Co-creating solutions with patients, caregivers, and society
Patients & society

NeuroTech-NL is the Dutch consortium surrounding innovations in neurotechnology with commitments from top academic hospitals, institutes, patient advocacy groups and other organizations, industry, and governments to provide technological solutions to those living with brain and neurological disorders. We hope that by working together we will make major breakthroughs in neurology as well as in disorders of vision, psychiatry, and hearing, that result in improving quality of life, as well as reducing the costs of care by being able to increase self-reliance and better participation in society.
By 2030 we hope to allow blind patients see objects by providing electrical stimulation to the brain’s visual regions, and that patients with severe motor impairments affecting their communication will be able to speak full sentences. The 21st century has also opened up new possibilities in boosting the brain’s performance through brain-computer interfaces. Should healthy people be able augment their mental functions or athletic performance through artificial intelligence? How should we do this ethically and safely?
Our ambitions and directions critically depend on the involvement from patients themselves and from society at large.

We want you to be involved
Co-creation of solutions

Research benefits – and needs – the input from patient organizations and the direct users of novel technologies and research outcomes. We want to hear from you! Dutch citizens drove the development of the national Netherlands Research Agenda (NWA), where the main interests in society for future areas of research were summarized in 25 routes. 4 of these routes pertain to neurotechnology: healthcare and prevention, personalized medicine, smart industries, and NeuroLab-NL: an initiative to understand the workings of the brain. Field labs were created so our industry partners can direct validate novel technologies with direct feedback from citizens. Co-creation is the way to develop solutions that society actually needs.

Interaction with clinicians and scientists

NeuroTech-NL believes in public forums and organizes networking events where patients can hear from researchers, speak to doctors, and test out new equipment. From these interactions, matches are made and new research proposals are generated with the direct input from societal stakeholders. We support other initiatives involving living labs, patient-clinician platforms for discussion, and the participation of patients in research studies. Please see our news and events page for information on where you can get involved.

Supported by governments and industry

We are a strategic partner of the Dutch government’s branch for Life Sciences and Health (Health~Holland) and are supported by several brain-related foundations providing the capacity to implement solutions for the benefit of society. Neurotechnology fits squarely with the major missions of the Dutch government: to increase life expectancy, and reduce the burdens of those living with chronic diseases and dementia, by providing intelligent care in the right place. Hardware and software technology such as biological implants, smart devices, and artificial intelligence (AI) are mechanisms to facilitate these ambitions, and expertise in these areas are at the core of NeuroTech-NL.