Xuanwu Hospital implants China's first responsive neurostimulator

AI system

System: Epilcure closed-loop responsive neurostimulation system (brain-computer interface)
Model: Not assessed
Release: Not assessed
Provider: Not assessed
Role: Not assessed
Configuration: Not assessed
Inputs and outputs: Not assessed
Autonomy: Not assessed
Workflow: Intracranial electrodes at the epileptic focus feeding continuous EEG to a chip implanted in the skull. A seizure-prediction routine on the chip that triggers an interfering stimulation rhythm when it predicts an imminent seizure. Enrollment in the hospital-led NMPA registration trial for patients whose epilepsy is drug-resistant and unsuited to open surgery.
Human oversight: Not assessed
Relation to AI: The hospital, as relayed by the reports, describes the AI element as an on-skull chip. It monitors intracranial EEG continuously and predicts imminent seizures to trigger interfering stimulation. The read reports establish only that the implant functioned during surgery and that electrodes were placed precisely. No detection or stimulation event, seizure count or follow-up is reported. What the AI contributed to the patient cannot be assessed from these sources.
AI contribution: Not assessed

Outcome identifiers: Not assessed
Benefit: 9 Mar 2022: Xuanwu Hospital, Beijing, implanted Epilcure, a closed-loop neurostimulator whose on-skull AI chip monitors EEG and stimulates on predicted seizures, in a man with drug-resistant epilepsy.
Category: Improved Physical Health
Status: Not assessed
Beneficiary groups: People.
Beneficiaries: Not assessed
Reach: Not assessed
Distribution and access: Not assessed
Duration: Not assessed
Expected?: Yes
Costs and harms: Not assessed

Participants: Operator: Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing.
Jurisdictions: Benefit: Beijing, China. Operator: China.
Ownership and control: Not assessed
Dependencies: Not assessed
Cross-border connections: Not assessed
Geopolitical implications: Not assessed

Conditions for replication: Electrode placement is precise and signals are clear, as the post-operative reconstruction reported here. The prediction fires early enough and specifically enough to abort seizures, which no cited source yet documents.
Replication attempts: Not assessed
Later findings: Not assessed
Availability: Not assessed
Institutional decision: Not assessed
Grounds: Not assessed
Action and result: Not assessed
Success criterion: Not assessed

Assessed benefits: People.
Depth: Not assessed
Reasons: People: The reports establish a successful implantation with the stimulator working normally and electrodes precisely placed. No reduction in seizures, follow-up or patient-reported outcome is given, so the benefit to the patient's health is not yet established.
Observed or intended: Not assessed
Rubric: Not assessed
Assessor and date: Not assessed
Alternative assessments: Not assessed
Fill: Independently reported

Kind: Not assessed
Related entries: Not assessed
Field: Healthcare (epilepsy; responsive neurostimulation). Implanted neuromodulation device in a registration clinical trial.
Purpose: Epilcure was built to detect the onset of seizures from continuously monitored intracranial EEG and deliver stimulation to abort them in people with drug-resistant epilepsy. Implanting it for that purpose was the intended use, though no seizure outcome is yet reported.
Dates: Date basis unassessed: 2022 (precision unassessed). Updated: 21 October 2026.
Stage: Not assessed
Version: SHA-256: 8763a5d15e00…

News report Independent author

cnBeta (2022). 中国首例“脑机接口”反应性闭环神经刺激系统植入成功. cnBeta.COM, 12 March 2022.
News report Independent author

Jian J (2022). 中国首例“脑机接口”反应性闭环神经刺激系统植入成功：人工智能芯片直连大脑. 快科技 (MyDrivers), 12 March 2022.
News report Independent author

Phoenix Technology (2022). 中国首例“脑机接口”反应性闭环神经刺激系统植入成功：AI芯片直连大脑. 凤凰网科技, 12 March 2022.
Registry label Independent author

OECD.AI (2022). China's First AI-Powered Brain-Computer Interface Implanted to Prevent Epileptic Seizures. OECD AI Incidents and Hazards Monitor, entry 2022-03-11-af88.