How AI Is Advancing NeuroTech

Neurotechnologies are based on the principles of the human nervous system and modeled on the human brain. NeuroTech can help researchers understand brain function and dysfunction, and can help doctors treat neurological disorders. Some NeuroTech applications are focused on enhancing cognitive performance, improving sleep, and improving brain health for Longevity. Advances in AI could revolutionize NeuroTech over the next decade. NeuroTech has unprecedented prospects for growth both in terms of technology and as an industry.

• Over $19 billion has been invested in NeuroTech companies in the last 20 years
• There are over 200 NeuroTech companies in the world and most of them are in the US. There are 121 in the US, 14 in Canada, 13 in the UK, 8 in Switzerland, 7 in Israel, and 6 in France.
• There are over 200 NeuroTech investors in the world and most of them are in the US. There are 136 in the US, 10 in both Japan and the UK, 7 in Canada, and 6 in both China and France.
• The value of NeuroTech patents was $2 billon USD in 2015

Brain Computer Interface?

One area of NeuroTech that many people are familiar with is brain-computer interface (BCI). BCIs receive brain signals, analyze them, and translate them into commands that are sent to output devices that perform the required actions.?BCI could potentially help restore function for people with neuromuscular disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, cerebral palsy, stroke, or spinal cord injury. As this technology advances, humans may be able to have USB ports implanted in their brains through which they can upload information. The global BCI market is expected to reach $1.8 billion by 2024.

Neuromodulation

Neuromodulation involves stimulating specific areas of the brain. There are several types of neuromodulatory stimuli, each of which has different properties and uses. More than 150,000 people in the US already have therapeutic brain implants, mainly for treating Parkinson's disease. Neuromodulation therapies offer an alternative to pharmaceuticals for treating chronic conditions. These treatments are generally more targeted, less expensive, and have fewer side effects than pharmaceuticals.?One application of this technology is a treatment for insurmountable pain that involves stimulating the spinal and peripheral nervous system in separate parts of the brain. The global neuromodulation device industry is expected to grow to $13.3 billion by 2022.

Deep Brain Stimulation?

Deep brain stimulation is used to treat motor disorders. A medical device called a neurostimulator sends electrical impulses through implanted electrodes to specific targets in the brain for the treatment of movement disorders, including Parkinson's disease, essential tremor, and dystonia. Deep brain stimulation has also been studied in clinical trials as a potential treatment for chronic pain.

Spinal Cord Stimulation?

Spinal cord stimulation is a neuromodulation technique that is used to treat chronic pain. Similar to the way a pacemaker corrects an abnormal heartbeat, a neuromodulation device can establish a neurological balance that may help reduce pain. The treatment involves placing electrodes next to a specific spinal area presumed to be the source of pain.

Vagus Nerve Stimulation?

Vagus nerve stimulation involves delivering electrical impulses to the vagus nerve. The relationship between depression, inflammation, metabolic syndrome, and heart disease might be mediated by the vagus nerve. Vagus nerve stimulation is sometimes used for epilepsy and depression.

Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation?

Transcranial magnetic stimulation is a non-invasive brain stimulation technique that uses magnetic induction forces that focus on a specific area of the brain. Diagnostic applications include evaluating the effects of diseases such as stroke, multiple sclerosis, and other neurological diseases on the brain. Therapeutic uses of transcranial magnetic stimulants include treatment of severe depression, migraine, obsessive-compulsive disorder, schizophrenia, and post-traumatic stress disorder. The global transcranial magnetic stimulation market size was estimated to be $883 million in 2018.?

AI for Neural Biomarker Detection?

One limiting factor in the development of advanced NeuroTech methods is the speed at which scientists can detect and recreate accurate neural signals. Since neural data is incredibly complex, the development of more powerful methods to interpret huge volumes of neural data will be the key to finding signal patterns that can be used as biomarkers. The idea is to use AI to develop a platform for detecting biomarkers from neural data. Then long-life neural interfaces (connections that allow computers to read and write neural data directly to and from the body) could be combined with a deep intelligence system trained to assess biomarkers directly from neural data.

If the AI platform is able to understand the "language" of the nervous system it could be used in closed-loop experiments to test neuromodulation therapy on new targets. This could accelerate the development of treatments for a number of chronic conditions and would also be a big step closer to real-world clinical applications of AI within the body. This progress could create a new way to investigate medical conditions, accelerate the detection of neural biomarkers, and open the door to a new generation of AI-based neural medical procedures.

NeuroTech is one of the most promising areas of BioTech. In the last 20 years private capital funds invested more than $19 billion in the sector, and annual growth of investment in the sector is 31%. Some NeuroTech subsectors are already well-established with practical implementations and products on the market. Over the next several years, many early-stage startups will evolve into mature companies and bring new NeuroTech products to market. Advances in AI and increased integration of computers and biology could lead to improved brain health for people all over the world.

This article was?originally published in Forbes?on February 12, 2020.?

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This article was written by?Margaretta Colangelo.?Margaretta is Co-founder and CEO of?Jthereum an enterprise Blockchain technology company. She is associate editor at AI Time Journal and serves on the advisory board of the AI Precision Health Institute at the University of Hawai?i?Cancer Center. She is based in San Francisco.?@realmargaretta