Policy evolution, practical challenges, and optimization strategies of China's brain-computer interface: a decade review from strategic planning to industrial cultivation

Brain-computer interface (BCI), as one of the most representative disruptive innovations in the medical field, has emerged as a strategic high ground in global technological competition. This study systematically reviews and analyzes the policy evolution and practical challenges of BCI development in China, and proposes targeted optimization recommendations to provide a reference for promoting high-quality development.

Through literature review, the concept, classification, and technological development trends of BCI were summarized. Based on a time-series perspective, the evolutionary trajectory and core contents of BCI-related policies in China were analyzed. The implementation effects and existing problems of policies were comprehensively assessed in conjunction with evidence from the literature.

China's BCI policy system exhibited distinct stage-specific evolutionary characteristics: ① Strategic planning stage (2016 to 2020), during which policy priorities focused on basic research and frontier technological deployment, formally incorporating brain science into the national science and technology innovation agenda; ② Medical-engineering integration stage (2021 to 2024), during which the policy focus shifted toward technology translation and application scenario expansion, with emphasis on promoting BCI applications in rehabilitation medicine, smart elderly care, and other fields, alongside gradual advancement in standardization and accelerated medical device evaluation and approval processes; ③ Industrial cultivation stage (2025 to present), during which related policies were intensively introduced, covering the entire industrial chain, including research and development, regulation, medical insurance, and financial support.

China's BCI development has preliminarily formed a coordinated framework of “policy-research-regulation-industry.” However, several challenges remain, including insufficient industrialization capacity, an incomplete policy support system, the absence of an effective cross-sectoral coordination mechanism, and relatively lagging risk governance and ethical regulation. There is an urgent need to further improve the full-chain policy support system and governance mechanisms.

It is recommended to concentrate efforts on breaking through core technological bottlenecks and promoting interdisciplinary integration and development, increase fiscal investment and guide patient capital to establish diversified investment and financing mechanisms; improve top-level institutional design to construct a full-chain policy support system; establish a national-level coordinating body to strengthen cross-departmental collaborative governance; and reinforce risk prevention and ethical governance to ensure the responsible and value-oriented application of BCI technologies.