Xuanwu Hospital (First Clinical Medical College), Capital Medical University

One of the birthplaces of neurorehabilitation in China, it is a benchmark neurorehabilitation specialty department配套 with the National Center for Neurological Diseases, benchmarked against the International Society of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation Medicine (ISPRM), and undertakes comprehensive rehabilitation treatment for severe brain injury, spinal cord injury, and complex neurological dysfunction.

Historical Origins and Spiritual Inheritance:

Founded by Professor Wang Maobin, the department integrates the Neurorehabilitation Treatment Center, Functional Therapy Department, Acupuncture Department, and Massage Department on the basis of physiotherapy. It is one of the earliest rehabilitation medicine departments in China focusing on neurofunctional rehabilitation and highlighting the rehabilitation of acute and complex critical illnesses. Professor Wang Maobin is a pioneer of neurorehabilitation medicine in my country. The department has successfully treated patients with serious nerve injuries, such as Liu Hairuo, a Hong Kong Phoenix TV anchor; Luo Jinyong, a Yunnan anti-drug hero; and Tan Jixiong, a Wuhan special police officer, generating a significant impact both domestically and internationally. Professor Song Weiqun, as the first chairman of the Critical Care Rehabilitation Professional Committee of the Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine, spearheaded the compilation of the first "Guidelines for Critical Care Rehabilitation" in China, promoting the development of critical care rehabilitation medicine in the country.

Core business operational efficiency:

The department is a national key clinical specialty base, a national key professional base for resident physician training, and one of the first standardized training bases for rehabilitation medicine in Beijing. It is equipped with advanced equipment such as upper limb functional rehabilitation robots, intelligent lower limb gait training systems (walking robots), repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation devices, transcranial direct current stimulation devices, and computer-aided cognitive and language assessment and training systems. Its clinical research and treatment in motor dysfunction, aphasia, articulation and swallowing disorders, cognitive impairment rehabilitation, and assessment and arousal of consciousness are among the leading in China. It is a master's and doctoral degree training center and postdoctoral research station of Capital Medical University. Professor Song Weiqun has trained more than 40 master's, doctoral and postdoctoral students, and edited more than 20 textbooks and monographs. Among them, "Rehabilitation Medicine (4th Edition)" won the first prize of the first National Excellent Textbook Award. He has published nearly 40 SCI papers and more than 160 core journal papers.

Discipline Positioning and Benchmarking:

This is the first specialized department in China to provide early and comprehensive clinical rehabilitation for critically ill patients in neurology and neurosurgery. Professor Song Weiqun serves as Vice President of the Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine, Vice President of the Rehabilitation Physician Branch of the Chinese Medical Association, Chairman of the Committee on Rehabilitation of Consciousness Disorders of the Chinese Association of Rehabilitation Medicine, Honorary Chairman of the Committee on Critical Care Rehabilitation, and President of the Rehabilitation Medicine Specialist Branch of the Beijing Medical Association. The department's research on repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation for visuospatial neglect was cited in the 2016 American Heart Association/American Stroke Association Guidelines for Adult Stroke Rehabilitation and the 2017 Australian Stroke Foundation Clinical Guidelines for Stroke Management. In the field of brain-computer interface-based early functional reconstruction after stroke, the department is deeply involved in the national major chronic disease project "Research on Digital and Intelligent Holistic Rehabilitation Strategies for the Entire Course of Stroke," integrating cutting-edge technologies such as brain-computer interfaces, wearable devices, vagal nerve electrical stimulation, and transcranial temporal interference stimulation to construct an integrated digital and intelligent rehabilitation system encompassing screening, assessment, rehabilitation, and monitoring.

It is a core discipline of the National Center for Neurological Diseases, a national key clinical specialty, and ranks among the top neurology departments in China according to Fudan University's specialty rankings. It is aligned with the World Federation of Neurological Societies (WFN) and is a national consultation center for complex neurological diseases. It undertakes comprehensive diagnosis and treatment of complex and severe cases of cognitive impairment, epilepsy, sleep disorders, neuromuscular diseases, and cerebrovascular diseases nationwide.

Historical Origins and Spiritual Inheritance:

Founded in 1958 by Xiao Zhenxiang, Meng Jiamei, and Ding Mingchen, the Department of Neurology at Xuanwu Hospital is one of the earliest bases of neuroscience in China. Over sixty years of development, the department has grown from a traditional clinical neurology department into a vast neuroscience system encompassing neurology, neuroophthalmology, neurootology, and neuropediatrics. Adhering to the academic tradition of "clinical practice as the foundation and research as the driving force," the department's pioneering work—in the field of cognitive impairment by Professor Jia Jianping and in the field of Parkinson's disease by Professor Chen Biao—has established Xuanwu Hospital's leading position in the field of neurodegenerative diseases nationwide.

