Technology company, I will become the light of China!

"Old Zhong, what are you talking about? The world's first brain-computer interface implant? You are kidding me, today is not April Fools' Day!"

"Brain-computer interface? Which biotech company has mastered this world-class medical device?"

"What? ALS has been conquered?"

"Longxing Group and WuXi Group's brain-computer interfaces have already been implanted in humans? Don't lie to me, Old Yu. This stuff is only in its infancy even in foreign countries. Our domestic related topics are still in the exploratory stage. How come it suddenly came out?"

While Jiang Ce was still in the operating room, with his vital signs being observed by doctors, the directors of major hospitals in Shanghai were already eager to announce the news of the brain-computer interface to their own circles of contacts.

The presidents of the country's top hospitals, such as Union Hospital, West China Hospital, and Xiangtan Hospital, and the doctors in their neurology departments are all upset.

Brain-computer interface treatment for ALS is a completely new treatment approach.

Although scholars from Johns Hopkins University on the other side of the ocean had put forward this view 12 years ago, it was only a theoretical proposal and no substantial action was taken.

But today!
Theory becomes reality!

Since brain-computer interfaces can treat ALS, what about other neurological diseases?
At the Union Hospital, where the so-called God of Hell lets you go at three in the morning, but keeps you until five in the morning, the Dean of the Department of Neurology, Hu Xiaofeng, widened his eyes and looked at the medical assistant as if he was going to eat someone: "Are you sure that this was posted by Qian Qiuliang on WeChat Moments?"

"Yes...it's Dean Qian."

The medical assistant responded timidly.

It was the first time she saw Hu Xiaofeng so shocked.

Perhaps many people don’t know that when clinical medicine doctors are over 70 years old, and some are over 65 years old, the hospital will provide these experienced medical masters with medical assistants, which are equivalent to personal secretaries.

This is because Longguo is developing too fast and the whole country is talking about the Internet economy.

For example, when buying tickets at the station, you used to buy them at the counter, but now you can buy them electronically with one click, and you don’t need to queue at the counter at all.

For example, when seeing a doctor, you can not only make an appointment online, but also pay online, and pick up tickets at the on-site self-service machine.

Young people are used to the Internet and may be able to adapt to it quickly, but a large number of elderly people cannot. This is why, even though the Internet and self-service machines are highly popular, state units will still retain manual windows in order to wait for the elderly.

Back to medical assistants, this group not only has to assist attending physicians in prescribing medicines electronically, but also has to take care of the doctors' electronic social interactions, such as replying to group messages, checking Moments of Friends, etc. The purpose is to take care of the older generation who do not know how to use the Internet and learn medical skills at the same time.

"Brain-computer interface treatment for ALS seems to have been proposed at the last medical summit. Unexpectedly, our domestic biotechnology has quietly come to the forefront. Which company's masterpiece is this?" Hu Xiaofeng was a little puzzled.

In his impression, domestic biotechnology is far behind that of Western countries, at least forty years behind.

Yes!

Forty years!
This is just a conservative statement. Some people think that it has lagged behind by fifty years, and some say sixty years. Each person mentions a different year, but their original intention is to say that Longguo's biotechnology field lags far behind the West, and the entire medical field is also lagging behind.

Don’t be fooled by the superb medical skills of doctors in Peking Union Medical College Hospital and West China Hospital. However, 95% of the high-end medical equipment they use have to rely on imports, including magnetic resonance imaging systems, high-content cell analysis imaging systems, laser scanning imaging systems, biomolecular interaction instruments, laser confocal microscopes, inverted fluorescence microscopes, high-throughput protein stability analyzers and other life science instruments.

In terms of medical skills, we are on par with each other.

Medical equipment still has some distance to catch up.

This is also why, when Hu Xiaofeng first heard the news that a domestic brain-computer interface had been successfully implanted and cured ALS patients, he subconsciously thought it was a rumor.

If it was anyone else, he would have treated it as a rumor 100%, but the person who posted it on WeChat Moments was Qian Qiuliang, and the implant surgery was done at Ruijin Hospital, which forced him to re-examine domestic biotech companies.

"Is it Hengrui Medicine, WuXi Group, or BeiGene?" Hu Xiaofeng fell into deep thought. He still found himself a little bit unconvinced.

