The frontier of neurology has begun to think for itself.
The claim follows pioneering brain surgery carried out at King Faisal Specialist Hospital and Research Centre (KFSHRC).
In June 2025, surgeons at the centre, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, implanted the Middle East’s first AI powered smart brain device, a closed loop system that listens, learns, and responds to the brain’s own electrical language.
The technology could mark a turning point for patients with Parkinson’s disease, epilepsy, and complex movement disorders. Instead of delivering constant electrical pulses like conventional deep brain stimulators, the new system senses neural activity in real time and adapts its response. When tremors rise, it intervenes. When the brain stabilises, it eases off.
Clinical results have been striking. Patients have seen tremors reduced by up to 95 percent, seizure frequency by as much as 70 percent, and dependence on Parkinson’s medications cut in half.
Beyond the statistics lies a quieter transformation, patients regaining control over their hands, their balance, and their daily lives.
The minimally invasive procedure lasts only a few hours and avoids major incisions. Within weeks, most patients notice steadier movements and clearer speech as the device fine tunes its stimulation patterns. Full optimisation occurs over one to three months, calibrated uniquely to each individual’s brain signals.
This advance builds on KFSHRC’s growing leadership in neuromodulation, a field that merges neuroscience with artificial intelligence. Between 2021 and 2024, the hospital doubled its deep brain stimulation cases, making it the largest single centre program of its kind in the Middle East.
The introduction of the closed loop system now positions the institution as a regional hub for research and data driven collaboration in neurotechnology.
KFSHRC showcased this milestone and its broader portfolio of precision innovations at the Global Health Exhibition in Riyadh last October. Alongside the AI powered brain implant, highlights included advances in robotic surgery, CAR T cell therapy, preimplantation genetic diagnosis, epilepsy programs using stereo electroencephalography (SEEG), and complex organ transplantation.
KFSHRC has been ranked first in the Middle East and North Africa and fifteenth globally among the world’s top 250 academic medical centres for 2025 and recognised by Brand Finance as the region’s most valuable healthcare brand. It is also listed among Newsweek’s World’s Best Hospitals 2025, Best Smart Hospitals 2026, and Best Specialised Hospitals 2026.
