not shown
long-run data. A fully implanted surface-electrode system used at home by a person with late-stagelong-run data. A fully implanted surface-electrode system used at home by a person with late-stageALS demonstrated that the approach can survive outside a laboratory.[^vansteensel2016]ALS demonstrated that the approach can survive outside a laboratory.[^vansteensel2016] **Speech.** Between 2021 and 2025 decoding of attempted speech moved from a 50-word vocabulary at**Speech.** In 2021 a subdural array decoded attempted speech from a 50-word vocabulary at a medianaround fifteen words per minute to conversational-rate output over vocabularies of more than a15.2 words per minute, with a median word error rate of 25.6%.[^moses2021] Two 2023 reports moved tohundred thousand words, with the best reported word error rates in the single digits for onelarge vocabularies: one, using intracortical arrays, reached 62 words per minute at a 23.8% wordparticipant. Some systems now synthesize a voice reconstructed from pre-illness recordings, orerror rate over 125,000 words,[^willett2023] and the other, using a surface array, 78 words peranimate an avatar. See [[speech-neuroprosthesis]].minute at a 25% error rate.[^metzger2023] In 2024 a man with ALS and four intracortical arrayssustained 97.5% word accuracy over that vocabulary and conversed at about 32 words perminute,[^card2024] and a 2026 follow-up reported him using it at home over nearly two years for morethan 3,800 hours, with no researchers present.[^card2026] Some systems now speak in a voice modelled onthe person's pre-illness recordings, or animate an avatar. All of these results come from oneparticipant each. See [[speech-neuroprosthesis]]. **Movement restoration.** Rather than driving an external robot, a cortical implant can drive**Movement restoration.** Rather than driving an external robot, a cortical implant can drivestimulation of the user's own spinal cord or muscles, re-establishing a "digital bridge" around astimulation of the user's own spinal cord or muscles, re-establishing a "digital bridge" around alines 167–176 → 176–18710 unchanged lines not shown
No BCI has restored a rich sense of touch; the best feedback so far is a small number ofNo BCI has restored a rich sense of touch; the best feedback so far is a small number ofdiscriminable pressure percepts delivered by intracortical or peripheral stimulation, well short ofdiscriminable pressure percepts delivered by intracortical or peripheral stimulation, well short ofwhat a hand needs. No system has restored memory in a clinically meaningful way, despite thewhat a hand needs. Vision by cortical stimulation is earlier still: in October 2026 Elon Muskencoding-model work described under [[memory-prosthesis]]. Nor has any implanted BCI been shown todescribed Neuralink's Blindsight implant as awaiting regulatory approval (seeimprove any capability in a healthy person, which is the premise on which most enhancement-oriented[[cortical-visual-prosthesis]]).[^musk2026b] No system has restored memory in a clinicallyinterest rests.meaningful way, despite the encoding-model work described under [[memory-prosthesis]]. Nor has anyimplanted BCI been shown to improve any capability in a healthy person, which is the premise onwhich most enhancement-oriented interest rests. > [!caution] Sample sizes are tiny> [!caution] Sample sizes are tiny> The headline results in this field typically come from one to four participants, often the same> The headline results in this field typically come from one to four participants, often the samelines 178–183 → 189–2191 unchanged line not shown
> been tested at the scale that would establish reliability, and single-participant results have> been tested at the scale that would establish reliability, and single-participant results have> repeatedly failed to generalize.> repeatedly failed to generalize. ### Regulatory status as of October 2026 On 13 March 2026 China's National Medical Products Administration registered Neuracle's NEO as aClass III device for adults with cervical spinal cord injury who cannot grasp. The coin-sized wireless implant sits outside the dura, and its decoded signals drive apneumatic glove.