If a terminal illness like ALS can be cured, then isn't it possible to cure depression, epilepsy, and Alzheimer's disease?
"Dr. Hu, President Chen Guoqiang also posted on WeChat Moments, thanking Wang Youpeng's team at WuXi Group. Is it possible that the brain-computer interface is technically supported by WuXi Group?" The medical assistant was flipping through the WeChat Moments.

Although Hu Xiaofeng does not know how to use WeChat, he has added all the people he should have. Besides, he does not need to use it in person. If he wants to check or post to his Moments, the medical assistant will do it for him.

"Chen Guoqiang also went, so it seems that this matter is not false. I didn't expect that it was WuXi Group that turned the tide."

Hu Xiaofeng sighed.

The reason why domestic medical care cannot catch up with Western medicine is not because the scientific researchers in Longguo are dumber than those in foreign countries, but because they are restricted by rules.

In Longguo, if you want to apply for human experiments or recruit volunteers for drugs or equipment, the materials you submit alone will be as thick as a book, and the review time will start at three months.

But what about the West?

The West chose to take the shortcut.

Their pharmaceutical companies and biotechnology companies have all moved to the Ancient Elephant Kingdom, avoiding the cumbersome approval procedures and developing new drugs or new medical devices at the fastest speed.

Just imagine, China is still using experimental monkeys to conduct repeated tests hundreds or thousands of times to ensure that there are no problems before conducting human trials, while Western medical companies in Ancient Elephant Country only need to successfully experiment on monkeys once before they can directly conduct human trials and then slowly make adjustments. Can the research and development progress of the two be the same?

The answer is obvious.

It will definitely lag behind the West.

Behind the reputation of Ancient Elephant Kingdom as the world's pharmacy are countless families who are so poor that they can only sign risky agreements for drug trials.

"So now we are..."

the medical assistant asked.

"That's it." Hu Xiaofeng couldn't suppress his excitement. He stood up and said, "Contact the dean and ask him to charter a plane tonight. The chief physician of our neurology department should all come with me to Ruijin Hospital to learn."

"all?"

The medical assistant was stunned.

"Yes, all." Hu Xiaofeng nodded to confirm.

The emergence of brain-computer interfaces will likely overturn the entire discipline of neurology, and he also sees hope for curing various neurological diseases.

Although modern medicine has been divided into a large number of disciplines, in fact, in many cases, the real means of treating diseases still relies on one's own immunity, and neuropathy is the most typical example.

Human research on the brain is still in the initial exploration stage.

When it comes to neurological diseases such as depression, epilepsy, mania, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, modern medicine can only give a rough idea, saying that there is a problem with the nerve center or neurons. But if we really want to delve deeper into the cause, we can only say that we don't know, and we don't even know the triggering factor.

However, some academicians in the field of genetics have put forward the view that serious diseases are determined by genes before humans are born, which is equivalent to having a time bomb. Once triggered, it becomes an incurable terminal illness.

Some scientific researchers have also proposed the idea of ​​changing human genes to achieve immunity to certain diseases, but this idea has been collectively rejected by the medical community because mainstream scholars believe that it is not appropriate to change genes before understanding genetic inheritance.

Because a section of genetic code has been changed or subtracted, the human body is likely to supplement or correct this section of the gene on its own. No one knows whether a super virus or superpower will appear as a result. This is an unknown Pandora's box.

It is for this reason that countries are restricting gene editing technology, and even though it is already very mature, they dare not experiment on humans.

Nowadays, there is no need for gene editing. Difficult and complicated diseases in neurology can be cured through brain-computer implants. This is good news for mankind, and Hu Xiaofeng naturally dare not neglect it.

He had to learn how to implant the brain overnight. Not only him, but if the brain-computer interface was real, all the doctors in the neurology department of the Union Hospital would have to learn how to perform the implant surgery.

Not long after.

The group chat at Union Hospital exploded.

[Wang Qiang from the Department of Gastroenterology]: "Is there anyone who can tell me if this is true? I heard that there has been a major breakthrough in neurology, and even ALS, a terminal disease in the world, has been successfully cured."

[Orthopedics Department Zhang Dali]: "@Digestive Department Wang Qiang, Brother Qiang, you are kidding. ALS has not been studied to its full potential, and you say it has been successfully cured. Aren't you just kidding us?"

