Malaysia Poised To Emerge As Regional Hub For Neurotechnology Devices, Says Neurosurgeon

By Anas Abu Hassan

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 7 (Bernama) -- Malaysia holds untapped potential in the development and commercialisation of neurotechnology devices, with significant opportunities for the industry to grow and position the country as a regional hub, a neurosurgeon said.

Professor of neurosciences and senior consultant neurosurgeon at Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Prof Datuk Dr Jafri Malin Abdullah, said the neurotechnology market in Southeast Asia is expanding and offers prospects for local innovators to develop and market their inventions.

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He noted that Malaysia's prospects of becoming a producer of neurotechnology devices are gaining traction, as the Akademi Sains Malaysia (ASM), together with the Standards and Industrial Research Institute of Malaysia (SIRIM), is working to develop standard guidelines for such devices.

Dr Jafri Malin said local innovators possess the scientific capability and talent to create neurotechnological tools but lack the structural framework needed to commercialise their inventions.

"In Malaysia, we are users of neurotechnology, but we also have the capability to produce the neurotechnology devices. However, when we want to sell our product to other ASEAN countries or to the world, we must adhere to certain standards.

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"As of today, there are no existing standards for neurotechnology tools in Malaysia, so we began discussions with SIRIM earlier this year to develop minimum standards for the country first," he told Bernama in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of Khazanah Megatrends Forum (KMF) 2025 today.

According to Dr Jafri Malin, Malaysia could unlock the vast potential of its neuroscience talent pool and advance both healthcare technology and the economy through these standardisation efforts.

"Those standards are being worked out now as we speak. We hope to have them finalised within a year.

"Once the standards are in place, we can finally move from just producing devices to actually exporting them. That is when Malaysia can truly become part of the global neurotechnology ecosystem," he added.

The two-day KMF 2025, held from Oct 6 to 7, marks the forum’s 20th edition and carries the theme “Debugging Uncertainty: Lessons from the Grasshopper and the Ant on Living with Risk.”

-- BERNAMA