Transforming Brain Health With Neurotechnological Convergence (Part I): Precision Diagnostics and Targeted Interventions
Yangyang Duan, Yifan Fu, Zehan Wu, Wenyue Zheng, Ge Lv, Liang Chen, Jiawen Wu, Zao Han, Qing Dai, Quansheng Gu, Hiu Yi Wong, Amy K. Y. Fu, Ying Mao, Nancy Y. IpABSTRACT
Brain disorders are a critical global health challenge, affecting approximately half the world's population (∼4 billion individuals) in 2021 and accounting for 5139 disability‐adjusted life years per 100,000 population. The ramifications extend well beyond clinical manifestations to substantial economic losses, strained healthcare systems, and profound reductions in societal welfare. These impacts underscore the urgent need for healthcare paradigms to evolve toward earlier diagnosis and disease‐modifying interventions. However, advances in these areas have yet to meet clinical needs largely because of the insidious progression, etiological diversity, and interindividual heterogeneity characteristic of brain disorders. A wave of emerging technologies in response to these challenges is offering transformative perspectives on brain health. In this review, we focus on 5 pioneering neurotechnologies poised to advance precision diagnostics and targeted interventions: nuclear medicine imaging, blood‐based biomarkers, artificial intelligence‐empowered diagnostics, gene therapy, and brain–computer interfaces. These cutting‐edge neurotechnologies are collectively reshaping healthcare frameworks across diagnostic and therapeutic domains, offering new opportunities to improve clinical outcomes and reduce the long‐term burden of brain disorders.