[Nephrology Department Li Xiaohua]: "Speaking of ALS, there is a confirmed case in my relative's family. I heard that the child didn't live past the age of five. It would be great if that were true, but I haven't found any related reports in medical journals."

[Department of Neurology Xu Guolong]: "It may be true. All doctors above the level of department director are attending a meeting. I heard that they are going to charter a plane to Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai. You can go and ask around to see if ALS has really been cured."

[Li Wen, Urology]: "Oh my god, I just checked my Moments and Professor Qian Qiuliang posted that the first human brain-computer interface implant was completed and cured a patient with ALS!"

When the name "Qian Qiuliang" was brought up, the crowd at Union Hospital was filled with astonishment. The young doctors collectively lost their composure and sought confirmation through their own connections.

The world's first brain-computer interface was implanted in a human, and they didn't even blink an eye. How come Dragon Country has developed to such a rapid pace?
Not only the doctors at Peking Union Medical College Hospital were confused, but the doctors at West China Hospital and Xiangtan Hospital were also collectively confused. For the first time, they felt what it meant for the tide of the times to roll forward.

Neurology teams from top domestic hospitals such as Peking Union Medical College Hospital, West China Hospital, Xiangtan Hospital, Tongji Hospital, and Qilu Hospital set out together and chartered a plane to Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai, intending to find out the truth.

Of course, this is not false. After all, the presidents of Huashan Hospital, Shanghai Jiaotong University Ninth Hospital, and Ruijin Hospital have all posted on their Moments, so this is basically a fact. There is definitely an effect, but whether it can be a complete cure is another matter.

And at the same time.

Voices are gradually emerging on the Internet.

The term "brain-computer interface" was ranked in the top ten of the hot search list. The popularity was not high, but it was not low either.

In addition to the entry "brain-computer interface", the entry "amyotrophic lateral sclerosis" also appeared on the hot search list, ranking 14th.

Clicking on the entry "Brain-Computer Interface", a blogger named "Medical Road Forward" posted a message saying that Ruijin Hospital completed the world's first brain-computer interface implant in a human and successfully cured a patient with ALS.

Since there are no pictures, the credibility of the text description alone is not high, but it still caused quite a stir on the Internet.

[Blue Goddess]: "Brain-computer interface can cure ALS? Where did this rumor come from? The Lancet doesn't even have a journal with relevant content!"

[Wang Ge works hard to live]: "Has Yilu Xiangqian changed its operator? You are a medical science account with 3 million followers. Please don't post such unconfirmed things!"

[Xiao Qing is fighting against freezing]: "As a 19-year-old ALS patient, I may only have half a year left to live. If the brain-computer interface can really cure my disease, I am willing to sign a waiver agreement unconditionally and serve as a volunteer!"

[Ning Jing Zhi Yuan]: "I am also suffering from ALS. It is winter now, and my hands and feet are getting more and more numb and cold. I don't know if I can survive this winter, but I want to live."

The number of people suffering from ALS is not large. According to national statistics, there are about 12 patients with ALS and suspected ALS, that is, patients with motor neuron damage, in Long China. They all rely on medication to slow down the rate of neuropathy.

Although 12 people are half the population of a small county, they are too few in the field of drug research and development. Pharmaceutical companies are not doing charity, they also need to make profits. The more patients there are, the bigger the market is, and the more they can invest. They spend tens of billions on drug research and development, but the target audience is only 12 people. How can they recover the research and development costs and achieve a hundredfold profit?
What if a pill sells for 100 million?
Who can afford it?
This is also the reason why there are no specific medicines for rare and difficult diseases.

Now that ALS has been mentioned, a large number of patients do not want to miss this opportunity to be exposed. They have posted on the Internet, requesting the implantation of brain-computer interfaces and expressing their willingness to serve as volunteers, because this may be their only hope of survival.

……

And on the other side.

The postoperative ward of Ruijin Hospital in Shanghai.

Chen Xing glanced at the exposed brain-computer interface on Jiang Ce's head, then looked at his face and asked, "How is it? After a few hours of adaptation, are you feeling well?"

"No." Jiang Ce answered, stretched his arms, smiled and said, "I feel my whole body is very light, and I feel like I've been cleansed by martial arts novels. This is a feeling I've never had before. I don't know if I can outrun Bolt now."

