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| Progress and Challenges in the Clinical Translation of Invasive Brain-Computer Interfacesfor Rehabilitation of Neurological Dysfunction |
| Shen Zijian1, Hu Feng1*, Shu Kai1, Wu Dongrui2* |
1(Department of Neurosurgery, Tongji Hospital, Tongji Medical College, Huazhong University of Science and Technology, Wuhan 430030, China) 2(Hubei Key Laboratory of Brain-Inspired Intelligent Systems, School of Artificial Intelligence and Automation, Huazhong University of Science and Technology,Wuhan 430074, China) |
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Abstract Brain-computer interfaces(BCIs), a frontier interdisciplinary technology that connects the brain to external devices, have achieved breakthrough advances in the diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of neurological diseases. In particular, invasive BCIs (iBCIs), with their exceptionally high spatiotemporal resolution and superior signal-to-noise ratio, have become a pivotal technological pathway for tackling severe neurological dysfunctions such as stroke, severe spinal cord injury, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis(ALS). During the 2024—2026 critical window for global clinical translation of the BCI industry, China has achieved multiple significant breakthroughs in core minimally invasive hardware development, adaptive neural decoding algorithms, the establishment of multicenter clinical trial platforms, and the development of ethical and regulatory standards. Building on the foundational scientific discoveries and prospective clinical trial data from recent leading research teams at home and abroad, this review systematically surveys the latest progress in iBCI core hardware fabrication and the evolution of signal decoding theory; examines in depth the landmark achievements across the three key areas of clinical translation-motor function restoration, speech-assisted communication, and neural function modulation; and comprehensively assesses the evolution of current multicenter clinical research designs, the reconstruction of rehabilitation efficacy evaluation systems, and the ongoing development of a collaborative governance framework integrating technology, clinical practice, ethics, and regulation. This work aims to provide a systematic academic reference for future basic research and large-scale clinical application in this field.
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Received: 06 March 2026
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Corresponding Authors:
*E-mail: hufeng@tjh.tjmu.edu.cn;drwu@hust.edu.cn
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