Resistance to change, the uneven evolution between technology and its real application, the management of health data, the search for talent or regulation are some of the challenges facing neuroscience applied to healthaccording to different experts during the round table titled How Neuroscience is improving mental health and inclusion.
This conversation was held within the framework of the presentation of the second of the R&D&I challenges prepared by the Carlos III University of Madrid, which took place in the UC3M Science Park, where representatives of the research ecosystem and the business have talked about how technological tools have led to a qualitative leap in this scientific field.
[La ética y la colaboración, los dos pilares que marcarán el devenir de la inteligencia artificial]
On the one hand, in the investigative part Alfonso Mendoza, researcher at the Science and Engineering Laboratory (BSEL) and director of the new Degree in Neuroscience at UC3M, the first in Spain in this discipline, participated; Lourdes Moreno, researcher in the Human Language and Accessibility Technologies (HULAT) group at UC3M and deputy director of CESyA; and Wilfried Coenen, researcher in the Fluid Mechanics group at UC3M.
Meanwhile, in the business part Antonio Artés, researcher and co-founder of eB2 – Evidence Behavior, participated; Teresa Arias, head of scientific collaborations at Siemens Healthineers Spain; and Sergio González, Innovation Lead of EIT Health Spain.
An undisputed ally
In recent years the Technology has become an indisputable ally for most sectoral branches, with special impact on those related to the health field. In neuroscience it was not going to be less. Different tools such as artificial intelligence or machine learning have proven to be very useful for advancing in specialties such as radiology, genetics or pathology thanks to the analysis of a large amount of information that helps in diagnosis and detection of patterns.
Thus, Mendoza, the person in charge of breaking the ice in this conversation, has specified that the Neuroscience and technology are “two perfectly interconnected parts” and that they “continuously feed each other.” “Technology allows us to better understand the functioning of the nervous system and better knowledge of the nervous system helps us improve technology,” she pointed out.
Antonio Artés, researcher and co-founder of eB2 – Evidence Behavior, a spin-off owned by UC3M.
One of the real examples of the synergy between both aspects has come from the hand of Artés, who explained that his startup is dedicated to developing solutions for the monitoring and care of mental health, for which they work with tools such as intelligence artificial. According to him, through the data they collect from devices such as mobile phones or smartwatches, together with the clinical history, they are able to get marks that help them have indicators of cognitive or emotional state.
Coenen, along the same lines, has outlined some very specific examples where technology has been a differentiating factor to advance neuroscience. As he has pointed out, the use of these tools has achieved reduce diagnostic times and increase precision, “improving year by year.” “Technology really facilitates new avenues and in the future it will make our work much easier,” she stated.
Wilfried Coenen, researcher in the Fluid Mechanics group at UC3M.
In turn, Arias has brought up artificial intelligence, one of the technological trends that has had the most impact in recent years in all types of sectors, including health. The representative of Siemens Healthineers Spain has pointed out that they are addressing this phenomenon with expectation, but also calmly, since they are applications and tools “that can really change a person’s life.”
Sergio González, Innovation Lead of EIT Health Spain.
Moreno, for his part, has insisted on the importance of ensuring that the relationship between technology and neuroscience do not increase inequalities, for example, in the case of people with some type of disability. The researcher explained that the union of both concepts should be aimed at offering more personalized or adaptive experiences that make life easier for the most vulnerable groups.
During his speech, González referred to the regulatory landscape, marked by the recent green light to the European Health Data Space, promoted by Europe. The representative of the European Institute of Innovation and Technology has explained that this regulation can change the treatment of health information for research, opening a larger field for their use.
Alfonso Mendoza, researcher at the Science and Engineering Laboratory (BSEL) and director of the new Degree in Neuroscience at UC3M.
All the speakers have agreed to highlight the importance of responsible management of information, since it is data of special sensitivity as it is related to people’s health. Therefore, they advocate for a ethical and safe approach that guarantees privacy and avoids associated risks.
Challenges for the future
The synergy of both concepts is not without challenges and, among them, Mendoza has mentioned the asymmetric evolution between technological tools and knowledge in itself. As he explained, technology has evolved so quickly that there are currently trends or systems such as artificial intelligence or data analysis that allow us to advance or anticipate aspects that cannot yet be widely used because studies on these fields are very preliminary. .
For his part, Arias has highlighted as another of the pending challenges resistance to change that exists, sometimes, in this ecosystem. The representative of Siemens Healthineers Spain has specified that, here, the work of the university to guarantee a more fluid integration of these technological tools is decisive.
Teresa Arias, head of scientific collaborations at Siemens Healthineers Spain.
Artés has agreed with Arias on this point and, in addition, has added as another of the challenges facing this sector the bottleneck that occurs due to data processing considerations. As he recalled, in regions like Madrid there are different clinical records per patient that are not interrelated and are not even compatible with each other. “On the one hand there is tremendous potential, but on the other it is complicated in the health ecosystem due to the brakes that in some cases occur,” she insisted.
[Diez grandes retos y “una gran oportunidad” de cerrar la brecha en innovación que existe en España]
Meanwhile, González has insisted on the issue of regulation, about which he has said that, on many occasions, lags behind technological evolution itself. Also, he added that it is essential to guarantee universal access to all tools to prevent inequalities from existing or existing ones from widening.
For his part, Moreno has specified that another of the challenges to be addressed is directly related to the humanization of technology, especially in areas like the one discussed in this conversation, which directly affects people’s health. Furthermore, in relation to it, he has indicated that we must move towards greater personalization.
Lourdes Moreno, researcher in the Human Language and Accessibility Technologies (HULAT) group at UC3M and deputy director of CESyA.
Coenen, in turn, has mentioned the investment difference that exists between the public sector and the private sector in this type of technologies applied to the field of neuroscience. The researcher has stated that it is necessary to “make an effort” to balance this inequality and that this field is not left “solely in the hands of the private sector.”
They have all agreed to highlight the need to more “interdisciplinary” professionals who have knowledge in different areas. Here, they have specified, the university has a relevant role, given that it is responsible for training profiles “capable of speaking with different interlocutors”, that is, who have a “sufficiently open” mind to interact with different work niches.
UC3M 2024 R&D&I Challenges: How neuroscience is improving mental health and inclusion