Chen Xing: "..."

Comparing your running skills with Bolt, do you really think you can fly?

But to be honest, ALS is a disease caused by motor neuropathy, and the symptoms are numbness of the hands and feet. Now that the numbness has disappeared, it is normal for Jiang Ce to have a wrong understanding of his own strength. After all, a newborn calf is not afraid of a tiger.

Just in case, or in case of any problems, Chen Xing silently read the panel and directly checked Jiang Ce's personal panel.

【Name】: Jiang Ce
【Type】：Network technology talents
[Qualification]: Red

[Personality]: Introvert (Because of his low self-esteem and introversion, the Internet is everything to him, and his network skills have improved significantly.)
【Main research direction】: Computer network technology, software design and programming, virus writing...

【Technology proficient】: Computer network technology, software design and programming, virus writing...

【Loyalty】: 100 (full)

Monthly salary: 20

[Special entry]: Network Giant (He is submissive in reality, but strikes hard online. When performing computer network activities such as software programming, network attack and defense, his logical thinking, concentration, and intelligence will be greatly improved.)
“The special status is gone.”

Chen Xing secretly breathed a sigh of relief. He didn't want to lose this high-quality talent. After all, he was still needed to carry the banner for the security protection of the GIANT PANDA bank settlement system.

"I'm glad you're okay." Chen Xing smiled and said jokingly, "When the brain-computer is upgraded in the future, I'll have them make a completely embedded one for you. It won't affect your appearance if it's exposed outside."

"Does it affect me?" Jiang Ce touched his bald head, and said with a kind of joy of rebirth: "I think it's cool. I can just wear a wig normally. It won't affect my life."

For people with terminal illnesses, let alone affecting their appearance, they would be willing to accept it even if they become extremely ugly, because staying alive is their instinct.

Take the cancer group for example, as long as they can save their lives, they will try it even if it means cutting off their organs or amputating their legs, because healthy people don't understand that feeling.

"A fully integrated brain-computer interface may be successfully developed within two years." At this time, WuXi CEO Li Ge spoke up.

"The kind that can't be identified at all from the outside?"

Jiang Ce asked.

"Yes, completely invasive." Li Ge responded while looking at Chen Xing, as if he wanted to talk to him about something.

"Then when the new generation of brain-computer interfaces comes out, I will be the first volunteer." Jiang Ce has already begun to fantasize about his future life. Now, it is not an exaggeration to say that he has been reborn.

Chen Xing also saw that Li Ge wanted to talk to him about something, but he was not in a hurry to go out and talk with him. Instead, he looked at the attending doctors Qian Qiuliang, Wu Shi, and Chen Guoqiang, and thanked them, "The successful implantation of the brain-computer interface this time was inseparable from the operation of the three teachers. On behalf of Longxing Group and Jiang Ce, I would like to thank you all."

"Mr. Chen, you're welcome."

"It's my job, it's my job."

"The implant is simple, and the core is the research and development of medical devices. If you ask me, we should thank you, Mr. Chen. You have saved countless ALS patients!"

Seeing that Chen Xing was about to bend down and bow to express his gratitude, Qian Qiuliang and the other two hurriedly helped him up, and while doing so, they also spoke their true feelings to him.

As the saying goes, a doctor has a kind heart. The more skilled a doctor is, the more they can understand the helplessness and pain of their patients.

A doctor once said in an interview that the hospital is the place he hates the most, but he has to go. The reason he hates the hospital is that he can see all kinds of life in it. Money, human nature, and life are playing out there all the time. The hospital is for curing diseases and saving lives, but it is also full of dark sides.

Seeing the three of them being so polite, Chen Xing also wanted to treat them to a meal as a token of his gratitude, and continued, "It's getting late. I have booked a table at the Four Seasons Hotel. Would you be so kind as to honor me?"

He did not say three, but everyone. The directors of major hospitals in Shanghai and doctors of neurology were all present in the postoperative observation ward. The subtext was that he wanted to invite everyone present to the banquet.

Li Ge was not in a hurry to express his opinion. He definitely wanted to go because he wanted to talk to Chen Xing alone about brain-computer interface.

