Scientific and technological progress is the eternal theme of mankind, and it is also the only hope for many people who suffer from illness.
On January 29, Musk said that his brain-computer interface company "Neuralink" has completed the first human transplant of a brain-computer interface device, and the first patient is currently recovering well.
Musk revealed that the first product will be named "telepathy", and the brain implanted in the device will be able to control mobile phones, computers, and almost all devices through them, and people who have lost the function of their limbs will be the first users.
What is the magic brain-computer interface, let's talk about it today.
What is a brain-computer interface and why is it important?
Brain-Machine Interface (BMI or BCI) refers to the direct connection created between the human or animal brain and external devices to realize the exchange of information between the brain and the device. In fact, this concept has been around for a long time, but it was not until the nineties of the last century that phased results began to appear.
The mechanism of action of BCI is to bypass peripheral nerves and muscles, and establish a new communication and control channel directly between the brain and external devices. It enables the transmission and control of information by capturing brain signals and converting them into electrical signals.
Brain-computer interfaces can be divided into three categories: invasive, semi-invasive, and non-invasive. Non-invasive brain-computer interfaces mainly obtain cerebral cortex electrical signals through scalp EEG and other signals, while invasive brain-computer interfaces require electrodes to be implanted into the cerebral cortex through craniotomy.
Brain-computer interfaces have shown great value in the treatment of diseases and functional recovery in the medical field.
According to the World Health Organization's quantitative evaluation, the global brain disease patient population is about 1% of all ancient diseases, and the social burden is close to 30% of the total human disease burden, which has exceeded cardiovascular disease or cancer. The data shows that the unmet clinical needs of nearly 300 million patients with various brain diseases in mainland China alone persist.
Secondly, it is very difficult to develop drugs for brain diseases, and the pathogenesis of many neuropsychiatric diseases has not yet been clarified, and the design of clinical trials is also very difficult, and neurological drugs are often accompanied by obvious side effects.
What is the market size and prospect of brain-computer interfaces?
Brain-computer interfaces were initially created due to the need for rehabilitation, and in the context of the aging trend in mainland China, there is a large market space for brain-computer technology that can be applied to the treatment of neurological diseases.
Studies have shown that brain-computer interface has a good application prospect for the recovery of upper limb motor function in stroke patients, and has been shown to produce effects that cannot be achieved by conventional treatment, but its mechanism has not been fully explained.
According to the type of disease and the user-oriented, it is mainly divided into five categories: limb movement disorders, neurodevelopmental disorders, mental diseases, consciousness and cognitive disorders, and sensory deficits, and can be roughly divided into two categories according to the needs of patients: health and rehabilitation.
Especially in terms of cognitive impairment, the global market is already very large, and brain-computer interfaces have unique advantages in this regard.
As of the end of 2021, the global brain-computer interface market reached $1.5 billion, and this figure is expected to increase to $3.3 billion by 2027.
At present, the mainland brain-computer interface market size of about 1 billion yuan, brain-computer interface as an emerging industry, countries in the core technology and market expansion and other aspects have not opened the gap, China in the core device design does not have a significant lag, in the policy tilt and resource support, is expected to achieve corner overtaking.
So, what is the industrial chain of brain-computer interface, and what are the investment opportunities?
The industrial chain of brain-computer interface includes three parts: upstream, midstream and downstream.
The upstream mainly includes software and hardware equipment suppliers such as EEG acquisition equipment, chips, related algorithms and external nesting, among which EEG acquisition equipment is one of the core devices, which can convert EEG signals into digital signals that can be recognized by computers.
The chip is one of the cores of brain-computer interface technology, which is responsible for processing and transmitting EEG signals. Algorithms decode and process the collected EEG signals so that they can be used to control external devices and perform corresponding actions.
The midstream mainly includes brain-computer interface product providers, who integrate and optimize the software and hardware equipment provided by upstream suppliers to produce brain-computer interface products that can be applied in different fields.
These products can be used in medical and health, rehabilitation training, education and entertainment, smart life and other fields, such as brain-computer interfaces to help people with disabilities communicate and control devices, as well as brain-computer interface devices for games and virtual reality.
In 2015, Strong Brain Technology was established in the Innovation Lab of Harvard University, and developed a wearable EEG chip with the highest precision and best encryption on the market in that year.
In 2017, the new electrode material developed by the company, the solid gel electrode, was mass-produced, which overcame the difficulty of large-scale and accurate acquisition of EEG signals, and made the accuracy of the single electrode of portable EEG equipment reach the professional level.
A-share listed companies, innovative medical treatment is the purest concept, Sanbo Brain is not engaged in brain-computer interface technology research and development, but brain-computer interface technology has a great application prospect in neuromedicine-related fields.
Founded in 1997, Innovative Medical is also a listed company whose main business is to provide medical services. At present, the company has four medical institutions: Jianhua Hospital, Kanghua Hospital, Futian Hospital and Mingzhu Hospital.
In the field of brain-computer interface, on January 19, 2021, Innovative Medical announced that the company plans to establish a joint venture with Xu Kedi to establish a "brain-computer interface" project company, with a registered capital of 50 million yuan for the platform company, and the company will contribute 20 million yuan with its own funds, accounting for 40%.
This company is Boling Brain Department, and at present, Boling Brain Computer has begun to enter the research and development stage of engineering prototypes. The activity record sheet also mentions that Boling Brain Computer has started the preparation for the declaration of Class II medical devices.
The downstream is the application field of brain-computer interface technology, including medical institutions, scientific research institutions, education, entertainment, underlying operating equipment, military defense and other industries.
In the medical field, BCI is mainly used to treat and help people who are unable to communicate normally due to physical disabilities or neurological diseases, such as ALS patients and severely paralyzed patients. In the field of scientific research, brain-computer interface technology can help scientists better understand the working mechanism of the brain and the formation mechanism of human consciousness.
In the field of education, brain-computer interface technology can help teachers better understand students' learning status and needs and improve the quality of teaching through the monitoring and analysis of students' brain activity. In the entertainment sector, brain-computer interface technology can be used in areas such as gaming and virtual reality to provide a more immersive experience.
In general, brain-computer interface technology is a technology with a wide range of application prospects, and its industrial chain involves many fields and industries. With the continuous development and maturity of technology, brain-computer interface technology is expected to be applied in more fields in the future, bringing more convenient and efficient ways of life and work to human beings.
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Source: Flying Whale Investment Research