[^stdaily2026] Its developers report that all 32 patients in aconfirmatory trial achieved brain-controlled grasp; Hong Bo, whose Tsinghua University teamdesigned it, cautioned that a first approved product did not put China at thefront of the field.[^cyd2026] The first implant outside a trial followed in July 2026 in Shanghai, and the city has added the device to its Huhuibao supplementary insurancescheme.[^gmw2026] The approval followed a 2025 industrial policy from seven agencies that aims for two to threeglobally influential BCI companies by 2030.[^miit2025] Chinese media had already called a Sceneray addictiontreatment registered in December 2025 an invasive BCI, so "first" claims for NEO depend ondefinitions.[^cls2025] By October 2026 the US Food and Drug Administration had approved no implanted BCI. PrecisionNeuroscience's 1,024-electrode Layer 7-T array was cleared in March 2025 as a cortical electrode forrecording and stimulation, not as a BCI, and only for temporary use of under 30 days.[^fda2025] Paradromics gained an investigational deviceexemption for its Connect-One speech study in November 2025 and implanted its first participant inJune 2026; it says the participant now communicates by synthesized speech, text messages and phonecalls.[^paradromics2026] Synchron reported in 2024 that its six-person COMMAND study met its primarysafety endpoint,[^evtoday2024] and raised $200 million in November 2025 partly to prepare apivotal trial.[^medtechdive2025] No such trial was registered on ClinicalTrials.gov by October 2026;its newest US study, INTENT, is another early feasibility study, enrolling since May2026.[^intent2026] Neuralink said in January 2026 that 21 people were enrolled in its trialsworldwide.[^reuters2026] ## The bandwidth problem## The bandwidth problem Popular framing treats BCI progress as an electrode-count race, on the assumption that informationPopular framing treats BCI progress as an electrode-count race, on the assumption that informationlines 188–193 → 224–2394 unchanged lines not shown
why a 96-channel array from the 1990s can support performance comparable to systems with ten timeswhy a 96-channel array from the 1990s can support performance comparable to systems with ten timesthe channels, and why decoder architecture has mattered more than sensor count.the channels, and why decoder architecture has mattered more than sensor count. The fastest peer-reviewed large-vocabulary BCI communication is attempted speech, at 62-78 wordsper minute,[^willett2023][^metzger2023] against about 160 for ordinary conversation;[^willett2023] attempted handwriting has reached about 90characters per minute.[^willett2021] Jieyu Zheng and Markus Meister put the information throughputof human behaviour at about 10 bits per second, with tasks from typing to speech falling betweenroughly 5 and 50, and place the limit in cognition rather than in the fingers or mouth; they predictthat Musk himself, given a Neuralink implant, would communicate at about that rate.[^zheng2025] Muskforecast otherwise on 30 October 2026: the output bandwidth of Neuralink's Telepathy product "willvastly exceed the fastest human speech or typing in a few years".[^musk2026] No published BCI resulthas yet matched conversational speech, let alone the fastest typists. Where more channels do help is coverage: sampling several cortical areas, or sampling a functionalWhere more channels do help is coverage: sampling several cortical areas, or sampling a functionalmap finely enough to separate articulators in speech cortex. The hard constraints lie elsewhere: themap finely enough to separate articulators in speech cortex. The hard constraints lie elsewhere: thenumber of independent control dimensions a person can learn to modulate, the non-stationarity of thenumber of independent control dimensions a person can learn to modulate, the non-stationarity of thelines 212–218 → 258–26518 unchanged lines not shown