Qian Qiuliang, Wu Shi and Chen Guoqiang did not rush to express their opinions, but turned their eyes to the deans standing beside them.

The presidents of Shanghai Ninth Hospital and Huashan Hospital looked at the president of Ruijin Hospital, waiting for his final nod.

"Cough cough."

The director of Ruijin Hospital coughed twice and responded, "Since Mr. Chen has invited us, we will respectfully obey your orders."

"but."

Suddenly, he changed the subject and looked at Qian Qiuliang and said, "Old Qian, you are Jiang Ce's responsible doctor. Jiang Ce has just recovered from a serious illness and his condition is still unstable. Please bear with it and stay."

"this…"

Qian Qiuliang hesitated for half a second, but still nodded and said, "Okay, I'm here, there won't be any problems."

……

Eight o'clock at night.

Four Seasons Hotel, VIP box.

As Chen Xing, Li Ge, Chen Guoqiang, and the directors of major hospitals in Shanghai took their seats, glasses of wine were consumed one after another.

The dinner table.

The deans were all hinting at this.

"I never thought that Longxing Group actually has research results in biotechnology. Mr. Chen, I have to toast you. The advent of brain-computer interfaces is expected to save tens of millions of people."

"President Lin, you're too polite."

"Mr. Chen, I'd like to toast you too. I've heard of the name of Chen Xing from Longxing Group and I've admired you for a long time."

"President Wu, you are too polite. I should be the one respecting you. If it weren't for clinical doctors like you who support the medical field, we ordinary people would have to go abroad for medical treatment."

"Mr. Chen, I respect you too..."

The directors' intentions were simple: they just wanted to get Chen Xing drunk and extract some useful information so that they could have corresponding countermeasures when the time came for negotiations on medical equipment.

"Seven cups at the start. These old guys want to get Chen Xing drunk. No, I have to help block the drinking." Li Ge felt something was wrong. He hadn't discussed the brain-computer interface outsourcing business with Chen Xing yet. Who would he talk to after getting him drunk?
"Dean Lin."

Li Ge stood up, raised his glass and said, "Come to think of it, you saved my life. You were the surgeon who performed my coronary bypass surgery. I toast to you. Cheers."

After drinking a glass of wine, he poured another one and looked at the other dean and said, "Dean Wu, I wonder if you still remember me. When you were at the medical forum at Fudan University, I asked you questions. I want to toast you too."

Another glass of wine.

however!
it's not finished yet.

Li Ge called out the names of the deans one by one, drinking more and more, and his cheeks became rosy.

Wang Youpeng, the chief of biological experiments at WuXi Group, saw this and thought to himself that this was impossible. His own boss was firing on all cylinders, and if he didn't take action, he would probably have to go out in bed tonight.

"It is my great honor to have dinner with you deans. I would like to offer a toast to you deans. I will drink it. You can do as you please."

They clinked glasses, one cup after another.

Half past nine in the evening.

The dean and doctors in the box were already a little drunk, and Wang Youpeng, who was trying to block the wine for Li Ge, drank so much that he fell on the table.

In the VIP box at this time, only Chen Xing remained calm and continued to chat and laugh with the deans.

He is still a little afraid of you when there are a dozen young people, but if he can't drink more than a dozen old men, then Chen Xing has no chance of survival.

Director Wu Yaoming of Huashan Hospital could no longer hold back. He raised three fingers and looked at Chen Xing in a trance, saying, "Mr. Chen... Mr. Chen, just tell us how much this brain... brain machine costs. Is 30 enough?"

When the words fell, the other deans pricked up their ears and listened.

"Well." Chen Xing played with his wine glass and looked at Li Ge beside him and said, "I have no say, because I plan to give the brain-computer to Mr. Li's WuXi Group for OEM production."

"what?"

Li Ge stood up suddenly.

Perhaps he had been drinking too much, for the moment he stood up, his steps were unsteady and he suddenly fell backwards. If there hadn't been someone helping him, he would have fallen flat on his face.

After gaining his footing, Li Ge pointed his index finger at his face and said incredulously, "Leave it to me?"

"Besides Wu Ming, there is no better candidate." Chen Xing confirmed with a smile, and then glanced at the dean present and continued: "As for the price of the brain machine, I will discuss it with President Li. What is certain here is that 30 is more than enough."

(End of this chapter)