Suzhou Institute of Biomedical Engineering and Technology (SIBET), Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), founded Brain Research Instrument Innovation Center (BRIIC) on April 22, 2015 BRIIC is dedicated to developing advanced research instruments for studying brain and hence will be a strong support to the brain research community.  

China’s “Outline of the National Program for Long- and Medium-Term Scientific and Technological Development” pointed out that innovations in scientific research methodology, technology and instrumentation are of great importance. Experimental measurement is essential to any scientific theory, thus natural brain and intelligence should be pioneered with quantitative, real-time, in-situ measurements. Currently, the instruments for observing and recording neural signals, including optical imaging, electronic recording and biochemical analysis devices, rely almost exclusively on importation. The (severe) lack of driving forces of original development, has led to that scientific findings in brain research are also largely largely following international trends. SIBET has aimed at this significant strategetic call of China, having achieved advances in building elementary electro-optical components and synthesizing biochemical reagents, moving on to device assembly, system integration as well as biological application. Supported by a key national project of on super-resolution microscopy, SIBET has successfully developed general-purpose laser-scanning confocal microscope, and has entered trial production phase of dedicated two-photon microscopy systems for combined high-speed functional imaging and electrophysiology recording.  

The primary aims of SIBET-BRIIC are to pioneer instrument developments which are directed by the needs of scientific community, and to explore novel scientific fields by using innovative instruments. SIBET-BRIIC integrates inputs of technology and knowledge from worldwide, and in turn provides instrumentation and technical support to related brain research institutions in CAS as well as in China and worldwide. SIBET-BRIIC will gradually establish a neural-network-like intelligent collaborating system with worldwide renowned brain research institutions and optical device developing institutions, currently involving the Institute of Neuroscience in the Technical University Munich, the Brain Research Center of TMMU Chongqing, the Institute of Molecular Medicine in the Peking University, the Laboratory of Neural Systems in the Rockefeller University and the Changchun Institute of Optics, Fine Mechanics and Physics of the CAS.  

It is envisaged that in the near future, SIBET-BRIIC will be offering cutting-edge yet practical instruments to the brain research communities and become an international innovation research center for advanced biomedical instrumentation.