Neurological disorders are believed to affect around one in six people around the world, significantly diminishing the quality of life for many.  A new collaborative research facility has been setup to try and develop and test new technologies to increase the patient capabilities across a range of conditions, including Parkinson’s and strokes.

The BRAIN Center (Building Reliable Advances and Innovation in Neurotechnology), is being led by a team from Arizona State University and the University of Houston but will also involve a number of industry partners to try and get technologies to market faster.

“The BRAIN Center is a way to bring together top faculty at both institutions to address critical challenges in the biomedical field,” the team say. “The best way to do that is working with industry.”

The center will host more than 50 researchers who will work alongside 14 members from industry and healthcare.  The researchers comprise a diverse bunch, with representatives from engineering to law, data science and physiology.

“Medical advances have dramatically increased life expectancy in the 21st century,” the team say. “The BRAIN Center will enable us to develop safe, reliable neurotechnologies to address the rise in chronic, degenerative diseases associated with an aging population.”

Research will cover a diverse range of areas, from Big Data to neurorehabilitation and neuromodulation device development, to robotic-assisted therapy and regulatory science.

It will also have a workforce development element, as they seek to develop the next generation of workers to work with the technology in future.

“We are training the next workforce,” they say. “The technology is so new, we don’t have enough people to design, repair, validate and prescribe these technologies.”