Brain-computer interface expansion has brought MRI into play.

Brain-computer interfaces are entering the stage of "building up the infrastructure".

On August 25, the Department of Science and Technology of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology publicly solicited opinions on the "Guideline for the Construction of the National Brain-Computer Interface Industry Standard System (2026 Edition)" (Draft for Comment).

According to the draft for comments, the brain-computer interface standard system will cover seven major parts: basic commonality, hardware, software and algorithms, data and communication, products and systems, industry applications, security and governance. It is planned to formulate and revise more than 40 related standards by 2028 and to develop more than 80 standards by 2030.

As this technology moves from the laboratory to human trials and even clinical trials, the industry is entering a phase of completing systemic capabilities.

One of the first changes to emerge is that brain-computer interfaces are becoming more deeply integrated with medical imaging devices.

On August 23, Tianjin University and United Imaging Healthcare jointly released "uMR ShenGuan," a full-stack solution for magnetic resonance brain-computer interfaces. The two parties are attempting to turn the capabilities verified on scientific research equipment into toolkits and solutions.

Over the past year, United Imaging Healthcare and Tianjin University have focused on key areas including magnetic compatibility of brain-computer interface devices, adaptation of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to the working environment of brain-computer interfaces, software and data fusion, and migration from animal research to human clinical scenarios.

According to the current plan, this solution will be further adapted to some of United Imaging's 3T and 5T MRI equipment.

However, how brain-computer interfaces and magnetic resonance imaging should further collaborate is still in the exploratory stage.

From the current applications, magnetic resonance imaging has begun to be used in navigation, process monitoring and functional research of brain-computer interfaces.

In scenarios combining non-invasive brain-computer interfaces with neuromodulation, such as focused ultrasound, researchers first need to know where the target brain region is, and then apply external energy to the corresponding location as accurately as possible.

Yuan Jianmin, Director of the Magnetic Resonance Imaging Division and Joint Innovation Department of United Imaging Healthcare, likened the role of magnetic resonance imaging in this process to "BeiDou Navigation Satellite System": it determines the target area through structural imaging and provides real-time and precise location navigation during subsequent stimulation or modulation therapy.

Meanwhile, focused ultrasound may cause a local temperature rise during its operation, and magnetic resonance imaging can also monitor the temperature to determine whether the temperature is maintained within a range that neither damages normal brain tissue nor fails to produce the expected effect.

In decoding studies, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) can also collect functional changes such as blood oxygenation in different brain regions.

Fan Qiuyun, vice dean of the School of Medicine at Tianjin University, told Wall Street News that subjects can lie in an MRI machine while wearing signal acquisition devices to collect brain activity changes while completing interactive tasks.

However, since MRI mainly reflects neural activity indirectly through changes in blood oxygenation, these signals are usually delayed by several seconds compared to actual brain function.

Imaging capabilities have also been incorporated into the R&D and clinical workflows of overseas brain-computer interface companies.

A recent job posting by Neuralink for MRI and CT technicians indicates that its imaging facility in Texas is using Siemens Healthineers' MAGNETOM Cima.X MRI and NAEOTOM Alpha photon counting CT. The work involves high-resolution anatomical imaging, functional MRI, and data acquisition for clinical and preclinical studies.

Whether magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) can advance the development of the brain-computer interface industry is attracting attention.

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