A Chinese startup asserts that its brain implant can be implanted in just 10 minutes without the need for any skull surgery.

      StairMed Technology's vein-based brain-computer interface (BCI) may be quicker than Neuralink's approximately two-hour surgery, but it still lacks human trial data.

      Brain implants, such as those developed by Elon Musk's Neuralink, typically require open-skull surgery. However, a Chinese startup claims to bypass this altogether by inserting its device through a vein, conducting the procedure in as little as ten minutes. As reported by the South China Morning Post, Shanghai's StairMed Technology is among several companies exploring this method as China aims to grow its domestic BCI industry.

      Faster than Neuralink, in theory

      In contrast to Neuralink's implant, which necessitates a surgical robot to open the skull and place fine electrode threads directly into the brain, StairMed Technology's device is introduced through a neck vein and navigates the vascular system to the brain, according to co-founder Zhao Zhengtuo at the Global Health Summit in Hong Kong. Duan Wanru, a physician at Xuanwu Hospital, stated that a surgeon with four to five years of experience could position the device in around ten minutes, significantly less than the approximately two hours required for Neuralink's surgical robot to perform its first human surgery in 2024.

      The company has secured over 1.1 billion yuan (around $163 million) in funding over the past year, with support from Tencent and Alibaba. Currently, its vein-based technique has only been evaluated on sheep, and human trials have not yet commenced, meaning the ten-minute timeline is more of an ambition than a validated outcome.

      Innovative yet familiar concept

      StairMed is not the first to pursue vein-based BCI. Synchron, a US company, has previously implanted its Stentrode device in ten patients during trials in the US and Australia since 2023, according to IEEE Spectrum. Synchron's device resides within a blood vessel near the brain's motor cortex and interprets signals via the vessel wall, whereas StairMed claims its device exits the vessel and secures itself just outside.

      The competitive market justifies the emphasis on speed. Morgan Stanley estimates the BCI implant market could soar to $80 billion in the US alone by 2035, and Beijing has indicated its ambition to have two or three Chinese firms vying for a global presence in this domain by 2030. A procedure lasting mere minutes would facilitate broader scalability across healthcare facilities, which likely explains why StairMed is promoting the ten-minute figure even without patient data to back it up.

      If you're anticipating a ten-minute brain implant to be available in an operating room soon, it's wise to manage your expectations. StairMed still needs to demonstrate that its device and delivery method are effective, something Synchron has spent years validating with a comparable approach.