Devices

StairMed's second-generation 256-channel wireless BCI, launched in December 2025 and implanted from early 2026. Specifications are sparse and come from Chinese-language company disclosures and trade reporting.

Catalog specification sheet - Intracortical

StairMed WRS02 256-channel wireless BCI

Record ID
BTSD-STUP-0008
Reviewed
2026-10-08
Interface
intracortical
Evidence stage
human

Independent, source-linked catalog sheet. Not a manufacturer-issued datasheet, regulatory decision or instructions for clinical use. Human evidence does not establish approval. Source-specific restrictions, conflicts and missing specifications are retained below.

StairMed WRS02 256-channel wireless BCI

WRS02 is the successor to the 64-channel WRS01 described on the WRS sheet. Chinese-language sources give the channel count, launch date and a few company-reported performance figures. Nearly everything else is not reported, and the entries below say so.

Identity

FieldValue and source scope
DeviceStairMed WRS02, second-generation 256-channel wireless implantable BCI system, upgraded from the 64-channel WRS01 [1, 2]
ManufacturerShanghai StairMed Technology Co., Ltd. (上海阶梯医疗科技有限公司) [1]
Interface classInvasive wireless BCI; the Chinese reports call it an upgrade of the high-throughput wireless invasive WRS01 [2]. Electrode details for WRS02 are not restated in the sources read
OriginStairMed, with Huashan Hospital as the clinical partner of the earlier WRS01 trials [2]
First demonstratedLaunched at the 2025 BCI Conference in Shanghai on December 4, 2025 [1]. A trade report of company disclosures says the 256-channel WRS02 was implanted in early 2026 and its brain-control function verified [3]
First human implantEarly 2026 per a secondary trade report of company disclosures [3]. As of December 18, 2025 a STAR Market Daily report said the first prospective WRS02 clinical trial was planned soon [2]
Species studiedHuman
Regulatory statusInvestigational. The WRS01 system is in NMPA’s innovative-device special review since November 2025 [1, 3]; no source read states a separate regulatory status for WRS02. No market approval
FunctionRecords neural signals and decodes motor intent for cursor and device control; the company says it connects to more devices and offers smoother control than WRS01 [1]
Target tissueNear the motor cortex per the trade report [3]

Geometry and architecture

FieldValue and source scope
Interface typeUltra-flexible electrodes implanted through minimally invasive surgery near the motor cortex, with a wireless implant [3]
Array layout
Electrode count256 channels [1, 2, 3]
Pitch
Electrode lengths
Shank width and thickness
Tip and exposed site geometry
Contact coating
Insulation
Insertion methodMinimally invasive surgery [3]; steps not reported
Anchoring and fixation

Electrode and channel physics

FieldValue and source scope
Exposed site area
Electrode material
Impedance (with measurement frequency)
Noise floor or SNR
Recording modalitySingle-neuron signals collected with ultra-flexible electrodes, per the trade report [3]
Sampling rate
Stimulation capability
Charge injection limit
Reference and ground

Tissue interface and bioresponse

FieldValue and source scope
Target tissue
Insertion trauma and BBB disruption
Vascular disruption risk
Micromotion sensitivity
Gliosis and encapsulation
Neuron loss near sites
Foreign-body response mitigation
Typical failure modes

System architecture

FieldValue and source scope
Onboard electronics
Data pathWireless implant; the system connects to Windows and iOS as input devices [3]
Telemetry bandwidth
Sampling rate
Power
Thermal management
Packaging and hermeticityIn May 2025 StairMed said the next-generation 256-channel system would be one third smaller than the then-current implant (26 mm diameter, under 6 mm thick); the sizes of the delivered WRS02 are not reported [4]
MRI compatibility
Surgical complexity
Output connectors

Performance envelope

FieldValue and source scope
Acute yield
Chronic yieldCompany-disclosed information-transfer efficiency of 380 bits per minute, about 6.3 bits per second, and command latency under 50 ms [3]
Stability over time
LongevityPatients operated a computer for 3 to 4 hours continuously, per the company [3]
Revision and explant experience
Adverse events
Notable demonstrationsCompany disclosure reported in a trade article on July 30 to August 2, 2026: several patients with high spinal cord injury work full-time through the system, including e-commerce logistics coordination and data labeling [3]

Clinical and preclinical evidence

FieldValue and source scope
Human subjectsNumber of WRS02 patients not stated in the sources read; the trade report says implanted in early 2026 and that several patients now use the system for work [3]
Preclinical cohort
Follow-up duration
Indications
Trials and registriesNo WRS02 registry entry identified. StairMed’s WRS01 trials are on ClinicalTrials.gov, see the WRS sheet
Primary outcomes
Key limitationsLittle published detail. Specifications and results are company disclosures relayed by a trade site, with no peer-reviewed or regulator-held data. WRS02 may or may not share the first generation’s electrodes; that is not stated

Engineering tradeoffs

FieldValue and source scope
StrengthsFour times the channel count of WRS01 in a planned smaller package, per the company [1, 4]
LimitationsNo published hardware dimensions, no registry data and few patients reported
Scaling constraints

Version boundary

WRS02 is the 256-channel second generation. The WRS01 and the registered WRS64 are 64-channel first-generation devices. The 256-channel arrays in the Nature Communications intraoperative study are research arrays, not this implant.

References

  1. Science and Technology Daily (Chinese). Seven BCI products launched in Shanghai, 5 December 2025.
  2. STAR Market Daily via Tencent News (Chinese). StairMed second patient and 3D control, 18 December 2025.
  3. Yixiu Qixie trade site (Chinese). StairMed 256-channel BCI clinical progress, 2 August 2026; a secondary report of company disclosures.
  4. Shanghai Municipal Government, from Jiefang Daily (Chinese). Ultra-flexible BCI trial, 11 May 2025.