The market regulatory authorities of Beijing, Tianjin, and Hebei have jointly released a new work plan aimed at strengthening the quality chain for the brain-computer interface (BCI) industry across the region. This initiative is designed to promote a coordinated enhancement of both the supply and industrial chains through targeted quality improvements.
Regarding the advancement of common quality technologies, the plan encourages leading enterprises, universities, research institutes, and medical institutions to work together on technological breakthroughs. It focuses on critical areas such as neural signal acquisition, decoding, control, and feedback, with the goal of accelerating the development and commercialization of innovations like new dry electrodes, flexible electrodes, BCI signal acquisition chips, computing decoding chips, and high-performance real-time decoding algorithms.
For comprehensive quality control throughout the entire chain, the plan recommends establishing a BCI quality standards laboratory. It also aims to support tech-driven companies in adopting total quality management practices and digital quality management tools. Furthermore, it encourages these companies to appoint chief quality officers and to strengthen the system for quality-based financing and credit enhancement.
In the realm of core standard development, the plan seeks to improve both foundational technical standards and application standards for the BCI industry. This includes participating in the creation of a technical committee for BCI standardization and advancing the development of standards for technology, data, applications, ethics, and safety. Specific efforts involve setting standards for EEG data annotation management and signal acquisition precision for monitoring devices, as well as actively engaging in international standard-setting to promote mutual recognition of product evaluation standards globally.
The plan also outlines measures for strengthening the infrastructure of quality technology. This involves supporting the establishment of an integrated application center for BCI quality infrastructure and exploring the creation of a system for the precise measurement and traceability of neural signals. Additionally, it calls for the development of product testing tools and the creation of evaluation indicators and testing methods for the safety, effectiveness, and reliability of components and systems, along with promoting certification for product performance, stability, and safety.
Finally, to diversify application scenarios, the plan proposes building a BCI technology testing platform. This platform would provide application environments for research institutions and enterprises in areas such as EEG database construction, clinical research, and scientific translation. It also aims to cultivate new business models within the BCI sector, fostering a complete ecosystem that spans from technology research and development to simulation verification, scenario validation, and industrial promotion.