most aggressive proposal for removing the tether, untethered ultrasonic motes, is covered undermost aggressive proposal for removing the tether, untethered ultrasonic motes, is covered under[[neural-dust]] and has no human results. Decoders drift, requiring recalibration that ranges from[[neural-dust]] and has no human results. Decoders drift, requiring recalibration that ranges fromminutes daily to occasional, depending on the system. Almost all reported performance comes fromminutes daily to occasional, depending on the system. Almost all reported performance comes fromcontrolled settings with a technician present.controlled settings with a technician present; the home-use reports described above are theexceptions. There is also a structural risk specific to commercial neurotechnology: a company can fail while itsThere is also a structural risk specific to commercial neurotechnology: a company can fail while itsdevices remain in people's heads. The discontinuation of the Argus II retinal system left users withdevices remain in people's heads. The discontinuation of the Argus II retinal system left users withlines 247–255 → 294–30328 unchanged lines not shown
The near-term agenda is clear: more participants, wireless and fully implanted systems, decodersThe near-term agenda is clear: more participants, wireless and fully implanted systems, decodersintended to survive a week without recalibration, and eventually a pivotal trial in a well-definedintended to survive a week without recalibration, and eventually a pivotal trial in a well-definedindication such as loss of speech in ALS. If that sequence holds, it could produce an approvedindication such as loss of speech in ALS. If that sequence holds, it could produce a US-approvedassistive device for a small clinical population, though no timeline for it is well supported andassistive device for a small clinical population, as China has already approved one for handnone of the current studies is large enough to predict one.grasp, though no US timeline is well supported and none of the current studies is large enough topredict one. Longer-term claims rest on assumptions the clinical work does not test: that BCIs will serve as aLonger-term claims rest on assumptions the clinical work does not test: that BCIs will serve as ageneral-purpose channel for [[human-ai-merger]], or provide the read-out fidelity thatgeneral-purpose channel for [[human-ai-merger]], or provide the read-out fidelity thatlines 290–293 → 338–38234 unchanged lines not shown
[^hadke2026]: `paper` Hadke, S. S. et al. "Printed MoS2 memristive nanosheet networks for spiking neurons with multi-order complexity." *Nature Nanotechnology*, 2026. {Stimulation of Purkinje neurons in mouse cerebellar slices; no living animal or implanted device.}[^hadke2026]: `paper` Hadke, S. S. et al. "Printed MoS2 memristive nanosheet networks for spiking neurons with multi-order complexity." *Nature Nanotechnology*, 2026. {Stimulation of Purkinje neurons in mouse cerebellar slices; no living animal or implanted device.} [^ban2022]: `paper` Ban, H. Y. et al. "Kernel Flow: a high channel count scalable time-domain functional near-infrared spectroscopy system." *Journal of Biomedical Optics* 27(7):074710, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.27.7.074710[^ban2022]: `paper` Ban, H. Y. et al. "Kernel Flow: a high channel count scalable time-domain functional near-infrared spectroscopy system." *Journal of Biomedical Optics* 27(7):074710, 2022. https://doi.org/10.1117/1.JBO.27.7.074710 [^moses2021]: `paper` Moses, D. A. et al. "Neuroprosthesis for Decoding Speech in a Paralyzed Person with Anarthria." *New England Journal of Medicine* 385(3):217-227, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2027540 {One participant with anarthria after brainstem stroke, recorded with a subdural array over sensorimotor cortex.} [^willett2023]: `paper` Willett, F. R. et al. "A high-performance speech neuroprosthesis." *Nature* 620:1031-1036, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06377-x {One participant with ALS; the 160 words per minute conversational figure is quoted from earlier literature, not measured in this study.} [^metzger2023]: `paper` Metzger, S. L. et al. "A high-performance neuroprosthesis for speech decoding and avatar control." *Nature* 620:1037-1046, 2023. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-023-06443-4 [^card2024]: `paper` Card, N. S. et al. "An Accurate and Rapidly Calibrating Speech Neuroprosthesis." *New England Journal of Medicine* 391(7):609-618, 2024. https://doi.org/10.1056/NEJMoa2314132 [^card2026]: `paper` Card, N. S. et al. "Long-term independent use of an intracortical brain-computer interface for speech and cursor control." *Nature Medicine* 32:2504-2510, 2026. