Now Reading: China launches first insurance policy for brain-chip surgery
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China launches first insurance policy for brain-chip surgery
China has introduced its first commercial insurance policy covering invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) surgery, the Times of India reports citing the South China Morning Post. State-owned PICC Property and Casualty signed the…
The Story in Brief
China has introduced its first commercial insurance policy covering invasive brain-computer interface (BCI) surgery, the Times of India reports citing the South China Morning Post. State-owned PICC Property and Casualty signed the scheme with a hospital affiliated with Zhejiang University School of Medicine in Hangzhou, a tech hub. The announcement pushed BCI-linked stocks in Hong Kong up 1.59% on Wednesday.
The policy comes amid a coordinated government push, including Zhejiang's plans to boost financing for BCI firms. In at least 12 human trials in Hangzhou, a 61-year-old paraplegic patient walked unassisted within 15 days of surgery. But doctors caution there is no long-term safety data spanning several years.
The Indian Opinion
The narrative that China is 'outpacing' Elon Musk's Neuralink exaggerates a single insurance policy into a winner-takes-all race. Both countries are at early stages: Neuralink has US approvals and human trials, while China has a handful of experiments and no long-term safety data. The real test is whether any BCI implant can work safely for years, not which country gets there first. Who will publish five-year follow-up data?
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above.
