NSCEB Releases Analysis for Securing U.S. Leadership in Brain-Computer Interfaces
Brain–Computer Interfaces (BCIs) will have the enormous potential to advance healthcare for neurological diseases, defense capabilities, and next-generation AI models trained on brain data. Despite historical U.S. leadership in research and development of BCI technologies, China’s emerging global leadership is a strategic risk for U.S. national security.
2, September 2026
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Washington D.C. – Today, the National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology (NSCEB) published new findings on U.S. leadership in Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs). The analysis, derived from a convening of experts held earlier this year, identifies critical drivers of BCI innovation, bottlenecks for domestic BCI development, and policy options to ensure that the United States leads the world in BCI research and commercialization.
BCIs are technologies that interact with electrical activity in a person’s brain. In a healthcare setting, BCIs can record a patient’s brain activity and translate that to output for using a prosthetic limb, for example. BCIs can also work by providing input back into a patient’s brain which might look like reestablishing a lost sensory function like sense of smell.
BCI capabilities are advancing swiftly, and the field is becoming a strategically important technology with major national security implications for the United States. BCIs will transform more than healthcare. Cutting edge technologies like BCIs can enhance American warfighter capabilities and train a new generation of artificial intelligence (AI) models. But, in March 2026, China became the first country to approve an implantable BCI for commercial use. This move shows that China can move from approval to utilization faster than the United States.
“Emerging biotechnologies like BCI have the potential to improve the lives of countless Americans, but only if we can get the technology into the hands of people who need it,” said NSCEB Commissioner Paul Arcangeli. “A comprehensive national strategy that prioritizes safe, effective technologies will get U.S. BCIs from lab to commercial product faster, generating real solutions that help real people. The NSCEB has provided a clear roadmap for policymakers to take action that will strengthen U.S. health, national security, and global competitiveness.”
Read the paper here: Securing U.S. Leadership in Brain-Computer Interfaces
Key Findings for American BCI Development & Next Steps for Policymakers:
Bottleneck: A lack of U.S. strategy and coordination across the various federal agencies that fund or regulate parts of BCIs results in misaligned milestones and uncoordinated interagency strategies.
Recommendation: Establish a National Biotechnology Coordination Office (NBCO) to build a national strategy and coordinate federal efforts for specific enabling technologies such as BCIs, aligning agency milestones and addressing shared bottlenecks.
Bottleneck: Technical barriers to commercialization, including signal degradation, current implant approaches, and microchip functionality, limit further research and development to advance BCI technologies.
Recommendation: Initiate a grand research challenge focused on making biotechnology predictably engineerable to bolster the research and data collection needed to advance fields, such as neurobiology and neuroengineering that underpin BCI development, and reduce technical barriers to commercialization.
Bottleneck: A lack of data integration and infrastructure means that the BCI community does not have the data and databases needed to better train predictive models and prevent duplicative research and development efforts.
Recommendation: Create a Web of Biological Data to increase access to and integration of neural, biological, and clinical data across institutions in order to accelerate discovery and development by providing appropriate training for the next generation of AI models.
Bottleneck: The current federal regulatory environment has not kept pace with the rapid advancements of BCIs, as there is no clear pathway to regulatory approval in the FDA process, and the lack of an active Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) reimbursement coverage for implantable BCIs means there is no clear payment structure structure once a product is through regulatory approvals, disincentivizing investment in the technology.
Recommendations: Create simple pathways to market and exempt familiar products from unnecessary regulation while also preparing for novel products to come to market. Conduct faster, fairer clinical trials that reduce unnecessary delays while maintaining the FDA’s standards for safety and effectiveness. Help developers meet data requirements by issuing clear guidance on expectations and sharing common deficiencies in BCI submission. Ensure BCI technologies are explicitly included in the new FDA and CMS RAPID program.
Read the NSCEB’s April 2025 report to Congress here.
Read the Future of Biotechnology Regulation discussion papers here.
About NSCEB: The National Security Commission on Emerging Biotechnology is a time-limited, high-impact legislative branch advisory entity whose purpose is to advance and secure biotechnology, biomanufacturing, and associated technologies for U.S. national security and to prepare the United States for the bioindustrial revolution. The Commission published a comprehensive report in April 2025, including recommendations for action by Congress and the federal government. The bipartisan Commission is composed of Congressionally-appointed Commissioners with members from both the Senate and the House of Representatives as well as experts from industry, academia, and government. For more information about the Commission and to view the report, visit: biotech.senate.gov.
Contacts:
NSCEB: press@biotech.senate.gov
