China has approved the world’s first invasive brain-computer chip—here’s what’s next. The country wants to become a global leader in brain implants. Strong government support is expected to help accelerate that process.

Theodore Dong, 39, from Henan province, had sustained spinal cord injuries six years earlier that left him paralyzed from the neck down. However, after an 11-month-long rehabilitation enabled by an implant in his brain, he was able to write again.

One day last October, sitting in the courtyard of his house in China’s Henan province, Dong Hui decided to see if he could hold a pen to write. Slowly but determinedly, he wrote his name, ‘Thank you,’ and then the date. This was the result of an 11-month-long rehabilitation enabled by an implant in his brain.

The device, called NEO, developed by Neuracle Technology and researchers at Tsinghua University, was approved for use beyond clinical trials this March. It is now available to some patients with paralysis in their limbs due to spinal cord injuries. Experts say the approval could be due to its relatively less invasive design compared to counterparts like Neuralink’s N1 brain chip.

The approval of NEO is hugely important for the global BCI industry, says Wang Shouyan, a neuroscientist at Fudan University in Shanghai. It means that BCIs are now ready for large-scale manufacturing and clinical use in China.