Chinese scientists develop wearable lightweight brain-machine interface for neuropsychiatric disorder therapy

A group of Chinese researchers has developed the world's first battery-powered, wearable repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) device, according to a recent research article published in the Nature Communications journal.

RTMS is a proven therapy for neuropsychiatric disorders like depression, stroke rehabilitation, and addiction, but traditional devices usually require fixed clinical setups, weigh over 50 kilograms, and consume massive power – limiting accessibility for patients.

Led by the Institute of Automation under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the team slashed the device's weight to only 3 kilograms – lighter than a laptop – while cutting power use to only 10 percent. The device adopted lightweight magnetic core coil designs, high-power-density and high-voltage pulse driving techniques, enabling ​portable, high-frequency brain stimulation during free movement – a first for rTMS technology, according to the first writer of the article Qi Ziwei.

In trials, the device demonstrated ​dynamic neural modulation during walking, revealing how leg movement enhances arm-related brain activity. This breakthrough paves the way for ​at-home and community-based rTMS therapy, drastically improving treatment access for chronic conditions.

Wearable rTMS devices have the potential to be integrated with non-invasive brain signal detection technologies in the future, said Liu Hao, senior engineer at the Institute of Automation. By real-time decoding of brain signals to optimize the rTMS regulation process, a wearable closed-loop rTMS neuromodulation system can be formed.

This will make it possible for closed-loop brain-computer interfaces to move from laboratory settings to large-scale real applications, said Liu.

(With input from Xinhua)