Orient Securities has published a research report stating that brain-computer interface (BCI), as an emerging interdisciplinary technology, offers vast potential. However, applications in the consumer sector must first be validated within the field of neurological disease treatment. Due to strict regulations on human brain implants, safety is the core prerequisite for its commercialization and investment rationale.
From a technical perspective, non-invasive BCI faces obstacles in neurological applications due to insufficient spatial resolution of EEG signals. While invasive BCI offers higher signal quality, its safety concerns remain unresolved. In contrast, the semi-invasive approach provides significant safety advantages while ensuring basic performance. It is expected to establish a foothold in neurological treatments, accumulating crucial clinical data and iterating with AI decoding technology to build a first-mover advantage for future expansion into consumer applications.
BCI technology research in China is relatively advanced globally, possessing the potential to cultivate world-leading enterprises. The report recommends focusing on two main directions: 1) semi-invasive BCI solutions with rapid clinical progress, clear indications, and government policy support; and 2) identifying core players along the semi-invasive BCI industry chain with new breakthroughs in medical applications and potential for extension into the consumer sector, capturing the fastest commercializing investment opportunities.
Key viewpoints from Orient Securities are as follows: Semi-invasive procedures involve smaller incisions and shallower implants. Invasive implantation relies on surgical robots, and the safety of its technological iterations still requires clinical validation. Furthermore, invasive methods require larger bone flaps and dural openings, increasing risks of brain displacement and skull defect syndrome. Unsealed dura can lead to fluid accumulation and infection, while electrode implantation into brain tissue can damage blood vessels. In comparison, semi-invasive techniques involve smaller incisions and shallower electrode placement, avoiding damage to intracranial blood vessels during implantation. With advancements in decoding algorithms, even shallower implantation is anticipated. Therefore, semi-invasive methods demonstrate significant safety advantages during surgery and possess greater potential for minimal invasiveness.
Long-term use is safer with a higher channel ceiling. Electrodes inserted into brain tissue in invasive BCI are prone to glial scar formation, leading to neuronal apoptosis and inflammatory reactions, thereby worsening biocompatibility. The risk of electrode displacement is high, causing damage to brain tissue and surrounding blood vessels. Brain tissue is highly thermally sensitive, and due to the high integration of invasive BCI, the main heat source chips are close to the brain tissue, making power consumption and channel count prone to reaching limits. Semi-invasive electrodes are located outside the cortex, preventing glial scar formation and offering better long-term biocompatibility. Thin-film electrodes also eliminate the possibility of axial displacement. A split design separating chips and electrodes better addresses thermal limitations. Consequently, semi-invasive BCI offers superior electrode stability and better heat control during long-term use, with advantages further amplifying as channel count increases.
Removal is safer, offering greater potential for consumer-grade applications. Removing invasive electrodes can tear the vascular network, causing substantial destruction, hemorrhage, and physical cavities leading to neuronal loss. Hemorrhage sites within the cortex are difficult to manage. Peeling off semi-invasive thin-film electrodes does not damage substantial blood vessels, significantly reducing bleeding risks. Even if bleeding occurs, it is superficial and easier to handle, while brain structure remains intact, offering complete reversibility. As BCI approaches the high-throughput era, consumer applications become foreseeable. Facing faster upgrade cycles, the semi-invasive approach better aligns with requirements for easy removal and replacement, holding greater potential for expansion into consumer markets.
Overall, the semi-invasive approach can fundamentally address safety challenges related to implantation, long-term use, and removal, with advantages becoming more pronounced as channel count increases. Safety is a necessary condition for regulatory approval and capturing the neurological disease treatment market. Therefore, Orient Securities believes the semi-invasive approach offers better safety and greater development potential.
Risks include slower-than-expected regulatory approval, technological substitution and market competition, and constraints on key materials in the supply chain.