A doctor guides a patient through rehabilitation training using an exoskeleton system at Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo/Tide News]

Zhejiang's first "brain–computer interface and neuromodulation assessment clinic" opened at Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital on Oct 15, with all appointment slots booked within seconds.

The clinic offers new possibilities for patients with severe motor impairments, hearing loss, treatment-resistant neurological and psychiatric disorders, and communication difficulties — groups that stand to benefit most from emerging brain-computer interface technology once found only in science fiction.

A patient tests a brain–computer interface–controlled robotic glove at Zhejiang Provincial People's Hospital in Hangzhou, Zhejiang province. [Photo/Tide News]

As the province's first multidisciplinary clinic dedicated to this field, it draws on years of technical development and clinical research. Specialists from rehabilitation medicine, clinical psychology, and neurosurgery jointly evaluate patients, supported by the hospital's brain-computer interface and neuromodulation clinical research ward. Together, they provide an integrated pathway spanning assessment, diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation.

The clinic operates on Wednesday mornings at the hospital's Zhaohui campus.