In the future, patients with neurological conditions such as brain injuries and Parkinson’s disease could get faster diagnoses and more precise treatment, due to a collaboration between the National Neuroscience Institute (NNI) and Nanyang Technological University (NTU).
The tie-up will see medical practitioners and engineers working together through annual fellowships and student attachment programmes over the next three years.
One such project aims to speed up the time taken by radiologists to interpret computed tomography (CT) scans, which could result in faster treatment. It will explore the use of artificial intelligence to identify different types of traumatic brain injuries.
The collaboration is key to plugging gaps in real-life applications of both disciplines, said Professor Chen Tsuhan, NTU’s dean of the College of Engineering. “A lot of time is spent in the lab working with algorithms or engineering solutions without knowing much about the (clinical) data,” he said. “So it is very important for our engineering faculty and students to know the kind of data they are dealing with – not just the amount of data, but also the structure and quality of the data.”
Another project aims to improve treatment for patients with moderate Parkinson’s Disease, a chronic neurological disorder. Researchers will study the use of a computing algorithm that could help doctors more accurately identify where to place a brain implant, which sends electrical impulses to block abnormal nerve signals that cause tremors and movement difficulties.
The student attachment programme will start next year. NTU engineering students will get first-hand experience in clinical medicine when working with NNI neurosurgeons.
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Source: The Straits Times, 22 August 2017