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-026-04414-6 {Same single participant as the 2024 report; the system still used percutaneous wired connectors.} [^willett2021]: `paper` Willett, F. R. et al. "High-performance brain-to-text communication via handwriting." *Nature* 593:249-254, 2021. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03506-2 [^zheng2025]: `paper` Zheng, J. and Meister, M. "The unbearable slowness of being: Why do we live at 10 bits/s?" *Neuron* 113(2):192-204, 2025. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2024.11.008 {A perspective that aggregates published behavioural estimates; it reports no new experiment.} [^musk2026]: `statement` Musk, E. Post on X, 30 October 2026. https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2116018780111597911 [^musk2026b]: `statement` Musk, E. Post on X, 30 October 2026. https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2116019939056513218 [^stdaily2026]: `news` "全球首个植入式脑机接口三类医疗器械获批上市" (First implantable BCI Class III medical device approved for market). *Science and Technology Daily*, 13 March 2026. https://www.stdaily.com/web/gdxw/2026-03/13/content_485324.html [^cyd2026]: `news` Yang, J., Tao, T. and Yuan, J. "一款侵入式脑机接口医疗器械获批上市" (An invasive BCI medical device approved for market). *China Youth Daily*, 28 March 2026, reprinted by Tsinghua University News. https://www.tsinghua.edu.cn/info/1182/125032.htm {Trial outcomes are as described by the developers; no peer-reviewed report of the confirmatory trial is cited.} [^cls2025]: `news` Cailian Press. "我国又一侵入式脑机接口产品获批" (Another Chinese invasive BCI product approved). 17 December 2025. https://www.cls.cn/detail/2231624 {A financial news brief; it reports the NMPA Class III registration for Sceneray's addiction device without technical detail.} [^gmw2026]: `news` Jiang, H. "上海开出脑机接口首张处方并成功手术" (Shanghai issues first BCI prescription and completes surgery). *People's Daily* app Shanghai channel, reprinted by Guangming Online, 15 July 2026. https://m.gmw.cn/2026-07/15/content_1304532828.htm [^miit2025]: `regulator` Ministry of Industry and Information Technology and six other bodies. "Implementation Opinions on Promoting the Innovative Development of the Brain-Computer Interface Industry." MIIT Document No. 164 (2025); English translation by the Center for Security and Emerging Technology. https://cset.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/t0659_BCI_opinions_EN.pdf [^fda2025]: `regulator` US Food and Drug Administration. 510(k) K242618, Layer 7-T cortical electrodes, Precision Neuroscience, decision 30 March 2025. https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/cdrh_docs/pdf24/K242618.pdf [^paradromics2026]: `statement` Paradromics. "Paradromics Receives FDA Approval to Expand Connexus Brain-Computer Interface Clinical Study Recruitment Nationwide." Press release, 26 October 2026. https://paradromics.com/news/paradromics-receives-fda-approval-to-expand-connexus-brain-computer-interface-clinical-study-recruitment-nationwide/ [^evtoday2024]: `news` "Synchron's Brain-Computer Interface Evaluated in COMMAND Early Feasibility Study." *Endovascular Today*, 3 October 2024. https://evtoday.com/news/synchrons-brain-computer-interface-evaluated-in-command-early-feasibility-study {Reports company-announced results presented at the 2024 Congress of Neurological Surgeons.} [^medtechdive2025]: `news` Taylor, N. P. "Synchron raises $200M to prepare for brain computer interface launch." *MedTech Dive*, 7 November 2025. https://www.medtechdive.com/news/synchron-funding-bci-200m/804977/ [^intent2026]: `trial` Synchron, Inc. "INdependence Through Endovascular Neuroprosthetic Technology (INTENT): an Early Feasibility Study." ClinicalTrials.gov NCT07543367. https://clinicaltrials.gov/study/NCT07543367 [^reuters2026]: `news` Santhosh, C. "Elon Musk's Neuralink says it has 21 participants enrolled in trials." Reuters, 28 January 2026. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/elon-musks-neuralink-says-21-182925000.html removed, struck through added, underlinedLine numbers count the serialised markdown of each revision, frontmatter included.
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