Core business operational efficiency:

The department has 116 physicians, 60% of whom hold senior professional titles. It offers outpatient services in over 20 specialties, with an average daily outpatient volume of over 2,000 visits. It is equipped with a complete neurological disease examination system, including digital video electroencephalography (EEG), polysomnography (PSG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), electromyography (EMG), electronystagmography (EOG), neuromodulation, neuropsychology, and neuropathology. It possesses a comprehensive stroke diagnosis and treatment system and a 24/7 green channel for acute cerebrovascular diseases, employing advanced techniques such as intravenous thrombolysis, arterial thrombolysis, mechanical thrombectomy, and endovascular angioplasty to treat acute ischemic cerebrovascular diseases. The department is a national training base for neurologists, having cultivated a large number of neurology professionals nationwide.

Discipline Positioning and Benchmarking:

It is home to the National Center for Neurological Diseases (Beijing) and the National Clinical Research Center for Geriatric Diseases, and is the affiliated unit of the Key Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases of the Ministry of Education. The Beijing Neurological Consultation Center, affiliated with this university, is hailed as a "final diagnostic institution" in China, undertaking the final diagnostic function for complex neurological diseases nationwide. The Beijing Key Laboratory for Parkinson's Disease Research is a leading domestic and internationally renowned clinical and research center for Parkinson's disease and movement disorders, and the only unit in Asia to participate in the formulation of the new version of the diagnostic criteria and prodromal diagnostic criteria for Parkinson's disease from the International Movement Disorders Society (MDS).

The Department of Neurosurgery at Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, is the birthplace of neurosurgery in China, founded in 1958 by Professor Zhao Yicheng, known as the "Father of Neurosurgery in China." As a National Center for Neurological Diseases and one of the first National Key Clinical Specialties, the department is characterized by its strengths in cerebrovascular and spinal cord diseases, its cutting-edge leadership in functional neurosurgery and brain-computer interface clinical translation, and its comprehensive subspecialty matrix encompassing skull base tumors, spinal cord surgery, pediatric neurosurgery, and neurocritical care. It is positioned as a cradle of neurosurgical talent and a source of clinical translational medicine in China. In January 2025, the department completed the merger and reorganization of its neurosurgery and functional neurosurgery departments, entering a new stage of development.

Historical Origins and Spiritual Inheritance:

In 1958, Professor Zhao Yicheng founded the Department of Neurosurgery at Xuanwu Hospital, making it the initial base for neurosurgery in China. Professors Zhao Yicheng, Wang Zhongcheng, Ding Yuji, and Ling Feng successively served as department directors. Professor Ling Feng is a pioneer in interventional treatment of cerebrovascular diseases in China, introducing interventional neuroradiology techniques to the country. In January 2025, the original Department of Neurosurgery and the original Department of Functional Neurosurgery merged to form a new Department of Neurosurgery, with Professor Zhang Hongqi as department director and Professor Hong Tao as party branch secretary. The department's motto is "Walking on thin ice, facing an abyss, going all out, striving for perfection."

Core business operational efficiency:

The department currently has 127 physicians (44 chief physicians and 32 associate chief physicians) and a nursing team of over 200. It has a total of 407 beds, including 47 beds in the neurosurgical intensive care unit, and performs over 14,000 neurosurgical surgeries annually. It is equipped with 16 dedicated operating rooms (including 3 DSA-integrated surgery rooms and 1 MRI-integrated surgery room), 6 neurointerventional catheterization rooms, 1 Gamma Knife treatment room, and 2 linear accelerators for radiotherapy. It comprises 10 subspecialty groups: Cerebrovascular and Spinal Cord Disease Center, Cerebral Revascularization Center, Neurospine Center, Brain Tumor Center, Functional Neurosurgery Center, Pediatric Neurosurgery Center, Neurocritical Care Center, Radiosurgery Center, Brain Trauma and Cerebral Hemorrhage Center, and a Neurophysiological Monitoring Team.

Discipline Positioning and Benchmarking:

It is a national center for neurological diseases, one of the first national key clinical specialty training bases, one of the first neurosurgical specialist training bases, and a national neurosurgical training base for foreign aid. The department houses research platforms such as the Beijing Institute of Functional Neurosurgery, the Capital Medical University Institute of Cerebrovascular Diseases, and the Capital Medical University Institute of Spinal Cord Diseases. It is the only neurosurgical training base in China authorized by the World Federation of Neurosurgical Societies Foundation, having received over 200 neurosurgeons from 42 countries for advanced training. Since 1959, it has been commissioned by the Ministry of Health to organize national neurosurgical physician training courses, cumulatively training approximately 2,500 physicians and supplying a large number of leading neurosurgical talents to the country. In recent years, he has published more than 400 papers in international journals such as NEJM, JAMA, and BRAIN, formulated more than 10 industry guidelines and consensuses, and won one second prize of the National Science and Technology Progress Award, one first prize of the Beijing Science and Technology Progress Award, and one first prize of the Chinese Medical Science and Technology Award.